Silva meets Adegbuyi at GLORY 21 SAN DIEGO

Heavyweight contenders will collide at GLORY 21 SAN DIEGO as Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (38-11-1, 24 KO’s) and Benjamin Adegbuyi (18-2, 13 KO’s) meet on the Superfight Series section of the card.

Romania’s Adegbuyi has gone a perfect 3-0 since debuting at GLORY 14 ZAGREB with a stoppage of Ukrainian champion Dmtryo Bezus, blasting his way into the title-shot conversation. In his last fight he out-landed Hesdy Gerges in a heavy firefight of a bout to win a unanimous decision.

Brazil’s Silva has been perennially on the edge of the contender picture but has encountered final hurdles more than once. This fight with Adegbuyi represents one of the biggest opportunities of his career.

Formerly resident in Amsterdam, Netherlands after serving as Peter Aerts’ main sparring partner for many years, Silva recently moved back to his native Brazil and now trains and fights out of Team Nogueira, headed by former PRIDE FC undisputed and UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

“Adegbuyi is a rising star of the heavyweight division; three wins in three GLORY fights says it all,” says Cor Hemmers, GLORY Matchmaker and Head of Talent Operations.

“In his last fight he beat Hesdy Gerges, a top level heavyweight and former It’s Showtime champion, and those kind of wins put you into the title shot conversation.

“Then with Silva we have a fighter who is also very experienced at the top level. He has faced all the big names and sometimes he has been on the edge of the title picture but has then come up short in a key bout.

“Recent changes in his training arrangements seem to have lit a fire under him and this fight is one of the most important of his career.”

GLORY 21 SAN DIEGO takes place Friday, March 8 in San Diego, California, USA. The main event will see Artem ‘The Lion’ Levin defend the World Middleweight Championship against bitter rival Simon ‘Bad Bwoy’ Marcus.

The event airs live in the US on Spike TV and also features a four-man Heavyweight Qualification Tournament. The winner will earn a spot in the division’s next Heavyweight Contender Tournament, with the winner of that tournament getting a shot at Rico Verhoeven’s belt.

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