Glory 55: Pereira vs. Belgaroui 3 - July 20 (Official Discussion)

Glory 55: New York
July 20, 2018
The Theater at Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York, USA

Main Card:

Alex Pereira (27-6)      vs.(24-4) Yousri Belgaroui  
Main Event |  Title Fight | Middleweight | 187 lbs (85 kg)
R.van Roosmalen(40-7)vs.(156-36)P.Kiatmookao  
Co-Main Event |  Title Fight | Featherweight | 143 lbs (65 kg)

The world's premier stand-up combat league returns to New York City for a championship doubleheader when the newly-named Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden hosts GLORY 55 New York and GLORY 55 SuperFight Series on Friday, July 20.

At GLORY 55 New York, one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world makes his record 20th walk to the GLORY ring. In the first of two thrilling world title bouts on the card, undisputed featherweight champion Robin "Poker Face" van Roosmalen (40-7, 21 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) looks to add another title defense to his legendary resume that already includes championship reigns at both featherweight and lightweight – making him the only GLORY fighter to accomplish the feat. 

Standing in the way of history for Van Roosmalen is a familiar challenger, as 22-year-old "The Professor" Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao (159-36-2, 27 KO, fighting out of Thailand) gets his second opportunity to dethrone the featherweight king and capture GLORY gold.

The foes squared off at GLORY 41 SuperFight Series last May, with Van Roosmalen earning the nod via majority decision. In the time since, the Dutch champion has continued his dominance, defeating top contender Serhii Adamchuk and interim featherweight champion Kevin VanNostrand. Petchpanomrung, more commonly referred to as "Petch," went on a winning streak of his own, reeling off three in a row. Two of those three victories came by way of head kick, including a 2017 Knockout of the Year contender against Zakaria Zouggary in December, and what's sure to be a Knockout of the Year nominee for 2018, submitted earlier this month against Abdellah Ezbiri.

Then, GLORY middleweight champion Alex 'Po Atan' Pereira (27-6, 17 KO, fighting out of Brazil) defends his belt for the second time against No. 1 contender Yousri Belgaroui (24-4, 12 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands).

Pereira and Belgaroui have already battled twice, with both bouts taking place during 2017. In their first meeting last April, Belgaroui felled the Brazilian boxer Pereira en route to his contender tournament victory at GLORY 40 Copenhagen. They next met in December at GLORY 49 SuperFight Series, where Pereira – now champion after defeating Simon Marcus – cut the 25-year-old challenger Belgaroui with a knee, forcing a doctor's stoppage and setting up this rubber match in the Big Apple.