GLORY 19 Kickboxing Rambles Through Hampton Coliseum - "Iron" Mike Tyson in Attendance

The popular GLORY World Series made a live and local appearance last Friday at the Hampton Coliseum as the popular kickboxing showcase made its way into town for a series of ten bouts. This 19^th installment of GLORY was nationally broadcast live on Spike-TV. As an extra bonus, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was on hand for the festivities.

"Iron" Mike Tyson was at Hampton Coliseum last Friday
to help broadcast and promote at GLORY 19, which was
shown live on SPIKE-TV.

Different from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), GLORY kickboxing rules are comprised of a mix of several combat disciplines including Karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do and traditional boxing. 

There were two headline events. In the first, Rico Verhoeven (44-9-0, 10 KOs), defended his GLORY Heavyweight World Title against rival Errol "The Bonecrusher" Zimmerman (103-11-1, 44 KOs) in the rubber match of a fighting trilogy that dates back to January 2012.

The co-headline bout for GLORY 19 featured a showdown between two GLORY top-10 ranked kickboxers, as #1 ranked middleweight Joe "Stitch 'Em Up" Schilling (18-6-0, 11 KOs) took on 21-year-old Canadian prodigy Robert "White Dragon" Thomas (7-2-0, 5 KOs), who is ranked #9. Schilling played the aggressor and won convincingly.

Perhaps the most interesting draw for Hampton Roads kickboxing fans was the light heavyweight bout in the Superfight Series, featuring Norfolk’s Brian Collette (21-3) against Myron Dennis, a bout won by Collette in a unanimous decision.

Collette, 27, started his martial arts career at the age of 14 in a mixture of disciplines, including Tae Kwon Do and Boxing, but currently specializes in Muay Thai. While maintaining a full-time job as an IT technician, Collette trains at the Eastern Academy of Martial Arts in Virginia Beach, and was most recently seen at GLORY 18 in Oklahoma, where he took part in the Light-Heavyweight Contender Tournament and was eliminated in the semi-final round by Zack Mwekassa. 

He hoped for a better result against Dennis.

“The only thing I know about him is that we have a mutual opponent, who he lost to, but I beat in my first GLORY tournament," said Collete the day before his match. "So I’m very confident, but also respectful.”

Dennis is new to the GLORY circuit, but fights out of Oklahoma City and competes in both MMA and kickboxing. He recently captured the Legacy MMA light-heavyweight title after beating the UFC, Bellator and Strikeforce veteran Paul Buentello. 

Keeping with the spirit of the Hampton Roads region, and in association with Veteran Operation Wellness (VOW), GLORY also hosted its first Armed Forces exhibition, in which a member of the US Navy will compete against a member of the US Air Force under GLORY Rules.

VOW is a Spike-TV campaign created to inspire veterans to make the same commitment to their health and wellness that they made to their country.

GLORY was founded three years ago, and is owned and operated by GLORY Sports International (GSI), a professional martial arts organization and television content provider that maintains offices in New York, as well as countries across Europe and the Far East. Its programming can be seen in over 170 territories.

GLORY 19 Results from Hampton Coliseum (February 6, 2015)


Glory Heavyweight championship: Rico Verhoeven def. Errol Zimmerman via TKO (knee injury) RD 2 (2:17)

Welterweight tournament final: Nieky Holzken def. Raymond Daniels via TKO (4 knockdowns) RD 3 (1:25)

Middleweight bout: Joe Schilling def. Robert Thomas via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)

Light Heavyweight bout: James Hurley vs. Cedric Smith-- Smith def. Hurley via TKO RD 2 (0:56)

Welterweight tournament semifinal: Nieky Holzken def. Alexander Stetcurenko via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Welterweight tournament semifinal: Raymond Daniels def. Jonathan Oliveira via TKO (3 knockdowns) RD 2 (2:15)

Lightweight bout: Andy Ristie def Steve Moxon via TKO RD 1 (2:43)

Heavyweight bout: Xavier Vigney def Everett Sims via TKO RD 1 (1:44)

Lightweight bout: Josh Jauncey def Max Baumert via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) RD 3 (0:37)

Light Heavyweight bout: Brian Collette def Myron Dennis via unanimous decision


Welterweight bout: Francois Ambang def Stephen Richards via KO RD 1 (2:14)