GLORY 20 which takes place Friday, April 3, will see the kickboxing promotion make their first appearance in The United Arab Emirates in Dubai, featuring two monumental world championship fights at 70kg and 65kg.
The main event will see Robin van Roosmalen defends his lightweight gold in a rematch against Andy Ristie over a year in the making.
At GLORY 12 in New York (November 2013) one of the most historic nights in the history of kickboxing was cemented for Ristie, who knocked out the two best lightweights on the planet in van Roosmalen and Giorgio Petrosyan.
The rise of the machine was in full swing until one fateful night in Zagreb where Ristie came up against lion hearted Davit Kiria at GLORY 14, losing his belt in the fifth round when the Croatian Kiria mounted a comeback knockout.
After a less than impressive win over Marat Grigorian at GLORY 15, RvR received a world title shot at GLORY 19: Virginia against Kiria, and reignited his elite credentials with a dominating performance to win the championship.
Now, RvR and Risitie will clash again, but under much different circumstances to when the pair met in New York City. Since his loss to Kiria, “The Machine” has been on a collision course with the championship belt, with back-to-back finish wins over Ky Hollenbeck and Steve Moxon, both emphatically showcasing Ristie’s devastating skill-set.
If van Roosmalen wants to defend his gold he will need to avoid getting in a fist-fight with the title hopeful. The Dutch striker has a renowned style which allows him to avoid taking too much damage, and his naivety in the first Ristie match saw him try and go toe-to-toe with the Surinamese fighter, which was his ultimate demise.
Ristie will push forward and look to apply pressure on RvR, and if he can do it successfully then it is his fight to lose.
Elsewhere, GLORY will crown its first featherweight world champion as contender tournament winner Gabriel Varga faces the tough Mosab Amrani.
Raised in the Netherlands, and nicknamed ‘Jaguar’, Amrani is one of the most technically brutal fighters at 65kg, with a 3-1 record which includes a big knockout body shot win over UK number one thai boxer Liam Harrison back at GLORY 5.
The Canadian Varga has trained in combat since the age of five where he practised shotokan karate under his father. He eased through the contender tournament at GLORY 17, decisioning both bookies’ favourite Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai and Shane Oblonsky in the finals.
Amrani presents a stern challenge for Varga, but just like he overcame the odds in Los Angeles, he should pull through in Dubai if he elects to strike and move against the powerful Moroccan.
British fans can watch the GLORY 20 main card from 5pm on Friday, April 3 through Eversport TV for $9.99.
Photo Credit: GLORY Sports International
