GLORY has been making a big push in the United States over the past few months in an attempt to help build up the sport of Kickboxing within our borders, which is a very welcome change. K-1 at one time ran events here, but stuck to Las Vegas and Hawaii without branching out much. GLORY has ran a show in New York already and their upcoming schedule is rather impressive, with GLORY 10 Los Angeles on September 28th featuring a stacked Middleweight tournament with Artem Levin, Joe Schilling, Steve Wakeling and Jason Wilnis. Then comes GLORY 11 in the MMA Nuts stomping grounds of Chicago, which will feature a Heavyweight tournament and a few big fights that have yet to be announced. Then in Nobember comes GLORY 12 New York going down at the Theater at MSG, which is pretty stacked, if you ask me.
Today they announced a few new signings, including two Heavyweight standouts that K-1 and Kickboxing fans are familiar with, as well as a fighter that MMA fans are familiar with. The Heavyweight signings are Hesdy Gerges, who is best known for being the It’s Showtime Heavyweight Champion, and Australia’s Ben Edwards, known for having one of the fastest qualifying times ever for a K-1 tournament. Then comes the addition of Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, former DREAM, Strikeforce and current WSOF Lightweight who is looking to dip his toes into the Kickboxing waters yet again.