GLORY 3 ROME ‘Final 8’ Kickboxing Tournament Championship

GLORY 3 ROME ‘FINAL 8’ KICKBOXING CHAMPIONSHIP

AIRING LIVE SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE U.S. ON

FIGHT NOW TV & PPV

(All pictures by Ben Pontier / GLORY)

HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 2, 2012) – All fighters made weight on first attempts during today’s official weigh-ins for tomorrow’s GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ championship kickboxing event (Saturday, Nov. 3), airing live in the United States (3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT) on FIGHT NOW TV TM – America’s only 24-hour combat sports and entertainment channel – from historic Pala Lottomatica Arena in Rome, Italy.

Given the interest across the United States for this highly-anticipated tournament, FIGHT NOW TV is offering kickboxing fans two ways to catch all the kicks, punches and knockouts that “GLORY 3 ROME: Final 8” is sure to deliver:

Cablevision subscribers can watch live on FIGHT NOW TV, channel 464 as part of their iO Sports & Entertainment Pak

Other cable subscribers and satellite customers will be able to see the event live on pay per view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN for a suggested retail price of only $19.95

Top billing went to Giorgio Petrosyan (71-1-2 (1 NC), 33 KOs), of Italy. As the world’s No. 1 lightweight (154 pounds), he is the top seed for the tournament and the favorite to win it. His opponent is Ky Hollenbeck (34-7, 21 KOs),of the USA. He has the toughest opening match of the tournament but also the biggest chance to make a mark for America on the world scene.

(L-R) Kyle Hollenbeck-Giorgio Petrosyan

Robin Van Roosmalen (35-13-3, 10 KO’s), of the Netherlands, may be the shortest fighter in the tournament but he is also the most explosive. He faces Tim ‘TNT’ Thomas (60-1-9, 35 KO’s), of England, who, as his nickname suggests, doesn’t lack dynamite punching power. Their fight promises to be a war.

(L-R) Robin Van Roosmalen-Tim Thomas

Davit Kiria (18-7, 10 KOs), formerly from the former Soviet republic of Georgia is something of a mystery man in the tournament. He is a karate stylist who trains under world No. 1 heavyweight Semmy Schilt in the Ashihara Karate discipline. His opponent, Shemsi Beqiri (71-7, 31 KOs), was born in war-torn Kosovo before moving to Switzerland. He is a former training partner of Petrosyan’s.

(L-R) David Kiria-Shemsi Beqiri

Twenty-one-year-old Sanny Dahlbeck (24-4, 14 KOs),of Sweden, is the youngest fighter of the tournament. It’s a huge chance for him to impress on the world stage. He was originally matched with Albert Kraus, but the accomplished Dutchman has been forced out with influenza. His replacement is the highly experienced and very dangerous Yoshihiro Sato (49-8-0, 20 KOs), of Japan, who is nicknamed ‘Infinite Sniper’ for his long-range skills.

(L-R) Yoshihiro Sato-Sanny Dahlbeck

Those four matches form the quarterfinals of the one-night tournament. The winners will go on to the semi-finals, where two more fighters will be eliminated. The final two remaining will battle it out for a $300,000 grand prize.

There are two reserve matches on the card, designed to provide a replacement for any fighter who is forced to drop out at any stage because of injury or other reasons. The first sees the incredibly aggressive Russian-born Dzhabar Askerov (74-28-1, 38 KOs) take on seasoned Warren Stevelmans (56-16-4, 16 KOs), of South Africa, while the second showcases French technical magician Fabio Pinca (86-18-4, 33 KOs) and a young Italian who has a similar style, Alessandro Campagna (29-5-0, 14 KO’).

The card is rounded-out with two kickboxing “Superfights – English notable Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KOs) faces Morocco’s Mustapha Haida (18-1), while Alka Matewa (43-6-1, 23 KO’s), of the Democratic Republic of Congo via Belgium, meets smooth Italian Marco Re (20-3, 13 KO’s).

OFFICIAL WEIGHTS

WHAT: GLORY 3 ROME: “Final 8” Championship Kickboxing Tournament

WHEN: Saturday, November 3, 2012 – 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

WHO: The premier kick-boxers in the world

Final 8 – Quarterfinals

Ky Hollenbeck, San Francisco, California 154.3 LBS.

vs.

Giorgio ‘The Doctor’ Petrosyan, Gorizia, Italy 154.3 LBS.

Davit Kiria, Amsterdam, Netherlands   153 LBS.

vs.

Shemsi Beqiri, Basel, Switzerland   154.3 LBS.

Tim Thomas, London, England   150.1 LBS.

vs.

Robin “Poker Face” van Roosmalen, Den Bosch, Netherlands   154.3 LBS.

Yoshihiro Sato, Tokyo, Japan   153.9 LBS.

vs.

Sanny Dahlbeck, Stockholm, Sweden.   153.9 LBS.

Superfights

Jordan Watson (29-5-1), England   155.5 LBS.

vs.

Mustapha Haida (18-1-1), Morocco   155 LBS.

Marco Re (20-4-0), Italy   157.9 LBS.

vs.

Alka Matewa (45-5-1), Belgium   160.9 LBS.

Tournament Reserve Fights

Dzhabar Askerov (72-2-1), Russia/Sweden   154 LBS.

vs. Warren Stevelmans (56-16-4), Netherlands   TBD LBS.

Fabio Pinca (94-17-4), France   153.9 LBS

vs.

Alessandro Campagna (29-14-5), Italy   154.3 LBS.

*All fights and fighters are subject to change.

WHERE:Pala Lottomatica, Rome, Italy

TELECAST: Cablevision subscribers can watch live on FIGHT NOW TV, channel 464 as part of their iO Sports & Entertainment Pak

Other cable subscribers and satellite customers will be able to see the event live on pay per view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN for a suggested retail price of only $19.95

ANNOUNCERS: Steven Quadros & Frank Shamrock

INFORMATION: www.fightnow.com or www.integratedsportsmedia.com, Follow Fight Now TV on Twitter @fightnowtv and Integrated Sports @integratedppv

OTHER: The Glory 3 Rome “Final 8” tournament winner will have fought three times, earning a grand prize of $300,000, at the same arena where Muhammad Ali won his Olympic boxing gold medal in 1960. This tournament tests the competitors’ skill, strength and fitness, requiring them to dig into the deepest parts of their spirit to endure pain, fear and exhaustion.

About FIGHT NOW TV: With offices in New Jersey, Las Vegas and Toronto, FIGHT NOW TV is a cross-platform media company that creates and distributes content through its television, video on demand, and online outlets.

Founded by Channel Zero, Inc. and media entrepreneur Mike Garrow, FIGHT NOW TV launched last year as the first and only 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week combat sports channel in the nation. The network’s mandate is to bring the best battles, fiercest fights and stunning knockouts to America. FIGHT NOW TV caters to fight fans of every genre, giving them a front row seat to compelling coverage of MMA, boxing, wrestling/grappling, Muay Thai, kickboxing and other combat sports. FIGHT NOW TV is the place for the best analysis, live and current events, documentaries and news coverage of the biggest PPV events and match-ups from around the globe.

FIGHT NOW TV has also enlisted one of the fight game’s biggest names to join its camp, 5-time UFC champion and MMA legend Randy Couture, who serves as both spokesperson and analyst for the channel.

FIGHT NOW TV, It’s ON! Call Your Television Provider To Order

About GLORY: The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to successful fighters in 16-man grand prix tournaments which are open to only the very best fighters in each weight class.
With television deals spanning every continent plus a groundbreaking online video streaming system and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is already one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organizations.

Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in Holland, the UK, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel include prominent hedge-fund investors, the pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia and several executives from the Golden Glory and its Showtime team.

-30-

CONTACTS:

Mike Garrow, FIGHT NOW TV, 888.994.7233 X2478, [email protected]

Doug Jacobs, Integrated Sports Media, 201.610.1500, [email protected]

Bob Trieger, Full Court Press, 978.664.4482, [email protected]

Mike Afromowitz, Gala Klyuchkina and Bert van der Ryd – press@gloryworldseries.com

DONATE TO THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY :  www.redcross.org/donate

We are always looking for new talent for the fastest growing US and UK based, Combat website. We have openings for the following positions – Internet Sales Advertising, Boxing Correspondents, MMA Correspondents and voluntary Radio Correspondents. There are also plenty of advertising and sponsorship opportunities available on our website for your business.

If you are a career minded individual and serious about starting a career or continuing your career in combat journalism, our contacts are below.

RCM Main contact: [email protected]

RCM UK & Ireland contact: [email protected]

RCM Greece contact: [email protected]

RCM Radio contact: [email protected]

RCM Radio contact: [email protected]

RCM MMA contact: [email protected]

RCM UK Advertising contact: [email protected]

RCM MMA Advertising contact: [email protected]

Add us to your circle on GOOGLE PLUS Real Combat Media

JOIN OUR BOXING & MMA DISCUSSION FORUMS : REAL COMBAT MEDIA FORUMS