(PRESS RELEASE) -- TULSA, Okla.(Jan. 16, 2013) – GLORY, the world’s new premiere kickboxing league, will kick off it’s highly-anticipated ROAD TO GLORY USA fight series to discover America’s next great fighting superstars, with an eight-man, single-elimination light heavyweight (209 pounds) tournament at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Okla. on Saturday,! Feb. 1.
Reigning ISKA Kickboxing Champion Randy Blake (25-1, 17 KOs) of Owasso, Okla. has been tabbed for action in the eight-man tournament affair and will be joined by dangerous, undefeated rising stars Brian Collette (17-0, 14 KOs) of Norfolk, Va. and Kyle Martin (7-0, 4 KOs) of New Orleans, La. as well as by KO artist Roy Boughton (8-3, 8 KOs) of Concord, Calif., Muay Tha! i standout Myron Dennis (10-2, 4 KOs) of Oklahoma City, Okla., Urijah Faber-protégé Jeremy Freitag (8-3, 1 KO) of Sacramento, Calif., tournament savvy Daniel Brison (9-2, 6 KOs) of Greenville, W. Va. and WBC world-ranked professional boxer and kickboxer Manuel Quezada (10-2, 8 KOs) of Wasco, Calif.
“This event marks the beginning of an intensive mission to identify and develop young up and coming fighters into future GLORY superstars and world champions,” said GLORY CEO Marcus Luer.
“ROAD TO GLORY is our development series. This is where you have to first show us that you have what it takes to be a GLORY fighter. Only the winner is guaranteed a chance to fight in our main GLORY shows which are held all over the world.
“We realiz! e that there is a significant pool of aspiring kickboxing champions in The United States but, to date, a lack of opportunity has been a major barrier, prohibiting Stand up fighters here from fulfilling their dreams of becoming the best in the world in what they do. GLORY is committed to changing this with our ROAD TO GLORY USA fight series.”
The winner of the ROAD TO GLORY USA light heavyweight tournament will be awarded a grand prize of $20,000 and a one-year contract with GLORY where he will have the opportunity to compete in the world’s most prestigious one-night GLORY kickboxing tournaments that award up to $600,000 in prize money.
A tournament “alternate” bout on the card will pit Jason “The Scorpion” Broom (2-0, 2 KOs) of Sapulpa, Okla. against John King (3-1, 2 KOs) of Amarillo, Tex. Should any of the tournament’s quarterfinal round fight winn! ers be unable to return to the ring for semifinal round action due to injury sustained en route to victory, the winner of the matchup between Broom and King will take the injured fighter’s place in the tournament.
A draw to determine the tournament’s quarterfinal round matchups will take place on a date and at a location to be announced soon.
Doors at The Joint open for the event at 7 p.m. CST and the first preliminary bout begins at 7:15 p.m. The main card headlined by the tournament begins at 8 p.m.
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 $1,000,000 in prize money to the winners of one-night, 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events w! ith 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 and elsewhere around the globe into future champions and superstars of the sport.
About Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa offers nearly 2,600 electronic games, multiple dining options and nightspots, a theater-style event center, convention space, an art gallery, a jewelry store, a clothing store and a championship 18-hole golf course. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa is located off of Interstate 44 at exit 240. Ticket prices and information on upcoming shows are available online in The Joint section of www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com or by calling (918) 384-ROCK. The Joint box office is open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday ! and Saturday. All guests must be 21 years of age or older.