Matchmaker Cor Hemmers on what comes next for Verhoeven, Saki and Sitthi...

After each event Cor Hemmers, GLORY matchmaker and Head of Talent Operations, likes to sit down and offer some insight and analysis into the occurrences in the ring and what the implications are going forward.

At GLORY 22 FRANCE we saw Rico ‘The Prince’ Verhoeven retain his World Heavyweight Championship, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong emerge as a huge threat in the lightweight division and Zack Mwekassa starch another opponent to remind everyone just how dangerous his hands are.

In addition, it was announced during fight week that ‘Bazooka’ Joe Valtellini is taking time off to deal with some medical issues and has decided to vacate the World Welterweight Championship. The vacant belt will be contested at GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS by Nieky Holzken and Raymond ‘Real Deal’ Daniels.

On Rico Verhoeven defending the title against Benjamin Adegbuyi:

“It was an historic heavyweight title fight. Adegbuyi did a good job, he wanted to throw some big shots and try to force it in the first round. But Rico is a very smart guy, intelligent and he moves well, he had his strategy,” he says of the headline fight.

“I was thinking Rico could knock him out but he also coasted a little bit in the last rounds. I understand that, to go for safety, but I also felt the hunger from Rico’s side to finish the fight. I am very satisfied with this fight. I think for the audience and the real kickboxing fans it was a great performance from two heavyweights really working hard over five rounds.

“[Next] I think a heavyweight contender [tournament] will decide who is the new challenger. So I think the  next thing we do is prepare for a new contender tournament. ‘Braddock’ Silva will be in it, maybe Jamal Ben Saddik if he [wins] another fight and comes up in the ranking again. He was out for a year through [certain] circumstances but he can climb the ranking again. So there will be a contender tournament and then the winner can challenge Rico.”

On Zack Mwekassa, Gokhan Saki and the World Light-Heavyweight World Championship:

“The situation with Saki is that we must come to term on a new deal. If we cannot come to terms… we need to have a title defense within one year [of the belt being won]. If not we have a new title fight.

“Zack Mwekassa is developing his all-round kickboxing skills so we want to give him a couple of more fights and then he will be in the zone to be a challenger for the title. But first to fight for the title, whether with Saki or for the [vacant] title, 100% will be Saulo ‘Cassius Clay’ Cavalari because he won the Contender Tournament.”

On Valtellini vacating the belt and Holzken vs. Daniels II at GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS

“It is of course very sad that we heard Joe cannot defend his title through injuries. I hope he will recover very soon and that we will see him back in the ring.

“The rules says that within one year a champion needs to defend his title. We skipped and postponed some events so we made that one and a half years, but now it is time. It’s time also for Nieky Holzken; he won the Welterweight Contender Tournament and he is waiting to fight for the title, he has that right.

“We had a good conversation with Joe. He cannot defend his title and so we agreed that we make the title vacant, based on the rules, and then we have Holzken fight for the vacant title.

“We then needed to go to the rankings [to determine an opponent]. From #1 to #3 we have Karapetyan, Stecurenko and Raymond Daniels there. Holzken fought Daniels in the final of the tournament, in a three-round fight after Daniels had already had a fight with some heavy punches and kicks from [Jonathan] Oliveira. Afterwards he said that if he could have a single fight with Holzken and be fresh, it would be a different fight.

“So looking back at that last fight between Daniels and Holzken, he can be the guy to fight Holzken for the title. And it is also good for the fans. Daniels is a very dangerous guy with his spin kicks from angles you do not expect. So it is dangerous for Holzken and I think it is an interesting fight.”

On Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong winning the Lightweight Contender Tournament:

“Sitthichai was the best fighter of the evening. He was strong, his kicks were very good. Davit Kiria was the right victim for him because Kiria is coming [forward] all the time and that is good for a fighter like Sitthichai, he can block the attacks with his middle kick and his low kick. Finally he got him with the middle kick and finished him with the knee. The middle kick was the beginning of the eight-count.

“Jauncey already did a three-round fight [before the final]. He is a great, talented fighter. But three rounds of fighting takes something out of you, a second of timing or whatever, and Sitthichai was the best in the final. Jauncey did a great job but it was Sitthichai’s day.

“I think him fighting for the title with Robin van Roosmalen could be a little bit similar to what we saw against Kiria, so Robin has time to study that fight. They are a little bit similar [styles], Van Roosmalen and Davit Kiria, so hopefully he doesn’t walk into the same trap and we get a great fight. Everybody is looking forward to see this Thai star against Van Roosmalen.”

GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS takes place Friday, August 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada and airs live in the US on Spike TV. The card features a four-man Middleweight Qualification Tournament in addition to the main event World Welterweight Championship fight between Nieky Holzken and Raymond Daniels.