Quick ThoughtsThe Good+ Solid event. Good to see Glory didn't half ass this one which I feared they might.
+ Good to see Bulgarian talent get the chance to shine here and rise to the occassion. There are a lot of untapped markets with talent just grinding away in their respective local circuits, just waiting for a chance in a major promotion. This was a good example of it.
+ I only saw the prelims in English, but Plazibat did okay as a co-commentator alongside Valtellini.
+ The crowd seemed really into it. They were a lot more relaxed than I expected. The only time I heard them boo was when Caliniuc was announced and hit Stoyan after the bell lol.
+ Mejia did better against Petch than I expected. He kept going forward despite the right side of his body looking like minced meat. It wasn't enough to steal the belt, but it was a good performance nonetheless.
+ I believe I heard Mejia walking out to Tego Calderon. I approve.
+ Good comeback victory for Koprivlenski after two losses. He managed to avenge his earlier loss against Caliniuc, but he really had to work for it.
+ Regardless of the reasons, it was a good move to put the Uku/Badr fight earlier.
+ Good no-nonsense performance by Uku against a completely finished looking Badr.
+ Stoica/Tavares was an awkward and somewhat sloppy, but nevertheless entertaining fight with back and forth moments throughout. Not sure about the knockdown, but even without it Tavares looked hurt at that moment. Good win for Stoica.
+ Petrov/Mabrouk was a fun fight where Mabrouk just came up a little bit short against the more versatile Petrov.
+ Touchassie made quick work of Aleksanyan in his Glory debut. The way he moves looks somewhat similar to a young Badr.
+ Aleksanyan's nickname is Mr.Action.
+ Hristov with a fantastic Glory debut against Gafencu who got completely outclassed. Props to him for making the final bell, though.
+ Solid no-nonsense opening fight by Petrov and Wunn.
The Bad- The one judge giving the fight to Mejia must have been his uncle lol.
- Event took a clear dip in quality during the Grand Prix qualifiers.
- Cool to see Rigters pick up his token victory and GP entry, but this was not even a fight. Props to Taburceanu for replacing Terpstra last minute though. Perhaps Glory can offer him a fight in a lower weightclass as a token of appreciation.
- I may have to rewatch, but Petrov getting the nod over Wunn had a little bit of a hometown advantage aftertaste to it.
Additional notes* Robbie Timmers confirmed a few things:
- Glory 90 will be in December.
- The Grand Prix will move to early 2024 to make sure injured fighters can enter the tournament.
- Assuming they want to make sure Plazibat, Osaro and perhaps Rico(?) can enter.
- Anwar Ouledchaib is injured and can't fight Semeleer at Collision 6, so that fight is expected to move to Glory 90 in December.
- In addition to other
House of Glory standout competitors, Don Sno has been added to the roster as well.
* Manhoef said Glory should get Ennahachi from ONE to fight Petch.
* It was mentioned during the Videoland broadcast that the venue had a crowd of almost 10.000 people. Not sure if we have any official numbers, but that should be considered a success, even with the lower ticket prices in Eastern Europe.
* Manhoef was clearly emotional in the Videoland studio after Badr's loss.
* Tavares is at a but of a crossroads at this point. A lot of drama, a lot of talk, a lot of controversy, health issues, switching gyms and this was supposed to be his big comeback after his loss to Rajabzadeh. While Tavares looked better then he did in his previous fight, he still came up short and one has to wonder if he has the mental fortitude to come back from this.
* Mabrouk seemed really surprised he lost. Strike stats seemd to support Mabrouk, but they looked completely whack to me.
* My eyes may have been deceiving me, but during the first round of Petrov/Mabrouk the clock OSD jumped from 11 to 6 seconds lol.
* Plazibat said in a Videoland interview his arm will probably be in a cast for 2-3 more weeks. It took longer to heal, because he didn't want screws in his arms. Regular training starts again in December and he won't be fighting again until early 2024, so no Grand Prix for him.
* Terpstra's trainer said he couldn't fight due to a pinched nerve in his back which has gotten worse over the past few days.
I wonder what our friend and Bulgarian resident
sg thought about the event.
Also
lero must be happy with Mejia's performance tonight.
