Adegbuyi Rallies Late, Topples Silva in Glory 38 SuperFight Series Undercard Main Event
Glory No. 1 heavyweight contender Benjamin Adegbuyi likely earned
himself another crack at current champion Rico Verhoeven by
surviving a slow start and getting rocked in the second from a high
kick. The Romanian stormed to life in the third and knocked
Anderson “Braddock” Silva off his feet after drilling him with
sinister inside low kick. It was a somewhat controversial call on
referee Chris Wagner’s part as the decision cost Silva the win.
When the initial three rounds were complete, the fight was declared a majority draw when one of the judges’ score of 29-27 in favor of Adegbuyi was overturned by a 28-28 tab by the other two. Glory’s sudden death round rule was enacted and Silva, who was gassed badly in the third, couldn’t muster enough strength to win. Adegbuyi laced the Brazilian with a wicked right uppercut on the inside, sending him sprawling into the ropes and down on a knee. From there, Adegbuyi tore into his foe with kicks to the body and legs and easily won the frame 10-8 on all three cards.
One of the most exciting heavyweights in the world was at his best
as Catalin “The Carpathian Death” Morosanu swarmed the much taller
Maurice Greene and knocked him out in the second. Morosanu was
relentless with his offense as he continuously goaded the
Minnesotan into close-quarters brawls throughout and his strategy
paid off. Almost as soon as the second frame began, Morosanu again
forced the larger man into a wild exchange and then floored him
with a leaping left hook to the jaw. Greene barely beat the count
and when he tried to tell referee Dave Smith that he was okay, he
was too wobbly on his legs. The fight ended on the spot, just 23
seconds into the stanza.
Welterweight contender Murthel Groenhart took one step closer to landing a shot at the Glory title by dominating Thai veteran Thongchai Sitsongpeenong. It was a nasty fight from the start as both men fought hard in the clinch, but it was Groenhart’s boxing that proved to be the difference. “The Predator” rocked Sitsongpeenong badly in the closing seconds of the opening round and after the Thai fighter losing a point for excessive clinching in the second, the Dutch bomber closed it out in the third. Groenhart dropped Sitsongpeenong with a dizzying flurry of punches to the head early in the frame and finished him off seconds later by felling him again with a similar combo. Referee Paul Nichols counted Sitsongpeenong out as he tried climbing back to his feet, the end officially coming at the 1:45 mark.
Chicago-based Mexican Daniel Morales got that 800-pound gorilla off his back as he finally scored his first Glory win. Morales was a step ahead of Polish foe Pawel Jedrzejczyk as he tore into him with uppercuts on the inside and peppered him with punches and kicks on the outside. Though every round was as close as ever with terrific back-and-forth action, it was Morales’ better strike output and cleaner punches that were the difference. Morales won a unanimous decision via tallies of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Niclas Larsen had been out of action for over three years due to a gruesome staph infection that nearly cost him his leg, but by watching him fight in the opening bout of the evening, one would never know. Larsen was elusive and effective against Poland’s Lukasz Plawecki as he picked him apart from the outside and out-brawled him on the inside. Plawecki had his legs wrecked by low kicks and his face was busted up from punches. The Dane showed no signs of rust and he won easily, landing a unanimous decision courtesy of scores of 30-27 across the board.
When the initial three rounds were complete, the fight was declared a majority draw when one of the judges’ score of 29-27 in favor of Adegbuyi was overturned by a 28-28 tab by the other two. Glory’s sudden death round rule was enacted and Silva, who was gassed badly in the third, couldn’t muster enough strength to win. Adegbuyi laced the Brazilian with a wicked right uppercut on the inside, sending him sprawling into the ropes and down on a knee. From there, Adegbuyi tore into his foe with kicks to the body and legs and easily won the frame 10-8 on all three cards.
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Welterweight contender Murthel Groenhart took one step closer to landing a shot at the Glory title by dominating Thai veteran Thongchai Sitsongpeenong. It was a nasty fight from the start as both men fought hard in the clinch, but it was Groenhart’s boxing that proved to be the difference. “The Predator” rocked Sitsongpeenong badly in the closing seconds of the opening round and after the Thai fighter losing a point for excessive clinching in the second, the Dutch bomber closed it out in the third. Groenhart dropped Sitsongpeenong with a dizzying flurry of punches to the head early in the frame and finished him off seconds later by felling him again with a similar combo. Referee Paul Nichols counted Sitsongpeenong out as he tried climbing back to his feet, the end officially coming at the 1:45 mark.
Chicago-based Mexican Daniel Morales got that 800-pound gorilla off his back as he finally scored his first Glory win. Morales was a step ahead of Polish foe Pawel Jedrzejczyk as he tore into him with uppercuts on the inside and peppered him with punches and kicks on the outside. Though every round was as close as ever with terrific back-and-forth action, it was Morales’ better strike output and cleaner punches that were the difference. Morales won a unanimous decision via tallies of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Niclas Larsen had been out of action for over three years due to a gruesome staph infection that nearly cost him his leg, but by watching him fight in the opening bout of the evening, one would never know. Larsen was elusive and effective against Poland’s Lukasz Plawecki as he picked him apart from the outside and out-brawled him on the inside. Plawecki had his legs wrecked by low kicks and his face was busted up from punches. The Dane showed no signs of rust and he won easily, landing a unanimous decision courtesy of scores of 30-27 across the board.