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On Friday, April 3, GLORY will host its 20th event from the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The stacked Glory card will feature two title fights in the main & co-main event of the evening along with a four men middleweight contender tournament, whose winner earns a shot at champion Artem Levin at Glory 21 on May 8.Here is my Preview of the Main Card & predictions for the entire GLORY 20: PRELIMINARY CARD :Eisa Al Dah Defeats Cesar Soriano via Decision.Saulo Cavalari Defeats Artem Vakhitov via KO/TKO.Mourad Bouzidi Defeats Dustin Jacoby via Decision.Chi Lewis-Parry Defeats Yong-Soo Park via via KO/TKO.Samir Boukhidous Defeats Mikhail Chalykh via Decision. Chad Sugden Defeats Atakan Arslan via Decision.Max Baumert Defeats Anatoly Moiseev via Decision. Main CARD (Spike TV, 9 PM ET):
#1 MW Tournament Semifinal: Wayne Barrett (5-3) vs. Simon Marcus (40-2-1)
The American Barrett seemed to be future champion material after winning his first four bouts under the GLORY banner, but has now lost two straight. Canada’s Marcus is in the same boat, suffering the only two losses of his career in the last year. They both need this win. It's also an incredibly tough fight to call. If Marcus has learned from his losses and can make the needed adjustments to his game, he can perhaps be the best Middleweight in the world. If Barrett can similarly learn and adapt, he can be a future champion.
Barrett is the former Georgia Golden Gloves champion, a tremendous athlete with experience in karate and Muay Thai & possess lethal knockout power. Whereas, As a Muay Thai fighter, there are few people more dangerous than Marcus. He excels under Thai rules and holds wins over some of the sport’s best . Yet, under GLORY rules, Marcus has yet to perform to the best of his ability.
Marcus could capitalize on the weaknesses of Barret that Wilnis exploited & can claim the win on the scorecards but i think Barrett will come motivated, lands those heavy punches, and puts Marcus down.
Prediction: Barret wins via KO.
#2 MW Tournament Semifinal: Jason Wilnis (23-4-1) vs. Alex Pereira (17-2)
The second semifinal of the tournament features a rematch between Holland’s Wilnis and Brazil’s Pereira. The pair met previously in 2012 under the It’s Showtime banner, with Wilnis earning a second-round TKO via leg kicks stoppage in Brazil. . Pereira has made significant improvements since then, while Wilnis showed against Barrett that he has matched those improvements as well. The 23-year-old Wilnis has had mixed results in the GLORY ring, besting Toshio Matsumoto and the aforementioned Wayne Barrett, but dropping decisions to champion Artem Levin and Sahak Parparyan. His performance against Barrett was his most complete performance to date. Pereira, meanwhile, is a strong finisher. The 6-foot-4, Brazilian is gifted with an 80-inch reach that allows him to control range and attack from anywhere. He captured the GLORY 14 middleweight contender tournament with wins over Dustin Jacoby and Parparyan, but fell to Champ Levin in the opening round of the Last Man Standing tournament last June.
In a match-up where one fighter is seeking revenge and wants a quick finish, look for Pereira to attack Wilnis early but If Wilnis settles in, he could repeat his performance from 2012 as he can match the boxing of Pereira, and use his leg kicks to make the difference, but I doubt lightning will strike the same place twice.
Prediction: Pereira wins via TKO.
#3 MW Tournament Final (Prediction): Alex Pereira (17-2) vs. Wayne Barrett (5-3)
If things play out as predicted above, the tournament final has the makings of a barn burner. And it will be interesting to see if either fighter can make it through their opening round bouts unscathed.
Should Barrett come out of his bout with Marcus without damage, it’ll be his unorthodox kickboxing, his karate style fighting & Lethal KO power that will be his biggest weapon against the Brazilian. Undoubtedly, he’s watched how Wilnis and Levin were able to best Pereira previously. For Pereira, if his legs hold up against Wilnis, he’ll have to be even more guarded against powerful fighter Barrett. However, he’ll once again have height and reach on his side. If he can force Barrett to back straight up instead of circling, he’ll find openings for heavy shots.
This is very close tournament with four hungry fighters, who desperately wants that shot at the title. Yet when it’s all said and done, I expect Barrett to Defeat Pereira in the final and claim the tournament crown.
Prediction: Barrett wins via Decision.
#4 FW Championship: Mosab Amrani (51-8-4) vs. Gabriel Varga (25-2)
GLORY will crown its first featherweight world champion as contender tournament winner Gabriel Varga faces the tough Mosab Amrani. The Canadian Varga, with his karate style fighting, eased through the contender tournament at GLORY 17, decisioning both Tourney favorites Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai and Shane Oblonsky in the finals. What stood out about Varga’s performance was his ability to pour it on late when his opponent was tired. Amrani is one of the most technically brutal fighters at featherweight, with a 3-1 record which includes a big knockout body shot win over UK’s #1 thai boxer Liam Harrison back at GLORY 5. Amrani didn’t set foot in the GLORY ring in 2014, but has scored wins in three of his four appearances with the organization. He’s the more powerful puncher of the pair, but doesn’t land with a lot of volume.
There are two things that are going to decide this fight: range and cardio. Varga is the taller fighter and he controls range well. Amrani presents a stern challenge for Varga, but just like he overcame the odds in Los Angeles, he should pull through in Dubai if he elects to strike and move against the powerful Moroccan. Varga’s performance in June was impressive and if he can build on that, he’ll leave Dubai with GLORY gold around his waist.
Prediction: Varga wins via Decision.
#5 LW Championship: Robin van Roosmalen (33-6) vs. Andy Ristie (44-4-1)
The main event will see Robin van Roosmalen defends his lightweight gold in a rematch against Andy Ristie over a year in the making. Ristie, at GLORY 12 in New York, knocked out the two best lightweights on the planet in van Roosmalen and Giorgio Petrosyan. The rise of the ‘machine’ was in full swing until he came up against lion hearted Davit Kiria at GLORY 14 Zagreb, losing his belt in the fifth round when the Croatian Kiria delivered a comeback knockout while, after a less than impressive win over Marat Grigorian at GLORY 15, van Roosmalen received a title shot at GLORY 19: Virginia against Kiria, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands & show the world what he is capable of with a dominating performance to win the championship
Ristie is on a path of destruction and the 33-year-old has already proven he can finish van Roosmalen. Even though the Dutchman Roosmalen holds the belt, he’s the one who has to prove that he’s not a paper champion. If van Roosmalen wants to defend his gold he will need to avoid getting in a fist-fight with Ristie. The Dutch striker has a style which allows him to avoid taking too much damage, and his naivety in the first Ristie match saw him try and go toe-to-toe with with Ristie, which proved to b a mistake. This fight pits two of the most aggressive lightweights in the world against each other and if history holds true, it will be Ristie’s ability to go for the kill that earns him victory and the title he’s been seeking. Ristie will push forward and look to apply pressure on champion, and if he can do it successfully then it is his fight to lose.
Prediction: Ristie wins via KO.
