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FIGHT ODDS

Nieky Holzken Beats Murthel Groenhart Again to Retain Glory Welterweight Title

Mike SloanOct 22, 2016

Dutch phenom Nieky Holzken continues to dominate kickboxing’s welterweight division and he did so again on Friday night at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Col. Holzken was the better man against rival Murthel Groenhart via unanimous decision to retain the Glory welterweight title in the main event of Glory 34 (online betting), which was streamed live on ESPN3.

Holzken was faster and the more accurate striker of the two and he picked Groenhart apart in spots. It was the third time “That Natural” had bested his rival and he did so by earning the nod via tallies of 48-47 (thrice), though the fight was not a walk in the park. Groenhart took the fight to the champ from the start but his aggression wasn’t quite as sharp as Holzken’s own attacks and counters, making the fight closer than the scores indicated, though Holzken clearly won.

In the co-featured bout, former middleweight champ Simon Marcus got the better of Dustin Jacoby for the second time, but the fight ended just as it was heating up. Jacoby blocked a kick from the Canadian in the opening frame and the blow snapped his forearm. In between rounds one and two, the ringside doctors and referee decided Jacoby couldn’t continue and halted the bout just as the second began, giving Marcus the TKO win.

Israel Adesanya had to dig deep to eke past Yousmi Belgaroui via split decision in the final of the four-man one-night middleweight contender tournament. Adesanya won via tallies of 30-27, 28-29, 29-28) to earn a crack at Jason Wilnis in the coming months. Adesanya dominated Robert Thomas via unanimous decision in the opening round while Belgaroui did the same to Ariel Machado to get to the finals.

On the Glory 34 SuperFight Series that was streamed live on UFC Fight Pass, former Glory lightweight champion Robin Van Roosmalen tore apart Gabriel Varga in the featured bout to capture the promotion’s featherweight title. Van Roosmalen rocked the champ several times in the contest and dominated him from the start. The punishment became too severe that Varga’s corner eventually threw the towel in, ending the mugging officially at 3:00 of the fourth.

In other action, Saulo Cavalari defeated Brian Douwes by unanimous decision; Thongchai Sitsongpeenong knocked Casey Greene with one punch at 2:58 of the second; Richard Abraham bested Michael Mathetha via unanimous nod; Justin Houghton edged Jonathon Wyderko by split decision; Danny Mitchell beat Joe Rodriguez by unanimous verdict; L.T. Nelson stopped Justin Moss at 1:44 of the third; Dan Wilson unanimously decisioned Carl Rogers; Sean Madden toppled Will Baisley via unanimous nod; and Michael Abad Santos pitched a shutout over Noufel Al Kasri.