Former lightweight champion Robin van Roosmalen (36-6, 20 KO's) made history on Friday night at GLORY 34 DENVER when he became the first-ever fighter to win belts in two different weight classes in the organization.
Van Roosmalen dominated former featherweight champion Gabriel Varga (28-4, 8 KO's) to such an extent that Varga's corner made the tough but sensible decision to retire him from the fight in the break after the fifth round, saving him from unnecessary damage.
“I feel great, I am really happy to get this belt. I felt fast, strong, explosive. At first it was just a feeling-out process. I wanted to know how fast he was and how much power he had. It was OK, but after that [first round] I put pressure on and dominated him,” he says.
“I think my pressure, power and explosiveness was the key to victory. Everyone was talking that I wouldn't make weight, wouldn't have power at that weight. But you saw I was fast, explosive, my cardio was perfect.”
Van Roosmalen's attention now turns to his next challenge and what it might be.
“My goal was to be the first to win belts in two divisions and now I have done that I want to get my lightweight title back. I want to be the reigning two-division champ. I think I am the strongest fighter in both divisions so why not win and defend both?” he asks.
“At featherweight, Matt Embree won the last contender tournament. I think he's a great fighter, that would be a nice fight. At lightweight? I already fought everybody, so we will see who's there.”
Van Roosmalen held the lightweight title from November 2014 until GLORY 31 AMSTERDAM earlier this year, when he lost it to Thailand's Sittichai Sitsongpeenong by way of a decision which sparked intense debate among fans.
Varga was GLORY's inaugural featherweight champion, lost the belt to Serhiy Adamchuk, regained it in their rematch and then lost it to Van Roosmalen. He has already said that he intends to use the Van Roosmalen fight as a learning experience which will fuel his mission to win the belt a third time.
