Robin van Roosmalen (33-6, 19 KO’s) says he is going to make Andy Ristie “work from the first second” of their World Lightweight Championship fight at GLORY 20 DUBAI next month.
Van Roosmalen, who won the belt at GLORY 18 OKLAHOMA with a unanimous decision win over Davit Kiria, suffered a stoppage loss to Ristie in the final of the GLORY 12 NEW YORK tournament back in November 2013.
Ristie (44-4-1, 24 KO’s) went on to fight for the vacant title against Davit Kiria at GLORY 14 but burned out during the fast-paced fight and lost by way of KO in the fifth round as Kiria staged a comeback. Van Roosmalen has paid close attention to that example and says he will be looking to pressure Ristie’s gas-tank every moment of their rematch.
“Ristie has an all or nothing style I think. He tries to hurt you with everything he has and after that he is gassed quick. After three rounds I think it is over for him. But I will put pressure on him from the first round. Maybe you will see the early stoppage, maybe we take it to the fourth or fifth,” he says.
“But it’s not a case of surviving any early storm because the best defense is a strong offense. I think I have to make him work; I am going to make him work from the first second and then we will see. Maybe he walks onto a punch or maybe I walk onto a punch. But I want to make a good fight for the fans [either way].”
Sometimes losing by stoppage can cause a psychological hangover for a fighter, but Van Roosmalen says he is not one of them. He considers the GLORY 12 loss to Ristie to be just one of those things; the top teams and players in any sport suffer losses on occasion.
“I think it was just Andy’s night that night. He’s got a little bit of a difficult style, a bit awkward, and I let him play his game too much and I didn’t play mine. In the first round I had a hard fight with Davit also but now this fight we are starting fresh so I think it can be a whole different fight,” he says.
“I think if you let him play his game he is very good at it. But if you don’t let him into his rhythm then you can break him. I’ve got some sparring partners who have the same height as him, the same long arms and legs, but who knows what he is going to do this time?
“He might fight differently [to our first fight]. With him you never know. But my confidence level is high. I think in the time between our first fight and this one I have grown a lot, not only with my technique but also mentally.
“I think experience has been the [main factor]. I am still only 25 so I am not even in my prime yet. I am a young veteran - I have been fighting professionally since I was 18 [but] I still have a lot of things to learn, my game is a lot tighter than it was before.”
Van Roosmalen only has two blemishes on his recent record. Ristie is one of them and the other is Giorgio Petrosyan, widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Petrosyan broke his hand badly during his GLORY 12 semi-final loss to Ristie and hasn’t been in the GLORY ring since; Van Roosmalen awaits his return.
“If I beat Ristie like I am planning to, of course I want my rematch with Petrosyan. Those are the only two fights I have lost in the past three years,” he says.
GLORY 20 DUBAI takes place Friday, April 3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Van Roosmalen and Ristie headline the card, which also features a four-man Middleweight Contender Tournament and a co-main event fight between Pat ‘HD’ Barry and Mourad Bouzidi.
The card airs on Spike TV in the US at 10pm ET/9pm CT and will air both live and on tape-delay in numerous territories around the world - check local listings for broadcast details.
