Featherweight rematch Giga Chikadze vs. Anvar Boynazarov has been announced as the co-headline bout for GLORY 27 Chicago at the Sears Centre Arena on Feb. 26.
GLORY 27 Chicago will air live in the United States on ESPN3 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT from Hoffman Estates, Ill., headlined by the rubber match between Artem “The Lion” Levin and Simon “Bad Bwoy” Marcus. A broadcast partner has yet to be announced for the United Kingdom.
Also official for GLORY 27 is the Middleweight Contender Tournament which will feature reconstructing New Yorker Wayne Barrett (5-4, 4 KO) against No. 6 ranked Canadian prodigy Robert “White Dragon” Thomas (8-3, 5 KO). The second semi-final, a rematch between Colorado’s multi-sport (No. 3) Dustin “The Hanyak” Jacoby (7-6, 5 KO) and Muay Thai veteran Mike Lemaire (17-2, 8 KO).
After a slew of stacked tournaments in Europe last year, this contender line-up comes as a slight disservice to what GLORY wonderfully built in the latter half of 2015. With Joe Schilling venturing away from GLORY for the foreseeable future, the promotion continue in their search for a top North American star, which is depicted in the somewhat underwhelming tournament brackets.
A Featherweight Rewind: Chikadze vs. Uzbeck I
The co-headline bout however, is super match making from Cor Hemmers and the GLORY Kickboxing team. When Chikadze (33-4, 20 KO) and Boynazarov (80-21-2, 45 KO) first met at GLORY 23 Las Vegas in August, many expected the exuberant Chikadze to force past “The Uzbek” on his way to Featherweight prominence.
Nevertheless, it was a much more intriguing fight, with the muay thai world champion excellent in his approach to close down the Georgian. It was a close affair, but as Kings MMA’s Chikadze tired, Boynazarov invoked consistent shots to earn himself the judge’s decision; albeit a split verdict.
The redux should present itself equally compelling, with undoubtedly higher stakes for both men this time around.
Full GLORY 27 CHICAGO Card
Middleweight Title Headline Bout: Artem Levin (c) vs. Simon Marcus
Middleweight Tournament Final Bout: Winner of Bout A vs. Winner of Bout B
Featherweight Co-Headline Bout: Giga Chikadze vs. Anvar Boynazarov
Middleweight Tournament Semi-Final Bout B: Dustin Jacoby vs. Mike Lemaire
Middleweight Tournament Semi-Final Bout A: Wayne Barrett vs. Robert Thomas
Additional match-ups for GLORY SuperFight Series Chicago, taking place the same night as GLORY 27 Chicago and aired on CBS Sports Network, will be announced at a later date.
