Whose stock went up at GLORY 4

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20:16 Tuesday, 01 January 2013 19:56

Written by Rian Scalia

GLORY 4 took place on December 31, and aside from Semmy Schilt winning the Grand Slam tournament, there were a few fighters in particular that raised their stock after their performances. Three of them actually happen to be from the same gym. I'll profile the fighters whose stock went up after GLORY 4.

Jamal Ben Saddik

Coming into this tournament, no one even expected Jamal Ben Saddik to make it out of the first round. He was tasked with facing Errol Zimmerman, who's been an upper echelon heavyweight for quite some time now. To add to that, Ben Saddik had lost his last fight, at GLORY 2 in Brussels on October 6. Not only did he beat Zimmerman, dropping him twice in the process, but he also beat Remy Bonjasky right after, an even bigger name than Zimmerman on a fighter's resume. In the course of a night, Ben Saddik went come pretender to contender and now will be looked at in a different light, instead of just a name to fill up the tournament. Whatever your opinion of him is, the future looks bright for this 22 year old from the Golden Glory gym.

Filip Verlinden

Another Golden Glory fighter, Verlinden, like Ben Saddik was seen by many as a stepping stone for Remy Bonjasky to move on to the next round of the tournament. He was anything but that, as he gave Remy a ton of trouble, forcing the fight to go to a third round where "The Flying Gentleman" edged out the fight. Verlinden has nothing to be ashamed of with this loss. First off, he was the lightest fighter in the entire tournament at 93.1kg. Verlinden is best suited to 95kg, where he gave Danyo Ilunga a really tough fight back in June at It's Showtime. GLORY is starting up their 95kg division next year and I'd expect Verlinden to be a big part of it. His performances against Ilunga and Bonjasky are more than enough to merit thathe'd be one of the fighters to look for in that division.

Jason Wilnis

The lone 85kg bout of the evening saw 22 year old Jason Wilnis put on a great performance in defeating Japan's Toshio Matsumoto. It may be time to stop thinking of Wilnis as an up and comer. Along with his recent wins, he's establishing himself as a solid fighter at 85kg. He's already fought Sahak Parparyan, whom he lost a competitive but clear decision to back in September, as well as having fought on It's Showtime's televised cards twice. Like Verlinden, Wilnis will also likely find a spot on GLORY cards next year, as the promotion starts up their 85kg division, of which he has proven to be worthy for.

Jhonata Diniz

The third team Golden Glory member being profiled here, and also the second fighter to be profiled here despite a losing effort is Jhonata Diniz. Diniz is a 21 year old Brazillian that took this fight on short notice after Fabiano Cyclone, Ghita's original opponent, pulled out of the fight with an injury. Like Verlinden, Diniz was seen as a stepping stone, but even moreso in that he was expected to be blown out in the first round. Well, the fight didn't go according to expectations at all, as Diniz gave Ghita everything he could handle, forcing the fight to go to a third round and ultimately losing a decision. Like Verlinden, Diniz also has nothing to be ashamed of here, as he left a great impression on everyone watching. Diniz had fought once on a GLORY show prior to this, at GLORY 2 in Brussels, but no one seemed to have remembered him, or even paid attention to him in the first place. I'm sure they'll remember him now.

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