On Friday, Oct. 21, GLORY kickboxing returned to the Mile High City for GLORY 34: Denver.Ā The eventĀ tookĀ place from theĀ 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo.
In the night’s main event, GLORY welterweight champion Nieky Holzken met rival Murthel Groenhart for a third time. The pair first met in 2010 with Holzken earning a narrow decision win after an extension round. They rematched at GLORY 26: AmsterdamĀ late last year with the Dutchman Holzken again escaping with a win on the scorecards. Since then, Holzken had defended his belt againstĀ Yoann Kongolo. Groenhart, meanwhile, had been very active, both in and out of the GLORY ring. The 30-year-old earned a third crack at Holzken after besting bothĀ Karim Benmansour and the aforementioned Kongolo at GLORY 31 to capture the welterweight contender tournament.
Also on the night’s main card, former middleweight champion Simon Marcus returned to rematch former title challenger Dustin Jacoby. That bout was be joined by a one-night, four-man middleweight contender tournament. In one half of the ladder, New Zealand’sĀ Israel Adesanya took on Canada’s Robert Thomas, while promotional newcomerĀ Yousri Belgaroui took on Brazilian Ariel Machado.
Finally, in the SuperFight Series headliner, featherweight champion Gabriel Varga looked to defend his belt against former lightweight titleholder Robin van Roosmalen.
The GLORY 34 SuperFight Series kicked off Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass. The GLORY 34 main card streamed live at midnight ET on ESPN 3.
Israel Adesanya def. Yousri Belgaroui winner by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) – middleweight tournament final
Simon Marcus def. Dustin Jacoby by TKO (broken arm). Round 2, 0:01
Israel Adesanya def. Robert Thomas by unanimous decision (30-25, 29-26, 30-25) – middleweight tournament semifinal
Yousri Belgaroui def. Ariel Machado by unanimous decision (29-28 x3) – middleweight tournament semifinal
Robin van Roosmalen def. Gabriel Varga by TKO (corner stoppage). Round 4, 3:00 – for featherweight title
Saulo Cavalari def. Brian Douwes by unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
Tongchai Sitsongpeenong def. Casey Greene by knockout (punch). Round 2, 2:58
Richard Abraham def. Michael Mathetha by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Justin Houghton def. Jonathon Wyderko by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Danny Mitchell def. Joe Rodriguez by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
LT Nelson def. Justin Moss Ā by TKO (corner stoppage). Round 3, 1:44
Dan Wilson def. Carl Rogers by unanimous decision (29-28. 30-27, 29-28)
Sean Madden def. Will Baisley by unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
Michael Abad Santos def. Noufel Al Kasri by unanimous decision (30-26 x 3)