GLORY Kickboxing returned to Copenhagen, Denmark on Saturday, April 29, for GLORY 40: Copenhagen.
In the evening’s headliner, GLORY middleweight champion Jason Wilnis put his belt on the line against former champion Simon Marcus. The pair had met twice previously, with Marcus edging Wilnis on the scorecards in the first meeting at GLORY 20: Dubai. Wilnis won the title when he stopped Marcus in the third round at GLORY 33: New Jersey to even the score. The Dutchman attempted to defend his title for the second time in the rubber match of this middleweight rivalry.
The next shot at the middleweight title was decided when four fighters competed in a one-night middleweight contender tournament. In the semifinals, top-10 middleweight Alex Pereira took on Sweden’s Burim Rama and rising middleweight prospect Yousri Belgaroui met Croatia’s Agron Preteni. Brazil’s Pereira previously won a GLORY middleweight contender tournament at GLORY 14 with wins over former title challenger Dustin Jacoby and Sahak Parparyan.
In the rest of the night’s action, Denmark’s Niclas Larsen defended his home turf against Thailand’s Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai. Former top-10 lightweight Josh Jauncey looked to end his two-fight skid inside the promotion against Spanish bruiser Antonio Gomez. GLORY 30 welterweight contender tournament winner Richard Abraham took on England’s Road to GLORY U.K. tournament winner Jamie Bates. Lastly, one of Denmark’s most experienced kickboxers, Mohammed El-Mir, looked for his first win inside the GLORY ring when he fights the debuting Norwegian Simon Santana.
The Super Fight Series streamed live and free at 1 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass. The main event aired at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN 2 and ESPN 3.
Yousri Belgaroui def. Alex Pereira by unanimous decision (30-27 x5) – middleweight tournament final
Niclas Larsen def. Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Alex Pereira def. Burim Rama by TKO (three-knockdown rule). Round 3, 1:42- middleweight tournament semifinal
Yousri Belgaroui def. Agron Preteni by unanimous decision (30-26 x5) – middleweight tournament semifinal
Jamie Bates def. Richard Abraham by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mohammed El-Mir def. Simon Santana by unanimous decision (29-28 x5)
Freddy Kemayo def. Imad Hadar by TKO (punches). Round 2, 2:21
Josh Jauncey def. Antonio Gomez by TKO (doctor’s stoppage due to cut). Round 2, 1:05
Yuhang Xie def. Chris Mauceri by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)