Glory 24 Denver: Review and results

Glory 24 was an entertaining affair

Glory went back to Denver for its 24th edition. While the crowd turnout was somewhat disappointing, the card did not disappoint at all. It was fun and full of highlight reel finishes.

In the main event of the evening, Joe schilling returned to Glory Kickboxing and defeated Jason Wilnis. The surprise of the night was when Dustin Jacoby got the biggest win of his career when he knocked out Wayne Barnet in the third round. Benjamin Adegbuyi defeated Jahfarr Wilnis in a very close yet entertaining bout to win the Glory 24 Heavyweight contender tournament.

Glory 24 Key Highlights:-

• The Superfight Series was very entertaining, full of eye-catching action and had many notable debuts inside the Glory ring. Middleweight Zack Wells was the standout fighter, who looked a very promising striker with his 1st round KO over Chris Trammel.
• Wayne Barrett’s loss to Justin Jacoby was the 4th in his last four fights. He is clearly on the down stretch of his career as he looked completely lost and totally uninterested in the fight. Jacoby’s unexpected rise continues and his improvements are clearly evident. Jacoby dropped Barnett with a clean left hook to win the fight via KO in the third round.
• The main event was turning out to be an even competition before the fight was waved off due to a foot injury at the end of the second round. Schilling started strong in this fight outmatching Wilnis and shutting down his offense. Schilling showed some strong and active distance work to keep Wilnis at bay in round one.
• In round two, Schilling seemed to know precisely which attacks to use depending on the angle and distance of Wilnis. He scored a knockdown, but Wilnis showed heart and not only recovered, but rocked schilling with a right hand. Since then, Schilling was in survival mode against the ropes while Wilnis was all over him at the end of the round. It was a shame that the fight, which was at a great point, ended with the injury.

HeavyWeight "Contender" tournament

• Semifinal #1: In The first semifinal, Jahfarr Wilnis defeated Ben Edwards via TKO. Edwards, who took a break from kickboxing looked slow and didn't make any impact whatsoever. Wilnis kept the pressure on the left leg of Edwards to score two knockdowns which eventually led to the fight being stopped in the second round.
• Semifinal #2: No. 1 ranked Benjamin Adegbuyi defeated Mladen Brestovac via TKO in a very entertaining Heavyweight showdown. The bout was very competitive at the initial part and both had their moments of success as they tried to match each other shot by shot.
• But as the fight progressed Adegbuyi took over as he was the better and the more powerful striker of the two. His leg kicks made the difference in the fight especially in the 3rd round as Adegbuyi focused his attacks completely on Brestovac’s legs. Adegbuyi dropped Brestovac with leg kicks and eventually got the TKO as he continued to batter Brestovac’s already injured legs.
• Final: The Final was a super close fight between Jahfarr Wilnis and Benjamin Adegbuyi. Both had noteworthy moments of success in the fight. They kept trading shots throughout the bout, refusing to give any edge to each other. Wilnis clearly won the third round, but round one and two were neck and neck.
• It was a back and forth battle between two heavy-hitters who displayed a complete arsenal of shots. While most people, including me, thought Wilnis should have edged out a decision, the judges thought otherwise and handed Adegbuyi the win via split decision. In the end, Wilnis did lose but fans were the real winners here.

• Glory 24 Results:-

• Joe Schilling def Jason Wilnis via TKO RD 2 (3:00)
• Heavyweight "contender" final: Benjamin Adegbuyi def Jahfarr Wilnis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Dustin Jacoby def Wayne Barrett via KO RD 3 TKO (1:40)
• Heavyweight semi-final: Benjamin Adegbuyi def Mladen Brestovac via RD3 TKO (1:47)
• Heavyweight semi-final: Jahfarr Wilnis def Ben Edwards via TKO RD 2 (1:36)

Glory 24 Superfight Results:-

• Robert Thomas def David Radeef via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Casey Greene def Francois Ambang via KO RD (1:38)
• Kevin Vannostrong def Justin Houghton via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Zack Wells def Chris Trammel RD 1 KO (1:56)
• Jason Lee def Steve Paprocki via RD2 KO (2:59)