(PRESS RELEASE) -- TULSA, Okla. (Feb. 2, 2013) – After accepting the opportunity to fight just one day before the event, 24-year-old Dustin Jacoby (9-3) of Arenzville, Illin. rose to the occasion, defeating three consecutive opponents, all by way of (T)KO, in one night to capture the inaugural ROAD TO GLORY USA light heavyweight (209 pounds/95 kilograms) tournament championship at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa on Friday, Feb. 1.
In the tournament’s quarterfinal stage, reigning ISKA world champion Randy Blake (25-2, 17 KOs) of Tulsa, a local superstar and favorite to win the tournament, battered the left leg of Jacoby and hammered Jacoby with punching combinations for over two rounds. In the third stanza, though, Jacoby suddenly countered with a flurry that put Blake down and forced the referee to intervene and stop the bout at the 1:43 mark of the final scheduled round.
In the semifinal stage, Jacoby faced off with Roy Boughton (9-4, 8 KOs), who had defeated Daniel Brison (9-3, 6 KOs) by way of unanimous decision to advance past the quarterfinal stage. After eating a right h! and, Jacoby responded with a series of stiff jabs that snapped Boughton’s head back.
Jacoby exploded with a knee strike to the head that sent Boughton to the canvas. Boughton beat the referee’s 10 count, but was put down for the second time with a Jacoby left hook to the body. The tournament’s “two knockdown rule” took effect, giving Jacoby the TKO victory at the 2:47 mark of the second round.
With a considerable amount of momentum behind him, Jacoby came out the aggressor in the tournament’s championship round, against previously undefeated Brian Collette (19-1, 16 KOs), who had scored a second round (:14) KO on Jeremy Freitag in the quarterfinal round of the event and a first round (1:29) TKO on Kyle Martin in the semifinal stage of the tournament.
Jacoby began connecting with a series of stiff jabs and a left hook to Collette’s body. With ! less than 10 seconds remaining in the opening round of action, Jacoby unloaded a barrage that put Collette on the mat face first, unable to recover. Jacoby was declared the victor of the bout by way of first round (3:00) KO.
COMPLETE ROAD TO GLORY USA LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Tournament Reserve Fight:
John King def. Jason Bloom via unanimous decision – 29-28, 29-28, 30-27
Quarterfinal Round:
Roy Boughton def. Daniel Brison via unanimous decision – 30-26, 29-27, 29-27
Dustin Jacoby def. Randy Blake via TKO – Round 3 (1:43)
Kyle Martin def. Myron Dennis via unanimous decision – 28-29, 29-28, 29-28
Brian Collette def. Jeremy Freitag via KO – Round 2 (:14)
Semifinal Round:
Dustin Jacoby def. Roy Boughton via TKO – Round 1 (2:47)
Brian Collette def. Kyle Martin via TKO – Round 1 (1:29)
Championship Round:
Dustin Jacoby def. Brian Collette via KO – Round 1 (3:00)
About GLORY: GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world's new premier kickboxing league, producing live events across the globe and offering up to $2 million in prize money to the winners of one-night, 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each of six different weight classes. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, online live video streaming of all shows and the world's largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world's most widely distributed sporting organizations.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in the UK, Holland, Tokyo, Malaysia, Singapore and! soon in the USA. Its personnel include an unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television and martial arts fighting.
In 2013, GLORY launched the ROAD TO GLORY tournament fight series to identify and develop new kickboxing talent in The United States, Japan and elsewhere around the globe into future champions and superstars of the sport.