DENVER – GLORY, the world’s premier kickboxing league, today announced the finalized match-ups and bout order for both GLORY 37 Los Angeles and GLORY 37 SuperFight Series, kicking off the organization’s 2017 schedule on Friday, Jan. 20 at The Novo – part of the L.A. LIVE entertainment complex in Downtown Los Angeles.
The previously announced match-up between recently crowned featherweight world champion Robin “Pokerface” van Roosmalen (36-6, 20 KO) and dangerous challenger Matt “Matics” Embree (39-7, 18 KO) has been moved from the headline slot of one card – GLORY 37 Los Angeles – to the top spot of another – GLORY 37 SuperFight Series.
Now in its place, headlining GLORY 37 Los Angeles, is a middleweight main event featuring brand new middleweight champion, 25-year-old Dutch phenom Jason “Psycho” Wilnis (29-6-1, 8 KO) taking on New Zealand-based Israel “The Style Bender” Adesanya (65-3, 27 KO), a challenger whose exciting style and impressive resume have earned him a No. 3 ranking.
Wilnis captured his first GLORY title by defeating favorite and then-middleweight champion Simon Marcus at GLORY 33 New Jersey in September, one of the year’s biggest upsets. Adesanya paved his way to the title shot one month later at GLORY 34 Denver in October, navigating the four-man contender tournament, earning decision victories over Robert Thomas and Yousri Belgaroui on the same night.
In the co-headline bout of GLORY 37 Los Angeles, heavyweight knockout artist Guto Inocente (32-7, 17 KO) of Brazil, standing undefeated at 3-0 since joining the organization, will scrap with an opponent to be announced shortly.
The one-night, four-man Welterweight Contender Tournament rounds out GLORY 37 Los Angeles, pitting No. 3 ranked Swiss striker Yoann Kongolo (62-8, 45 KO) up against Russian muay thai stylist Konstantin Khuzin (7-2, 1 KO) in one semifinal bout, while French veteran Karim “Le Felin” Benmansour (47-6-2, 22 KO) meets GLORY newcomer Alan Scheinson of Argentina.
The complete five-fight card for GLORY 37 Los Angeles can be found below:
GLORY 37 Los Angeles
Middleweight Title Headline Bout: Jason Wilnis (c) vs. Israel Adesayna
Welterweight Tournament Final Bout: Winner of Bout A vs. Winner of Bout B
Heavyweight Co-Headline Bout: Guto Inocente vs. TBA
Welterweight Tournament Semifinal Bout B: Alan Scheinson vs. Karim Benmansour
Welterweight Tournament Semifinal Bout A: Yoann Kongolo vs. Konstantin Khuzin
GLORY 37 Los Angeles airs live on ESPN3 at 10 p.m. PT on Friday, Jan. 20, with a replay in primetime on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. PT on Sunday, Jan. 22.
Joining the featherweight title tilt between Van Roosmalen and Embree at GLORY 37 SuperFight Series are four big-time battles.
At heavyweight, Brazil’s Jhonata Diniz (8-5, 5 KO) returns to the GLORY ring for the first time since 2014, going toe-to-toe with 6’8″ bruiser Tomas “The Giant Slovak” Mozny(15-4-1, 6 KO).
San Deigo-based middleweight contender Mike Lemaire (18-3, 8 KO) faces mixed martial artist and kickboxer Warren “Destroyer” Thompson (11-8-1, 3 KO) of Atlanta.
Plus, California native Zoila “Warrior Princess” Frausto (4-0, 2 KO) debuts at Super Bantamweight against German boxer Daniela Graf (24-5-1, 2 KO), a rebooking of their bout that was scheduled for GLORY 33 New Jersey last September.
The night begins with featherweight action as Giga Chikadze (36-5, 21 KO), fighting out of Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, Calif. squares off with 23-year-old prospect Victor “Leo” Pinto (72-26, 22 KO), representing France and fighting out of Thailand for his much anticipated debut for GLORY.
The complete five-fight card for GLORY 37 SuperFight Series can be found below:
GLORY 37 SuperFight Series
Featherweight Title Headline Bout: Robin van Roosmalen (c) vs. Matt Embree
Heavyweight Co-Headline Bout: Jhonata Diniz vs. Tomas Mozny
Middleweight Bout: Mike Lemaire vs. Warren Thompson
Super Bantamweight Bout: Zoila Frausto vs. Daniela Graf
Featherweight Bout: Giga Chikadze vs. Victor Pinto
GLORY 37 SuperFight Series streams live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS at 7:30 p.m. PT on Friday, Jan. 20.
Tickets for GLORY 37 Los Angeles and GLORY 37 Super Fight Series are on sale now and are priced at $150, $120, $100, and $75. Tickets are available for purchase at AXS.com and at the STAPLES Center Box Office.
