GLORY 44 emanates from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois this Friday night (August 25, 2017) at 6 p.m. (ET). The GLORY SuperFight Series portion of this card will air on UFC Fight Pass at 8 p.m. while the main card airs at 11 p.m. on ESPN 3. Welterweight champion Cedric Doumbe defends his title against Murthel Groenhart in the main event.
Doumbe (66-5-1, 1 No-Contest) captured the welterweight title in December after defeating Nieky Holzken by split decision at GLORY: Collision in December. The 24-year-old would follow that performance up with back-to-back victories, including a rematch against Holzken in his last bout where he once again won by split decision at GLORY 42: Paris in June. Groenhart (65-23-3) heads into this matchup on a three-fight win streak, including a knockout victory over Harut Grigorian at GLORY 42: Paris in his last fight. “The Predator” has gone 8-2 in his last 10 fights.
The co-main event features a battle of Chicago fighters with Richard Abraham facing Daniel Morales. Abraham (11-5) hasn’t had a great year so far in GLORY, dropping both of his matchups against Antoine Pinto and Jamie Bates. Prior to those setbacks, the Chicago native had won four straight fights with GLORY. Morales (1-3) heads into this matchup off his first win in GLORY, defeating Pawel Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision at GLORY 38: Chicago in February.
Rounding out the GLORY 44 portion of the card is a matchup in the welterweight tournament, as newcomer Zach Bunnell faces French fighter Antoine Pinto. Bunnell (5-2) will be making his promotional debut for GLORY. Pinto (131-36-1) made his GLORY debut in February, earning a decision win over Richard Abraham. The 26-year-old heads into this matchup on a seven-fight win streak.
On the GLORY Superfights portion of the card, Invicta FC’s Tiffany van Soest looks for her eighth straight win when she takes on late replacement Meryem Uslu. Van Soest (17-2-1) last competed in MMA when she earned her first professional win, defeating Christine Ferea by unanimous decision at Invicta FC 23 in May. Prior to that, the 28-year-old competed four times last year for GLORY, winning all of her fights, including a decision victory over Amel Dehby at GLORY 36 in her last outing. Uslu replaces Funda Alkayis, who was pulled from the card.
Also on the card in a superfight is Factory X standout Dustin Jacoby, who takes on Sean Choice. Jacoby (9-8) hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Simon Marcus at GLORY 34, and he will be looking to snap a two-fight skid. Prior to those losses, the 28-year-old was on a five-fight win streak, with all of those wins coming by knockout. Choice (16-3) will be making his promotional debut for GLORY.
MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for the following fights on the GLORY 44 today at Several Bookmakers…
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GLORY 44
ESPN 3 at 11PM ET
Welterweight Title
Murthel Groenhart +185
Cedric Doumbe -265
Over 4.5 -185
Under 4.5 +145
Welterweight Bout
Daniel Morales +200
Richard Abraham -280
Over 2.5 -190
Under 2.5 +150
Here’s my interview with Richard Abraham:
Welterweight Tournament Bouts
Zach Bunnell +435
Antoine Pinto -705
Over 2.5 -130
Under 2.5 -110
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Karim Benmansour +145
Harut Grigorian -185
Over 2.5 -170
Under 2.5 -130
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GLORY Kickoxing SuperFight Series
UFC Fight Pass at 8PM ET
Super Bantamweight Title
Meryem Uslu +485
Tiffany van Soest -855
Over 4.5 -190
Under 4.5 +150
Here’s commentator Todd Grisham previewing the card:
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Click below to bet on the fights!
