Tyrone Spong’s night started with an exclamation point. It ended with a question mark.
The combat sports phenom, who competes in kickboxing, boxing and MMA, finished Michael Duut in 31 seconds with a missile of a right hand in the quarterfinals of Glory’s light heavyweight tournament Saturday night at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.
The crowd went wild as Duut hit the canvas. They were singing a different tune – boos – when the referee stopped Spong’s tournament championship fight against Danyo Ilunga just 16 seconds in. Spong used that right hand to stun Ilunga and came on with a flurry, causing the referee to wave off the bout.
Ilunga – and the fans – were not happy. He was still defending himself and, although there is no standing-eight count in Glory, seemed to have his druthers. Replays showed Ilunga was wobbly, but it was likely an early stoppage.
Spong had a different view of things.
“I saw it,” he said. “He was gone.”
Even if he wasn’t, he probably would have been soon. That’s the kind of explosiveness Spong possesses.
The victory earned him $200,000 and further established his name as one of the biggest in the sport. But it was the quarterfinal fight that produced the signature moment. Spong was dropped by Duut in the first 10 seconds, got up, withstood a barrage and landed a wicked right hand to Duut’s chin. Duut attempted to get back to his feet, but failed, falling against the ropes.
“I was sleeping a little bit in the first round,” Spong said of being knocked down. “You have to avoid things like that.”
Spong, 27, played it smart in the semifinals, a unanimous decision win over Filip Verlinden. The tournament structure forced him to not let everything go against the conservative opponent.
“I’m not a fan of tournaments,” said Spong, a native of Suriname, who moved to the Netherlands as a boy. “After you fight, you have to go back to the dressing room and pump yourself up again. Give me one big name and a good fight. That’s what I prefer.”
Of course, he said, he won’t turn down Glory if they ask him to do another tourney – especially with that prize on the line. The self-described “moneyweight” will fight MMA for World Series of Fighting in August and plans on stepping into a boxing ring before the end of the year.
Spong’s focus remains kickboxing and being one of the faces of Glory, which is working to break into the United States as a legitimate combat sports draw.
“In MMA … when the fighters go to the ground, not all the fans appreciate it,” said Spong, who trains with UFC star Rashad Evans and the Blackzilians near Miami. … “They want to see blood. That’s what they want. People are brutal. They just want to see two people just hitting and kicking each other and I think kickboxing comes real close to that.”
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Romanian heavyweight Daniel Ghita knocked out Brice Guidon with a left hook at 49 seconds of the first round after a barrage in the corner. … Ilunga defeated Dustin Jacoby in the semifinals by unanimous decision. … Wayne Barrett, a Queens resident, knocked out Mike Lemaire with a flurry of punches in the second round in just his second professional fight.
