Featherweight title unification bout headlines GLORY 52 Los Angeles
Robin van Roosmalen and Kevin VanNostrand Battle for Undisputed Featherweight Championship at GLORY 52 Los Angeles on Saturday, March 31
Tickets at Ticketmaster.com
Exclusive Pre-Sale: Thursday, Feb. 8
General On Sale: Monday, Feb. 12
DENVER – GLORY today announced that it will once again touch down in the City of Angels, with the Pacific Room at the Long Beach Arena playing host to GLORY 52 Los Angeles and GLORY 52 SuperFight Series on Saturday, March 31.
An undisputed featherweight king will be crowned as two-time GLORY featherweight champion Robin “Poker Face” van Roosmalen (39-7, 21 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) returns to face interim champion Kevin VanNostrand (17-1, 12 KO, fighting out of the United States) in the GLORY 52 Los Angeles headline bout.
Van Roosmalen is one of GLORY’s most decorated athletes, having amassed a 15-3 record within the promotion and having held titles in two divisions – lightweight (twice) and featherweight (twice including his current reign). He last competed at GLORY 45 Amsterdam, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over world No. 3 Serhii Adamchuk.
VanNostrand’s success has been a more recent revelation, beginning with his knockout of Mo Abdurahman and upset against tournament favorite Giga Chikadze at GLORY 43 New York last July. VanNostrand once again dazzled under the bright lights of Broadway when he returned at GLORY 48 New York in December, coming back from the brink of defeat to knockout Anvar Boynazarov with a spectacular knee to the body.
In the co-headline bout, No. 1-ranked lightweight Marat Grigorian (51-10-2, 32 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) battles Bulgarian Stoyan “The Sniper” Koprivlenski (9-1, 4 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands), ranked No. 3 following his lightweight contender tournament victory at GLORY 49 Rotterdam. The winner of this bout will be next in line to compete for the GLORY lightweight championship.
With four knockouts in five wins under the GLORY banner, the 26-year-old Grigorian is known for his aggressive fighting style and power. The Armenian-Belgian stayed true to form, making waves in the kickboxing world this past weekend after scoring a first-round knockout over renowned Thai fighter Superbon Banchamek.
Koprivlenski earned his place in the No. 1-contender bout with Grigorian by defeating both Maykol Yurk and Tyjani Beztati in a single evening at GLORY 49 Rotterdam in December.
GLORY 52 Los Angeles will also include a one-night contender tournament featuring the four top-ranked middleweights in GLORY.
In the first semifinal match-up, former two-time GLORY middleweight champion Simon “The One” Marcus (47-4-2, 26 KO, fighting out of Canada), currently ranked No. 2, will take on 25-year-old Dutch-Tunisian Yousri Belgaroui (23-4, 11 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands), ahead of Marcus in the rankings at No 1.
Marcus and Belgaroui each competed for GLORY gold in their last bouts – both falling short against reigning GLORY middleweight champion Alex Pereira – and now attempt to get back into the title picture with a tournament victory.
On the other side of the tournament bracket, another former GLORY middleweight champion looks to re-establish dominance, as No. 3-ranked Jason “Psycho” Wilnis (30-8-1, 8 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) tries to halt the momentum of hard-hitting Robert Thomas (9-5, 5 KO, fighting out of Canada).
The complete five-fight card for GLORY 52 Los Angeles can be found below:
GLORY 52 Los Angeles
Featherweight Unification Bout: Robin van Roosmalen (c) vs. Kevin VanNostrand (ic)
Middleweight Tournament Final Bout: Winner of Bout A vs. Winner of Bout B
Lightweight Title Contender Bout: Marat Grigorian vs. Stoyan Koprivlenski
Middleweight Tournament Semifinal Bout B: Jason Wilnis vs. Robert Thomas
Middleweight Tournament Semifinal Bout A: Simon Marcus vs. Yousri Belgaroui
Before GLORY 52 Los Angeles, GLORY interim light heavyweight champion Pavel “The Caiman” Zhuravlev (71-11, 26 KO, fighting out of Ukraine) headlines GLORY 52 SuperFight Series in a non-title bout. An opponent for Zhuravlev, who captured the interim title last July at GLORY 43 New York, will be announced shortly.
GLORY 52 SuperFight Series also marks the return of UFC veteran Chris “Kamikaze” Camozzi (1-0, KO, fighting out of the United States), who stopped Kyle Weickhardt in his kickboxing debut in December. Uninterested in a slow progression, Camozzi jumps right back in the ring against top 10-middleweight Mike “The French Rock” Lemaire (19-5, 8 KO, fighting out of the United States).
Newly-crowned GLORY super bantamweight champion Anissa Meksen (94-3, 30 KO, fighting out of France) will compete in a 53-kilogram (116.8 pounds) non-title catchweight bout, while No. 7-ranked lightweight dynamo Josh Jauncey (26-9, 15 KO, fighting out of Canada) and No 8-ranked featherweight Zakaria Zouggary (30-4-1, 15 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) will also appear on the GLORY 52 SuperFight Series card.
Opponents for Meksen, Janucey and Zouggary will be announced in the coming weeks.
The current five-fight card for GLORY 52 SuperFight Series can be found below:
GLORY 52 SuperFight Series
Light Heavyweight Headline Bout: Pavel Zhuravlev vs. TBA
Middleweight Bout: Mike Lemaire vs. Chris Camozzi
Catchweight (53 kg) Bout: Anissa Meksen vs. TBA
Lightweight Bout: Josh Jauncey vs. TBA
Featherweight Bout: Zakaria Zouggary vs. TBA
Tickets for GLORY 52 Los Angeles and GLORY 52 SuperFight Series go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, Feb. 12 and will be available purchase at ticketmaster.com.
Starting today, fans that register (or have previously registered) at glorykickboxing.com will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets for GLORY 52 Los Angeles and GLORY 52 SuperFight Series early. Subscribers will receive an email with instructions on how to access the four-day pre-sale – including discounted premium seating – beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Thursday, Feb. 8 and ending when tickets go on sale to the general public.
For more information about GLORY, visit glorykickboxing.com.
