John Alessio (left) | Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com
United Glory, the promoting arm of famed Dutch gym Golden Glory, has postponed the second event of its 2010-2011 World Series, which was to take place Jan. 30 at the Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium.
Slated to feature the semifinals of the promotion’s eight-man MMA and kickboxing tournaments, the card will now take place in March or April. The new date will be announced this Tuesday, Jan. 25, according to a press release issued Saturday.
Injuries to competitors in both brackets forced the show’s delay, according to the release. Golden Glory product Gokhan Saki was to meet Wendell Roche in the kickboxing semifinals, but Saki suffered a broken hand on Dec. 11 while taking part in the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Final in Tokyo.
“In view of [Saki’s] unique kickboxing skills and enormous public popularity, UG believes that the event cannot continue without him,” the release stated. “The recommendation to postpone the event in order to ensure that the favourite Gokhan Saki can still take part was also made for the sake of the TV companies who broadcast the Glory World Series to countless fans. The move is also of major importance for the sponsors of the Glory World Series.”
On the MMA side, semifinalist John Alessio announced via Twitter on Jan. 2 that he had suffered a back injury and would be forced from the Belgian card. The “Natural” defeated Sergey Golyaev in October’s quarterfinals and had been tapped to meet Golden Glory’s Siyar Bahadurzada in the semifinals of the welterweight tourney.
While officials had been searching for a fighter to replace the Canadian, United Glory now states that Alessio “will have recovered sufficiently in order to take part in the tournament in March/April.” As such, the tournament bracket remains intact, with Alessio and Bahadurzada squaring off in one semifinal, while Roan Carneiro and Tommy Depret meet on the other side.