GLORY 64 Preliminary Card Recap: Palandre edges Billet, newcomers Moussa...

GLORY Kickboxing returned to France for its 64th event on Saturday, March 9, touching down at the Rhénus Sport in Strasbourg. The action kicked off with a six-fight preliminary card.   In the headlining match-up of the opening portion of the card French lightweights Michaël Palandre (27-2, 10 KO’s) and Guerric Billet (30-3, 14 KO’s) went to battle.    Billet used his speed to get inside early. He dumped Palandre to the mat with a low kick. Palandre used his length to fire back from range with straight punches. Both fighters ripped low kicks to the thighs.    A left hand from Billet got through the guard of Palandre, but he was unfazed. Palandre sought his right head kick to start round two.    Billet maintained his low kick combinations, popping the head of Palandre multiple times. Palandre scored with a long combination and Billet responded with a left hand.    The pace did not slow in the third round, as both fighters kept up the output. Palandre came forward with pressure, landing knees from close quarters.    Billet answered back with punches and flying knee in the final minute. A counter right straight from Billet caught Palandre flush on the jaw. Palandre did not go down and exciting contest was sent to the judges.    The judges were split, but it was Palandre who walked away victorious.   Turkey’s Ertugrul Bayrak (18-6, 5 KO’s) met Germany’s Jakob Styben (15-2, 7 KO’s) in a middleweight affair. Styben flew out of his corner, just missing Bayrak with a jumping attack.    Bayrak powered forward, backing Styben to the ropes with punches. A massive right hand and left hook combo appeared to stun Styben.    Bayrak was relentless, staying right in the face of Styben. He had no issue getting inside the range of the longer Styben. The German was more patient to start the middle stanza.  Bayrak delivered a powerful body kick that forced Styben to grimace. He fought through the pain and threw punches of his own. The pressure of Bayrak came to an end as Styben swung the momentum in his favor.    Round three saw both men throw punches in the pocket. Bayrak returned to pressuring Styben, but the German fired knees from the clinch. The pair fought to the final bell, with four of the five judges at ringside giving Bayrak the decision nod.   South Korea’s Jiwaen Lee (25-4, 6 KO’s) welcomed 18-year-old newcomerSarah Moussaddak (9-0) to the GLORY ring in a super bantamweight contest.    The two women went straight to work by trading kicks. Lee landed a left hook, but Moussaddak countered with a right straight. Lee cracked the body of the Frenchwoman with her middle kick and followed with a flurry of punches.    Moussaddak responded with knees in the clinch and punches of her own. Lee returned to range and the pair exchanged heavy punches. Moussaddak continued to attack early in round two.    Lee applied pressure from boxing range to try to neutralize the kicking game. Moussaddak button-mashed her left head kick, just missing Lee multiple times.    The high-volume offense of Moussaddak appeared to frustrate Lee, who struggled to match the output. Moussaddak backed Lee against the ropes with combinations late in the bout.    The fight went the distance and Moussaddak kept her unbeaten record intact by decision.   Welterweights Dani Traoré (3-1, 2 KO) and Jeremy Antonio (46-19, 21 KO’s)clashed in a match-up of debuting fighters. Traoré scored with a left hook early, but the referee ruled a slip.    Antonio looked to weather the early storm of the German, sitting back and countering. Traoré was very aggressive and was warned for throwing a punch on the break.    Antonio scored with counter left hands early in round two, but Traoré cracked him with a huge punch as he came forward, earning a knockdown.    Traoré smelled blood and attacked with reckless abandon. He landed a heavy knee to earn a second knockdown. Antonio tried to clinch and recover.    Traoré cracked Antonio a final time along the ropes, earning a third and final knockdown, as well as the TKO win.   Featherweight newcomers River Daz (25-0-1, 6 KO’s) and Vincent Foschiani (7-5, 5 KO’s) locked horns in the night’s second fight.    The Muay Thai stylist Daz threw a variety kicks to open the bout. Foschiani countered with his boxing to keep his younger foe guessing.    Australia’s Daz opened up with his hands in the pocket, forcing Foschiani against the ropes. The German Foschiani was able to score points with his push kick from range and knees from the clinch.    Daz remained active, never allowing Foschiani to rest. The step-in knee of the southpaw Foschiani was more effective as the fight wore on. He cracked Daz with left straight early in the third round that surprised the Australian.    Daz tried to answer with volume, but Foschiani had more pop on his strikes. The judges were called upon to decide the bout and the split verdict was in favor of Daz, who remained unbeaten.    A middleweight bout between Frenchmen Mathieu Ceva (1-1) and Daniel Krost (4-1, 4 KO’s) opened the action. Ceva was the aggressor early in the contest, as Krost sat back and remained patient.    Krost opened up with his attacks as the fight progressed, working the body of the power-punching Ceva. The second round saw Ceva find success by coming forward and landing a knee to the body of Krost.    The more experienced Krost tried to turn the tide by again delivering body shots, but Ceva continued to apply pressure. The final round mimicked the opening rounds, as Krost struggled to handle Ceva’s advance.    The low kicks of Ceva took their toll and Krost’s output waned. The back-and-forth affair saw the scorecards, and the judges awarded Ceva his first professional victory.   Michaël Palandre def. Guerric Billet by split decision (30-27, 27-30, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Ertugrul Bayrak def. Jakob Styben by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sarah Moussaddak def. Jiwaen Lee by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28)  Dani Traoré def. Jeremy Antonio by TKO (three-knockdown rule). Round 2, 1:30
River Daz def. Vincent Foschiani by split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Mathieu Ceva def. Daniel Krost by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)