Japan’s premier stand-up fighting league, GLORY World Series, have announced a 16-Man Grand Slam heavyweight tournament set to take place in Tokyo, Japan in December. Today they revealed the names of the first 13 fighters who have accepted an invitation to compete in the tournament.
World No.1 ranked heavyweight Semmy Schilt of The Netherlands tops the list and is joined by legendary icons Remy Bonjasky of Suriname, Peter Aerts of The Netherlands, and Jerome LeBanner of France. Also, decorated champions Errol Zimmerman of Curacao, Gokhan Saki of Turkey, Sergei Kharitonov of Russia, and rising stars Filip Verlinden of Belgium, Ismael Londt of The Netherlands and Suriname, Braddock Silva of Brazil, Brice Guidon of France, Jamal Ben Saddik of Morocco and Igor Jurkovic of Croatia.
Here is what Managing Director of GLORY World Series, Marcus Luer had to say:
“We are thrilled to be able to bring such a high-caliber group of talent to Tokyo as part of our mission to usher in a new dynasty in stand-up fighting,”
The event will feature a new tournament format which will have the 16 fighters battle it out over four stages in one night to determine an overall winner.
Kickboxing icon and GLORY ambassador, Cor Hemmers said:
“The fighters we have invited to the Grand Slam are either household names in the sport already or are the future Champions. They represent more than 10 nations spanning 4 continents” Hemmers also said “The fights will be spectacular and the tournament will be dramatic. The winner will be the unquestioned king of the heavyweight division.”
The December date and Tokyo venue for the event will also be announced soon. Also, the three fighters who will fill the remaining spots in the tournament draw will be announced soon, with Japanese fighters expected in the line-up.
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