Glory announces the lineup for the upcoming 70kg tournament starting in May – UPDATED

The sleeping giant of Muay Thai continues to rise. This past weekend legendary dutch fighters Bas Rutten, Ramon Dekkers, and Golden Glory head honcho Cor Hemmers, stepped into center ring at the Glory World Series “Zimmerman vs LeBanner” event to announce the lineup for an upcoming 70 kg/154 lb. tournament. The first round of the 16-man tournament will take place May 26th in Sweden and will also feature a few heavyweight superfights starring the likes of Semmy Schilt, Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman, and Sergei Kharitonov. Like the K-1 tournaments of old, the 16 fighters will fight in order to be narrowed down to a final pool of 8 fighters. In the end the last man standing will take home a check for 300,000 U.S. Dollars.

For our American fans, possibly the most exciting part of Glory World Series announcement was that among the names that are scheduled to fight at this 16-man tournament are two rising American stars: Michael Corley (will replace Chaz Mulkey) and Ky Hollenbeck. Hollenbeck and Corley will no doubt have their hands full as the other names that make up the current roster for the event feature a who’s who of kickboxing talent.

The line-up as of the announcement is as follows:

1. Giorgio Petrosyan (Italy)
2. Ky Hollenbeck (USA)
3. Michael Corley (USA)
4. Dzhabar Askerov (Russia)
5. Yoshihiro Sato (Japan)
6. Robin van Roosmalen (Netherlands)
7. Fabio Pinca (France)
8. Nonsai Sor. Sanyakorn (Thailand)
9. Alex Vogel (Germany)
10. Denis Schneidmiller (Germany)
11. Maxim Vyrovsky (Russia)
12. Mohammed El-Mir (Denmark)

As we mentioned earlier their are still 4 spots that are yet to be filled and as with any fighting event, the lineup may change come fight time. However, we truly hope that the lineup stays as is because it could eventually make way for some very interesting match-ups. I would definitely love to see a Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Ky Hollenbeck clash?! Or how about Fabio Pinca vs. Giorgio Petrosyan? The possibilities are endless! I would have to say that the favorite to win the tournament would have to be Giorgio Petrosyan but in a tournament such as this, anything can happen. Especially when you have a hard hitting spoiler like Robin van Roosmalen in the mix. Either way, this is one event we will not miss!

UPDATES – The prelim bouts for the Glory World Series tournament have been set!

GLORY World Series First 16
May 26, 2012
Stockholm, Sweden

70kg tournament fights:
Giorgio Petrosyan (Italy) vs Fabio Pinca (France)
Max Vorovski (Estonia) vs Sanny Dahlbeck (Sweden)
Robin van Roosmalen (Netherlands) vs Dzhabar Askerov (Russia)
Ky Hollenback (USA) vs Michael Corley (USA)
Yoshihiro Sato (Japan) vs Shemsi Beqiri (Switserland)
Dennis Schneidmiller (Germany) vs Qi Chenglong (China)
Kem Sitsongpeenong (Thailand) vs Cosmo Alexandre (Brasil)
Albert Kraus (Netherlands) vs Mohamed El Mir (Denmark)

Super Fights:
Nieky Holzken vs Alex Harris (Sweden)
Semmy Schilt (Netherlands) vs Errol Zimmerman (Curacao)

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