GLORY 23: Las Vegas - Preview and predictions

Glory is back in the fighting capital of the worldOn Friday, Aug. 7 (Aug, 8. 6:30 am IST), GLORY heads to Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas for its 23rd event. In the main event, the promotion’s vacant welterweight title is on the line when Dutchman Nieky Holzken rematches American Raymond Daniels. Also on the main card, there will be a four-man, middleweight tournament featuring four American fighters that will reward the winner with a future contender tournament slot.The card will feature a great Super fight series, which has all the potential to outshine the main card.Here is our preview of the Main Card and predictions for the entire GLORY 23: SUPERFIGHT SERIES :Anderson Silva Defeats Jamal Ben Saddik via Decision.Murthel Groenhart Defeats Chad Sugden via Decision.Matt Baker Defeats Edward Hyman via KO/TKO. Giga Chikadze Defeats Anvar Boynazarov via Decision.

#1 MW Tournament Semifinal: Dustin Jacoby (4-6) vs. Ariel Sepulveda (4-1)

Jacoby showcasing his Kickboxing skills

In the first half of MW qualification tourney, UFC, Bellator and Glory veteran Dustin Jacoby will face another MMA veteran in Sepulveda. Sepulveda was a jiu-jitsu fighter and despite being very powerful, he is new to kickboxing thus Jacoby will enjoy far superior striking advantage along with being more experienced out of the two.

Don’t let Jacoby’s poor Glory record fool you as he is constantly improving and not only will he enjoy the height and reach advantage over Sepulveda but is more athletic as well. He will showcase his fullkickboxing skills in this fight and punch his ticket to the Tournament final in stlye.

Prediction: Jacoby wins via TKO.

#2 MW Tournament Semifinal: Casey Greene (2-4) vs. Quinton OBrien (2-0)

Brien pouring it on Sepulveda

One more MMA fighter fighting on this card is Casey Greene who will welcome O’Brien to Glory ring in the second half of the tournament. Both are relatively new to the sport but Green already has two glory fights under his belt. Green struggled against a more technical counterpart in Lemaire in his last outing in which he showed tremendous heart and an iron chin.

O’Brien is more technical out of the two and is perfect to exploit Green’s weakness. He is fast, has better movement and uses leg kicks well in his game. He already has a victory over his tournament counterpart in Sepulveda as well, which makes him a pretty obvious choice to move on to the finals of the tournament.

Prediction: Brien wins via Decision.

#3 Xavier Vigney (8-1) vs. Daniel Sam (25-10)

Vigney after winning Glory 21 tournament

Vigney proved that he could be the next big thing by winning Glory 21 and upsetting Lewis Parry. He is tall, powerful and accurate. He outdoes his opponent by always showing better conditioning and cardio which is a big factor in HW division. Sam is also a very big and talented but he has struggled in the Glory promotion with scoring only one win with them.

I think this will be an easy outing for Vigney despite Sam having the experience edge. Vigney is taller, more athletic, and have better cardio. He will use his movement and leg kicks to restrict Sam’s movement and take over the fight when Sam fades away later in the fight.

Prediction: Vigney wins via TKO.

#4 MW Tournament Final (Predicted): Dustin Jacoby vs. Quinton OBrien

Jacoby Won the Road to Glory Tournament and will most likely win Glory 23 MW tournament as well.

Despite Brien holding a technical edge and probably is a better striker out of the two, it’s the experience of Jacoby that I am counting on to claim this tournament. Brien could very well spoil Jacoby’s party, but I think Jacoby has shown good improvements in his game in the ring with every outing and he should be a favorite to win this tournament.

Prediction: Jacoby wins via Decision.

#5 Nieky Holzken (86-11) vs. Raymond Daniels (27-2)

Nieky Holzken after knocking down Raymond Daniels at GLORY 19

Last time these two fought, the karate stylist Daniels fell short in the GLORY 19 tournament final, suffering a TKO against Nieky Holzken. And it’s hard to envision this fight going any different from the first fight as Holzken figured out Daniels game the first time they met after Daniel had some initial success and he will do it again.

Despite Daniel possessing great kicks and an unpredictable game, Holzken is more technical and will exploit Daniels defensive gaps and stop him later in the fight thus claiming the vacant Glory WW title in the process.

Prediction: Holzken wins via TKO.