Guto: “Next time, I’ll put Adegbuyi to sleep”

  Guto Inocente (34-8, 17 KO’s) is a popular man of late.    Not only does the Brazilian find himself featured prominently in the currently-underway rundown of ‘Top 50 GLORY Moments’ (to mark the occasion of GLORY’s upcoming 50th event), he also finds himself being regularly name-checked by fellow heavyweights.    Young prospect Junior Tafa (18-1, 14 KO’s), a 21-year-old Australian national of Samoan heritage, joined GLORY in October last year and immediately identified Inocente as an opponent he would like to face in the future.    Fate then intervened to have the two matched with each other in the semi-final stage of next month’s GLORY 50 CHICAGO Heavyweight Contender Tournament. Also in the tournament is Romanian contender Benjamin Adegbuyi (28-4, 16 KO’s); he is matched with D’Angelo Marshall (17-2, 9 KO’s).   He lost a points decision to Inocente at GLORY 43 NEW YORK in July last year, but has condemned the judges for their decision. Earlier this month he said that Inocente is “crazy if he thinks he really won that fight”.   “Tafa is a good boxer, good hands, but I will show him. Kickboxing is a different sport. He was calling me out for a fight when he joined GLORY. Well, now he will have it,” says the stern Brazilian.   “As for Adegbuyi, it will be my pleasure to fight with him again. But I don’t think it will be in this tournament, because I expect to meet D’Angelo Marshall in the final, not him. But, the next time I do fight him, I will put him to sleep. Deeply.   “I’m ready for this tournament. I fought a lot of tournaments in my life already. I can beat two, three, even four guys in the same night, no problem.”   Ranked at #5 in the heavyweight lists, Inocente is 5-1 in GLORY, with the sole mark on his record being a decision loss to #2-ranked Jamal Ben Saddik at GLORY 39 BRUSSELS early last year. He followed that with the decision win over Adegbuyi to go 2-1 in 2017.   GLORY 50 CHICAGO takes place Friday, February 16 at the UIC Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.    The card is headlined by welterweight champion Murthel Groenhart defending his title against Harut Grigorian. It is a rematch and follows their highly publicized encounter last year, which ended with Groenhart scoring a controversial knockout.    GLORY 50 Chicago will be carried live on ESPN3 at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 16, with a replay on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 18.