Middleweight contenders will collide at GLORY 14 ZAGREB as four of the division’s best go head-to-head in the inaugural Middleweight Contender Tournament.
The winner of the one-night, four-man tournament will be declared ‘The Contender’ at 187lbs (85kgs) and will be granted the #3 seeding spot in this year’s Middleweight Championship Tournament.
The winner also receives a $20,000 cash prize for winning the tournament while the runner-up receives $5,000. Participants are invited by GLORY and can be any four fighters ranked below #3 in the weight class.
“GLORY’s tournament spots are one of the most valuable things in kickboxing and competition for places is fierce,” says Cor Hemmers, GLORY Head of Talent Operations.
“Winning a Contender Tournament is a golden ticket to the World Championship Tournament, where the big money is.”
Under GLORY rules, the first two World Championship Tournament spots go to the top two fighters in the weight class.
The third spot goes to the winner of a Contender Tournament such as this one, and the fourth is subject to a Wild Card rule which allows GLORY, should it wish, to insert an athlete of its own choice.
The first semi-final sees former It’s Showtime champion Sahak Parparyan (40-9-5, 19 KO’s) take on young prodigy Jason Wilnis (21-3-1, 6 KO’s).
In the second semi-final, UFC veteran and ‘Road to Glory 1’ winner Dustin Jacoby (4-3, 3 KO’s) makes his middleweight debut against GLORY debutant Alex Pereira (12-11, 8 KO’s).
Parparyan is of Armenian stock but born and raised in the Netherlands. He trains and fights out of Mike’s Gym, where his training partners include Gokhan Saki, Murthel Groenhart and Badr Hari.
He holds a 2012 decision win over Wilnis already. His most recent outing in the organization was at GLORY 7 MILAN when he lost a decision to world #1 Artem Levin (46-4-1, 33 KO’s) and suffered a broken jaw in the process.
Wilnis fights out of The Coliseum Gym in Utrecht, central Netherlands. His older brother Jahfar fights in the GLORY heavyweight ranks.
Wilnis took part in the GLORY 10 LOS ANGLES Middleweight Championship Tournament but was eliminated by Artem Levin in the semi-finals.
Jacoby came into the GLORY World Series via winning the inaugural ‘Road To Glory’ eight-man tournament. He stopped three opponents in a row to earn himself a spot at light-heavyweight.
Having experienced mixed results since then, Jacoby has now cut down to middleweight and is gunning for the 185lb top spot. He makes his middleweight debut in this tournament.,
Pereira is part of a new wave of talent coming out of Brazil. Formerly a professional boxer, Pereira brings knockout power and serious hand skills to the ring.
Pereira fights under the nickname ‘Po Atan’, the name being a traditional one among the Amazon tribe he descends from.
GLORY 14 ZAGREB takes place on Saturday, March 8 in Zagreb, Croatia. The event is headlined by local hero Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic headlines in a heavyweight fight against Remy Bonjasky.
The card also features a fight between Andy ‘The Machine’ Ristie and Davit Kiria as they dispute the vacant GLORY Lightweight World Championship Title.
