In my Kanye West voice: Robin van Roosmalen is a good fighter, but Sittichai Sitsongpeenong deserved to win the Glory lightweight title Friday in Milan.
I hate to bring up old pop-culture events, but West's utter disrespect of Taylor Swift at the 2008 Video Music Awards was the last time I saw a winner treated as poorly as Sitsongpeenong at Glory 25.
Van Roosmalen retained his title via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) despite being outfought in a boring main event. Sitsongpeenong's height and the speed of his left leg kicks allowed him to seemingly score throughout the five-round bout.
He never hurt the champion, but the 24-year-old Thai fighter was hardly touched himself. The judging should have come down to which fighter did the most in a punchless fight, and that appeared to be Sitsongpeenong.
The Pastor of Disaster thought he saw Sitsongpeenong have the edge as well, but the broadcast stat numbers seemed to change his tune:
The validity of the stats in that graphic is questionable. There were rounds—mainly the first and second—where the champion barely appeared to land anything of significance. Meanwhile, Sitsongpeenong kept a steady diet of kicks flowing to Van Roosmalen's midsection and arms.
Apparently, Glory officials thought the punch numbers were fishy as well:
We'll be watching that on replay tonight and counting strikes, and we'll look at the scorecards from ISKA, the sanctioning body at #GLORY25
— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) November 6, 2015
In any case, Van Roosmalen is still the champion despite the questionable judging.
The Doctor Is Back
The Glory return of Giorgio Petrosyan was a successful one. In the co-feature on the card, Petrosyan dominated Josh Jauncey for three rounds.
His legendary quickness, reflexes and overall skills looked to be in top form as he won every round against the up-and-coming Canadian. Like most of his opponents, Jauncey had a tough time landing a clean shot on Petrosyan.
The Armenian-Italian legend remarkably stayed in the pocket, landed and befuddled Jauncey en route to the lopsided victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Hayabusa tweeted congratulations to the fighter:
Victory and return to @GLORY_WS for Petrosyan #GLORY25
— Hayabusa (@Hayabusa_MMA) November 6, 2015
The last time Petrosyan was in a Glory ring, things didn't go well. In 2013 at Glory 21, the hard-punching Andy Ristie knocked Petrosyan out in a stunning upset. After a long hiatus from the promotion, Petrosyan hasn't missed a beat.
When the bout was over, he expressed interest in fighting the winner of the main event for the Glory lightweight championship. We'll see if a bout between him and Van Roosmalen can be made.
| Glory 25 Results | ||
| Matchup | Weight Class | Results |
| Yoann Kongolo vs. Karim Ghajji | Welterweight | Ghajji by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28) |
| Murthel Groenhart vs. Nicola Gallo | Welterweight | Groenhart by TKO (cut) |
| Ghajji vs. Groenhart | Welterweight |
Groenhart by decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-27) |
| Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Josh Jauncey | Lightweight | Petrosyan by decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) |
| Robin van Roosmalen vs. Sittichai Sitsongpeenong | Lightweight | Van Roosmalen by decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) |
Welterweight Tournament
Ghajji Outlasts Kongolo
After competitive action in the first two rounds, Yoann Kongolo and Karim Ghajji both came out looking to claim the final frame. Ghajji was able to evade his opponent's early attempts to take a quick lead in the round.
Instead, the 34-year-old Frenchman scored with his boxing. Ghajji landed shots to the body and a snapping left hook that had to have grabbed the judges' attention. Kongolo sensed he needed to make a statement.
He tried a jumping knee and spinning kick in the final minute but was unable to land either strike.
The better work in the final round earned Ghajji the majority-decision win and a spot in the finals.
Groenhart Gashes Gallo
Every part of Murthel Groenhart's body is a weapon. His knees are always among the most dangerous. Nicola Gallo found that out firsthand.
In the second round, Groenhart took advantage of an inside encounter as he landed a well-placed knee to Gallo's face. A nasty cut opened immediately, and shortly after, the referee stepped in to call a halt to the bout.
MMA media expert Caposa caught the leaping attack from Groenhart:
— caposa (@GrabakaHitman) November 6, 2015
Officially, the fight was called because of the severity of the cut, and Groenhart would face Ghajji in the tournament final.
Groenhart Brings It Home
In the tournament final, Groenhart wasted no time putting pressure on Ghajji. The Frenchman could not match Groenhart's aggression.
Ghajji was dropped in the first round by a knee-right-hand combination. The punch landed behind Ghajji's left ear and seemed to disturb his equilibrium. Ghajji got to his feet, but he spent most of the round just trying to survive.
In the second round, the pace changed. Groenhart looked tired. Ghajji took advantage of the opening and appeared to do the better work. He didn't win the round as decisively as Groenhart did in the first, but it was enough to create drama for the final round.
Groenhart seemed to know he needed to step up the action in the final round. More knees found their marks, and they helped solidify a strong performance that led to the unanimous-decision win.
Groenhart's win earned him a shot at Glory welterweight champion Nieky Holzken in December in Amsterdam. The two Dutch fighters should generate some buzz in their country as they battle it out for Glory gold.
Glory's New Broadcast Home
Less than 24 hours before the start of Glory 25, officials from the promotion secured a deal with ESPN to broadcast live events, per Mike Sloan of Sherdog.com. Friday's event was televised live on ESPN3, and a replay will air on ESPN2 early Saturday morning at 1:30 a.m. ET.
Glory has broadcast events on Spike TV, but the two companies could not come to an agreement to extend their deal.
Kickboxing fans and the folks at ESPN should be happy with the initial card of the partnership—even if the main event featured a poor decision from the judges.
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