Kickboxing standout and rising MMA prospect Tyrone Spong will compete in a one-fight, single-elimination light heavyweight (95 kilograms) tournament at GLORY 9 on June 22 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York, sources tell MMA Fighting.
Spong, 27, a protege of Ernesto Hoost, previously competed in a main event for GLORY when he knocked out Remy Bojansky at GLORY 5 on March 23 in London, England. He holds wins over notable names in the sport like Melvin Manhoef, Peter Aerts, Zabit Samedov, Kaoklai Kaennorsing and others. Spong has a kickboxing record of 69-6-1 with 42 KOs.
The kickboxer is also a member of the Blackzillians team and in November of 2012 made his MMA debut by stopping Travis Bartlett at the inaugural World Series of Fighting (WSOF)event by first-round knockout.
Spong was originally slated to co-main event the third WSOF event on June 14th in Las Vegas, Nevada, against Angel DeAnda. That bout was scrapped, however, when Spong ran into visa issues that prevented his entry into the U.S. WSOF announced on Friday, May 3rd, that Tyson Steele vs. Steve Carl would serve as that event's new co-main event.
The other participants of the light heavyweight tournament include Brian Collette, UFC veteran Dustin Jacoby, Danyo Ilunga, Filip Verlinden, Mourad Bouzidi, Steve McKinnon and Michael Duut. Quarterfinal match-ups for the light heavyweight tournament have not been announced.
Three superfights are also slated for the event. A heavyweight bout between Daniel Ghita and Brice Guidon has been added as well as two welterweight contests: Joseph Valtellini vs. Francois Ambang and Brett Hlavacek vs. Paul Marfort.