In the GLORY 23 SUPERFIGHT SERIES main event, Jamal Ben Saddik scored a huge comeback victory over Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva in front of a packed Las Vegas crowd at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Despite being outweighed by around 60lbs, Silva dominated the first two rounds, showing great speed and head movement. Ben Saddik wasn’t able to get his shots through early on, with Silva outlanding him in most exchanges.
However, everything changed in the final round, thanks to the big right hand of the Moroccan. Ben Saddik scored two devastating knockdowns, and despite a wobbly Silva reaching a standing eight count with just five seconds of the fight left, Steve Mazzagatti waved off the fight.
Ben Saddik, 25, has now won all three of his last GLORY appearances by stoppage, and could definitely be in for a chance of facing champion Rico Verhoeven at some point later this year, should GLORY elect him to bypass the Contender Tournament.
With that loss, ‘Braddock’ slips to his second GLORY defeat in a row, and yet again finds himself out of contention.
Matt Baker scored a unanimous decision over Edward Hyman in a Middleweight Qualification Tournament reserve bout. It was a slow paced fight, with both Baker and Hyman showing decent striking. Team Black’s Baker got the judges’ nod, with his combinations the key to victory.
Brit Chad ‘2Slick’ Sugden scored the biggest win of his career, picking up the split win over Murthel Groenhart in a very close match-up. Groenhart started the fight with good control of the ring, he used his reach to keep Sugden on the outside without too much trouble.
Although, in the second and third rounds Sugden became content with fighting on the outside, and started to land some excellent counter striking on Groenhart. It was a tough fight, but Sugden’s speed and illusiveness helped him towards a huge upset in Las Vegas.
26 year-old Anvar Boynazarov opened up the GLORY SuperFight Series with a split decision win over Giga Chikadze. It was a back and forth affair, with both men having moments of dominance. Georgian Chikadze opened the fight the brighter, throwing a lot of unorthodox kicks, including a dragon sweep and an axe kick.
However he faded over the next two rounds with Boynazarov landing the harder, more constant shots.
Photo – GLORY Sports International
