There was a lot on the line for both fighters coming into this one. Mourad Bouzidi (79-22-2) has enjoyed a resurgence in 2015 and rode a three-fight win streak into the encounter. In pre-fight interviews he talked about wanting a title shot if he came away from this fight with the win.
Danyo Ilunga (57-10-0) is the division's former #1 but found himself supplanted when Tyrone Spong and Gokhan Saki entered it in 2013/14. He has been desperate to get back to the top and get back into title contention but has found it difficult to achieve consistent form. At GLORY 25 MILAN in November he lost a decision to Artem Vakhitov. When orginal opponent Michael Duut pulled out of tonight's fight with Bouzidi due to injury, Ilunga stepped in on two weeks' notice to try and get a win before the end of the year.
That background translated into a tense start for this fight. With so much riding on the outcome, there was a little hesitancy in opening up. Exchanges would quickly find themselves smothered in a clinch, the referee having to step in repeatedly to break them up and remind the fighters that GLORY rules require clinches to be active, and limited to a few seconds.
The first round was rather inconclusive. The second was pivotal. At the start, Bouzidi sustained a bad cut in a clash of heads. The doctor was brought in to look at it but it was not felt to be affecting his vision and the fight was allowed to continue. When it did, they fell almost immediately back into a clinch. The referee compounded Bouzidi's woes by blaming him and deducting him one point, making it impossible for him to win the round without a knockdown.
Suddenly the war was on. The gameplan for Bouzidi changed to âKnockout, ASAPâ and Ilunga responded in kind, leading to several thrilling exchanges over the course of the round. Bouzidi knew he had to take Ilunga out and Ilunga was neither about to let that happen nor let Bouzidi have all the fun. They still fell into the clinch on occasion, but only because both were pressing forwards trying to do damage.
The fight suited Ilunga at range, where he seemed a little faster and a little sharper most of the time. But he couldn't keep Bouzidi there; 'The Silent Power' would press forwards and get into hooking range, where he wanted to land his powershots. The pattern continued into the third round. Halfway in, Bouzidi backed Ilunga into a corner and unloaded, with Ilunga swinging hard in return. This was the best exchange of the fight, a real crowd-pleasing moment which drew the biggest cheers of the night.
Both pushed hard for the finish but couldn't find it, which meant the judges had to decide. On the official counter, Bouzidi had outlanded Ilunga in meaningful strikes. But he had also been docked a point in the middle round. Had that cost him the fight?
As it turned out, no. But it came close. The judges returned a split-decision, two seeing it for Bouzidi and one for Ilunga. Still, a win is a win, and he now goes 4-0 in his last four. He used his post-fight speech to call for a title shot against the winner of Saulo Cavalari and Gokhan Saki, the latter's return having been announced during the broadcast. They will fight early in 2016 and Bouzidi has losses to both which he wants to avenge, as well as wanting the title.
Ilunga now goes 0-3 in his last three GLORY outings, 2-3 in his last five and 6-4 overall, a stark contrast to the four-fight win streak which started his GLORY career. It leaves him far from his goal of getting into title contention, though his high ranking position might still earn him entry to a contender tournament if one is staged in the near future.
Mourad Bouzidi def. Danyo Ilunga, Split-Decision, R3 (29-27 Bouzidi, 28-27 Ilunga, 29-27 Bouzidi)
