Despite Glory Kickboxing recently losing its television deal with Spike TV, the shows must go on. On Friday, Nov. 6, Glory 25 in Milan will take place. The promotion's website lists the lightweight title bout between champion Robin van Roosmalen and Sittichai Sitsongpeenong as the main event, but the co-main event figures to be the biggest draw.
The event is being marketed as the return of the legendary Giorgio "The Doctor" Petrosyan. The 29-year-old Armenian-Italian is widely viewed as one of the—if not the—best kickboxer of all time. He'll be facing tough Canadian Josh Jauncey in a bout that will surely grab the attention of the Italian fans in attendance.
Here's a look at the schedule, card and predictions for each fight:
Can The Doctor Overcome His Previous Glory Setback?
The last time Petrosyan was in a Glory ring he was faced with something he hadn't tasted in six years—defeat. Not only did Petrosyan lose his first fight since 2007, but he was knocked out by the powerful Andy Ristie at Glory 12 in what Fraser Coffeen of Bloody Elbow called the KO of the Year in 2013.
After considerable time away from the promotion, Petrosyan is set to make his comeback in front of a Milan crowd that will almost certainly be firmly in his corner.
Jauncey will be looking to channel his inner Ristie and play the spoiler to Petrosyan's homecoming and planned return to prominence. Petrosyan hasn't fought in Glory since his loss, but he has put together two unanimous-decision wins and a victory by KO over Xu Yan in August to capture the Hero Legends 70 Kilograms Championship.
Even with that return to success, there's still some unfinished business for Petrosyan. Glory has established itself as the premier kickboxing promotion in the world. A fighter who is revered as much as Petrosyan in the sport would undoubtedly want to prove his dominance in such a promotion.
Having failed in his first run, The Doctor is back and looking to right the ship. Jauncey is another powerful foe, but he's not quite as explosive as Ristie. Petrosyan controlled the first two rounds against Ristie before the 33-year-old caught him off guard with a left uppercut that spelled the end of his night.
Jauncey has power, but it's hard to imagine him closing the distance and penetrating Petrosyan's legendary defense to land a big strike. Expect Petrosyan to control the action en route to a unanimous-decision win.
The Secondary Main Event
Van Roosmalen has the edge in Glory experience with 12 fights to Sitsongpeenong's two, but the Thai fighter's overall experience is eye-popping.
Friday night's bout will mark the 136th in the 24-year-old's career—though many of the fights have been in the art of muay thai. He's currently the No. 1-ranked lightweight in Glory, but he'll run into a champion who is not keen on relinquishing his belt.
Van Roosmalen is a grinder. While he doesn't possess big KO power, he's technically sound and more acquainted in the art of kickboxing as opposed to muay thai, which is where most of Sitsongpeenong's expertise lies.
According to the Thai fighter's coaches (via Glory Kickboxing on Facebook), they see him as a top candidate in their gym to make the successful transition from muay thai to kickboxing:
I'm not as convinced. Look for Van Roosmalen to wear Sitsongpeenong down with body shots and leg strikes early. He'll help to reduce the speed advantage and some of the more dynamic strikes with this strategy. By the third round, he'll be the fresher fighter, and he'll win a close but fair decision to retain his title.
In his Glory career, Van Roosmalen has only lost to Ristie and Petrosyan. He avenged the KO loss to Ristie with a unanimous-decision win at Glory 20 in April. If he and Petrosyan are victorious on Friday, there's a good chance the Dutch champion will get the opportunity to avenge his other defeat against The Doctor.
If both men hold up their end of the bargain, there could be an intriguing lightweight main event in Glory's near future.
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