Gokhan Saki has become the second fighter to rise above his weight class and stand over it as the undisputed champion.
His win in the GLORY 15 ISTANBUL Light-Heavyweight Championship tournament earned him the World Title and 350 ranking points.
Because he is the champion, he is removed from the rankings and placed into the special champion slot, which hovers above the division.
The Lightweight champion, Davit Kiria, was the first to enjoy this honor following his victory at GLORY 14 ZAGREB. The welterweight division will be next to crown a champion at GLORY 16 DENVER on May 3.
A reshuffle in the light-heavyweight division sees Danyo Ilunga become the lead contender and take the division’s #1 ranking spot after his big knockout win over Andrei Stoica in the first round of their tournament reserve match.
Tyrone Spong - who lost to Saki in the tournament final - gains 150 points for being tournament runner-up but falls to #2 in the division. Saulo Cavalari and Nathan Corbett lost to Spong and Saki respectively in the semi-finals but receive 50 points for their tournament participation.
Stoica enters the rankings at #5 but will need to score a big win in his next outing if he wants to achieve contender status in what is a shark-tank of a division.
GLORY 15 ISTANBUL was headlined by Robin Van Roosmalen, who faced Marat Grigorian in a battle of two contenders looking to establish their claim to the lightweight title. A thrilling non-stop battle saw Van Roosmalen emerge with a split-decision win and 64 points, enough to have him take the division’s #1 spot from Andy Ristie. The champion’s spot is occupied by Kiria, who must now be looking over his shoulder as Van Roosmalen holds two previous decision wins over him.
Also in the lightweight division, Danish champion Niclas Larsen stopped ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Moxon of Australia and gained 80 points while doing so, moving from #11 to #8 and cracking the top ten for the first time.
The final light-heavyweight movement sees Mourad Bouzidi rise three places to #6 for his comprehensive win over Randy ‘Boom Boom’ Blake, who moves up one place to #13 despite the loss, because of the effect the ‘Lifetime Rule’ has had on the division.
Hesdy Gerges took a stoppage win via leg kicks over Jhonata Diniz at GLORY 15 ISTANBUL in the evening’s only heavyweight card. He rises five places to #5, gaining 93 points for his win over the young Brazilian.
Filip Verlinden has completed a remarkable journey in GLORY, from heavyweight down to light-heavyweight and now middleweight. He made his middleweight debut in Istanbul with a three-round shutout of newcomer Israel Adesanya of New Zealand.
Adesanya enters the rankings at #10 while Verlinden goes into the middleweight ranks at #4 and also earns himself a spot in the upcoming ‘Last Man Standing’ 8-man tournament at GLORY 17 LOS ANGELES, June 21.
Other newcomers to the middleweight division include Bogdan Stoica of Romania and Robert Thomas of Canada. Stoica is the brother of GLORY light-heavyweight Andrei while Thomas comes in as the latest hotly-tipped talent to represent the Maple Leaf.
At welterweight, #8-ranked Jonathan Oliveira defeated Turkish counterpart Atakan Arslan by decision to gain 53 points.
At featherweight, the young Thai prodigy Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai took a decision win over the incredibly fast Raz Sarkisjan to gain 55 ranking points and the #7 ranking spot, while Sarkisjan sits at #12.
A note on this latest rankings update - this is the first time that the ‘Lifetime Rule’ has come into effect for a significant number of fighters. Under this rule - modelled on the one used in international tennis - points expire at a rate of 33% per year.
For example, a fighter who earned 300 points for a January 1, 2012 win but then stays inactive would drop to 200 points on January 1 2013, then would drop 100 points over the following years until his score returned to zero.
This rule ensures that the lists are current and that old victories do not keep inactive fighters at the top of the rankings at the expense of other, more active fighters.
Rankings for Light-Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight and Featherweight were first published last year. Those initial points, calculated by the Glory Sports International Ranking Committee, are now entering their expiry period.
Points earned in last year’s GLORY 5 LONDON and GLORY 6 ISTANBUL events are also entering their expiry period.
Those events took place on March 23 and April 12 respectively. Tyrone Spong competed in London against Remy Bonjasky and Saki headlined in Istanbul against Daniel Ghita.
