On Friday, July 14, GLORY Kickboxing returned to North America for GLORY 43: New York which took place from the The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The night’s main card featured a heavyweight clash between two of the division’s best as Romanian Benjamin Adegbuyi locked horns with Brazilian Guto Inocente. Adegbuyi is currently listed as the promotion’s No. 1 contender and was riding a three-fight winning streak. Inocente saw a lengthy winning streak snapped in March, as he fell by decision to Jamal Ben Saddik.
Also taking place on the main card was a one-night, four-man featherweight tournament. In one half of the ladder, knockout artist Giga Chikadze took on Russia’s Aleksei Ulianov, while American Kevin Vannostrand met Road to GLORY winner Mo Abdurahman in the other side of the bracket.
The night’s SuperFight Series featured an interim light heavyweight title affair between former light heavyweight champion Saulo Cavalari and Ukrainian Pavel Zhuravlev.
Also in action was the women’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Anissa Meksen, who made her promotional debut against Brazilan Jady Menezes.
The action kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET with the SuperFight Series streaming live on UFC Fight Pass. The main card moved to ESPN 2 and ESPN3 at 10 p.m. ET.
Kevin Vannostrand def. Giga Chikadze by unanimous decision (30-26×3) – featherweight tournament final
Elvis Gashi def. Josh Jauncey by TKO (three knockdowns). Round 2, 2:59
Kevin Vannostrand def. Mo Abdurahman by TKO (two knockdowns in one round). Round 1, 1:52 – featherweight tournament semifinal
Giga Chikadze def. Aleksei Ulianov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – featherweight tournament semifinal
Pavel Zhuravlev def. Saulo Cavalari by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28) – for interim light heavyweight title
Bailey Sugden def. Arthur Sorsor by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Joe Taylor def. Ariel Sepulveda by TKO (three knockdowns). Round 2, 2:55
Anissa Meksen def. Jady Menezes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Itay Gershon def. Rafal Dudek by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
Chenchen Li def. Terrance Hill by knockout (overhand right). Round 1, 1:45