Artem Levin will defend his Middleweight title against Joe Schilling; the pair’s third clash, at GLORY 24: Denver on October 9.
MMA PLUS look at four other GLORY kickboxing trilogies that need to happen.
GLORY CEO Jon Franklin described it as ‘a trilogy fight we needed to make happen’ with both kickboxers each holding a win to their name.
It was ‘Stitch Em Up’ who picked up the victory in their first encounter, with a unanimous decision in September 2013, after the fight went to an extension round of the GLORY 10 four-man tournament final.
However, it was the Russian, Levin who scored the decisive win to capture the GLORY Middleweight gold, when he defeated Schilling on points in the final of the eight-man GLORY: Last Man Standing tournament in June of 2014.
After over a year of touting a third match, they will finally square off at the Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado.
4. Gokhan Saki vs. Tyrone Spong
One of the more improbable on the list due to their ongoing contract disputes, but still intriguing.
Their first encounter, at K-1 World GP 2009 in Yokohama, where Saki decisively knocked out Spong with a right hook in an extension round.
Saki and Spong would meet again, five years later at GLORY 15: Istanbul, in the Light-Heavyweight tournament final, but it would be a memorable reunion for an unfortunate reason.
In the opening round, Saki checked Spong’s leg kick, causing a fracture to the Surinam’s lower right leg, a heartbreaking ending.
With such an upsetting finish last time out, and taking into account Spong’s popularity in combat sports, alongside Saki’s established status, a trilogy has the colour green written all over it.
3. Nieky Holzken vs. Raymond Daniels
They have fought each other twice in 2015, so a trilogy fight may be a while off, but with their exciting styles, a third match between the dynamic duo is highly likely.
Despite two consecutive wins for Nieky Holzken, their fight at GLORY 23: Las Vegas left a desire to see both men fight again after a cut over Daniels’s left eyelid forced an end to the fight.
Although, we saw a much more developed Raymond Daniels, whose boxing looked to have improved significantly from their first collision in Virginia.
Holzken won the first fight at GLORY 19 by four knockdowns, as he closed down the space on Daniels to showcase his brutal dirty boxing style.
The rematch however, looked a much different affair. Many people had Daniels winning the first round; and potentially the second, before a beautifully timed Holzken knee ended the fight’s momentum.
The third fight may not be much different, but the promising start to the second fight from Daniels leaves the door open for trilogy down the line.
2. Robin van Roosmalen vs. Andy Ristie
Robin van Roosmalen and Andy Ristie, two of the best Lightweights GLORY has to offer. They have fought twice under the GLORY banner, with two very different outcomes.
One of the biggest shocks in GLORY history; Ristie knocked out the legendary Giorgio Petrosyan in the GLORY 12 Lightweight World Championship Tournament, Semi Finals.
He would go on to face RvR in the finals, where again Ristie would score another KO. Ristie’s performance in New York will go down as one of the greatest ever one night tournament runs in kickboxing history.
However, ‘The Machine’ was not able to capitalise on this momentum, losing to Davit Kiria at GLORY 14: Zagreb in the 2014 Fight of the Year.
Meanwhile, van Roosmalen would go on to defeat Marat Grigorian before beating Kiria in Oklahoma to win the Lightweight gold.
This set up the rematch at GLORY 20: Dubai, an underwhelming affair for the Surinam. ‘Pokerface’ dominated the fight, with Ristie’s cardio again being brought into question.
A trilogy match could be of interest, but it really depends which Ristie shows up to fight.
1. Artem Levin vs. Simon Marcus
The unqualified number one on the list, Artem Levin vs. Simon Marcus III will be pending upon the outcome of the GLORY 24 main event.
The Russian and Canadian first met under Muay Thai rules, at Lion Fight 9 in 2013. It was Levin who came out on top, winning the Lion Fight Light-Heavyweight title in the process.
They would meet again; this time in GLORY, in a controversial match-up. Levin elected to hit and move throughout the fight, but it seemed that ‘Bad Bwoy’ was the one who landed the cleaner strikes over five rounds.
When Tim Hughes read the judges’ scores, it left the San Diego crowd shocked, with a majority draw being called for the fight than many believed Marcus had won.
With the big question still remaining, Levin/Marcus three is a no brainer should the Russian escape Denver the champion.
Do you agree with the fights on this list? Leave a comment down below or join in the debate on Twitter @MMAPLUS.
