Levin (left) and Marcus (photo via GLORY)

By Press Release

New York, NY – GLORY, the world’s premier kickboxing league, today announced its return to Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.*, marking the organization’s first visit to the area since GLORY 11 in 2013. GLORY 27, headlined by the highly anticipated third bout between GLORY Middleweight World Champion Artem “The Lion” Levin (50-4-2, 33 KO) and No. 1 contender Simon “Bad Bwoy” Marcus (42-2-2, 24 KO), airs live on ESPN networks on Friday, Feb. 26.

Heading into the rubber match of a championship trilogy that began in 2013, Levin and Marcus have not competed in the GLORY ring since their hotly-contested title fight at GLORY 21 last year, a bout that ended in a draw.

“Neither man was satisfied with the result of their fight in May [of 2015]. Levin thinks he won. Marcus thinks he won. The judges scored it a draw,” said GLORY CEO Jon Franklin. “We’ve set this grudge match for GLORY’s first card of 2016 to put all that to bed. If this fight is anything like the last one, the fans in Chicago are in for an incredible show once again.”

Additional bouts for GLORY 27, including the participants in GLORY’s one-night, four-man North American Middleweight Contender Tournament, will be announced at a later date. The tournament winner will earn the next shot at the GLORY Middleweight World Champion emerging from the night’s headline bout.

Tickets for GLORY 27 (including access to the GLORY SuperFight Series Chicago) go on sale Monday, Jan. 11 at 10 a.m. CST and are priced at $200, $100, $60 and $35. Tickets will be available for purchase at searscentre.com.