Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley will make his GLORY kickboxing debut against Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1 on September 19 from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
The first Bellator DYNAMITE event will see a Bellator MMA cage and GLORY kicboxing ring under one roof, with the entire event headlined by Liam McGeary defending his Belaltor MMA Light-Heavyweight title against veteran Tito Ortiz.
As for Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley’s involvement on the show, Bellator MMA President Scott Coker said: “Daley and Gonzalez are two incredible strikers in our welterweight division, and we’re looking forward to seeing them lay it on the line with Glory gloves on their hands. It would be great to see the winner of this fight take on Glory’s welterweight champ Nieky Holzken in the future.”
GLORY CEO Jon Franklin stated: “We’re thrilled to have athletes the caliber of Daley and Gonzalez testing their striking inside the ring.” He added, “we’re expecting fireworks.”
Gonzalez, although not strictly a kickboxer, has plenty of experience in the realms of boxing and muay thai, including a WBC National Muay Thai Cruiserweight to his name.
The Californian fighter has been on a tear since signing for Bellator mid-2014. He is 4-0 in the promotion, and holds wins over Karl Amoussou, Karo Parisyan, Marius Zaromskis and more recently Curtis Millender.
It’s a bit of a weird match-up for ‘Semtex’, especially with current Welterweight champion Nieky Holzken calling for him, and Daley already holding a knockout victory over the No. 2 ranked Alexander Stetcurenko in 2014.
31 year-old Gonzalez provides Daley with a limited risk opportunity to help his stocks rise in both Bellator MMA and GLORY. A win over the well standing ‘The Menifee Maniac’ will further his claim for a Bellator title shot, whilst also potentially putting Daley in contention for a fight with Holzken later this year.
Also on the GLORY portion of DYNAMITE 1, Zack Mwekassa (13-2, 12 KO) and Saulo Cavalari (31-2, 19 KO) battle for the vacant GLORY Light-Heavyweight championship and Gabriel Varga (26-2, 8 KO) defends his featherweight title against challenger Serhiy Adamchuck (29-5, 14 KO), who makes the drop down from Lightweight.
Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1 Card
Bellator Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Liam McGeary (10-0) vs. Tito Ortiz (18-11)
Glory Vacant Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Saulo Cavalari (31-2) vs. Zack Mwekassa (13-2)
Glory Featherweight Title Fight: Gabriel Varga (26-2) vs. Serhiy Adamchuck (29-5)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament Competitors (first round pairings TBD): Phil Davis (13-3), Emanuel Newton (25-8-1), Linton Vassell (15-4-1), Muhammed Lawal (15-4, 1 NC)
Glory Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley (37-13-2 MMA/20-3 Kickboxing) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (24-13/1-2 Kickboxing)
