GLORY 25 results: Robin van Roosmalen retains lightweight title after controversial decision, Murthel Groenhart wins welterweight "Contender" tournament

A controversial decision in the main event of GLORY 25 left Robin van Roosmalen holding his lightweight title after a spirited battle with No.1-ranked contender Sittichai Sitsongpeenong on Friday (Nov. 6, 2015) inside The Palalper, in Monza, Italy.

The decision in favor of "Pokerface" left an incredulous expression on that of the Thai challenger, GLORY commentators Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros, the Italian fans in attendance and pretty much everybody else watching on ESPN3 (details on GLORY/ESPN deal here).

All three judges scored the bout 48-47 for van Roosmalen.

Sitsongpeenong looked to be in control of every round of the fight. He used his jab to measure distance and landed his trademark left round kick to the body on several occasions. When those weren't landing they were still slamming into van Roosmalen's arm as he was blocking them.

Neither fighter scored a knockdown or had their opponent in severe trouble, but Sitsongpeenong appeared to be in full command throughout. Van Roosmalen did land some successful strikes in certain spots, and a couple of nice combinations but they were few and far between compared to "Killer Kid."

"He is a great fighter," van Roosmalen told Stephen Quadros after the fight. "I won and I'm happy about that."

The fans in attendance let it be known they were not happy and van Roosmalen fired back saying, "If you think you can do better then come in the ring and stand across from me."

With his second title defense in a row, van Roosmalen improves to 35-6 overall and 11-2 in GLORY. Sitsongpeenong falls to 103-29-5 and is now 2-1 in GLORY.

Giorgio "The Doctor" Petrosyan returned to GLORY action for the first time in almost two years and looked outstanding in defeating No.4-ranked lightweight Josh Jauncey. It was classic Petrosyan as he cruised to a unanimous victory doing what he does best, being evasive and extremely technical. Jauncey proved to be a game opponent but could not mount much offense against the savvy legend of the sport.

"It was a long time waiting to return to GLORY," Petrosyan told Stephen Quadros after the fight. "I can see he is a very technical fighter and It was definitely a technical fight."

Petrosyan improves to 82-2-1 overall and 6-1 in GLORY competition. Meanwhile, with the loss, Jauncey falls to 23-6 overall and 4-2 in GLORY.

Murthel Groenhart defeated Karim Ghajji and Nicola Gallo to win the welterweight "Contender" tournament and Ramon Dekkers Memorial trophy.

In the tournament final, Groenhart came out fast and furious and scored an early knockdown in the opening round against Ghajji. The Frenchman managed to weather the storm and rallied back, as Groenhart began to tire, but couldn't get the momentum on his side. "The Predator" would hold on and win by majority decision. Two judges scored it 29-27, and the third scored it 28-28.

Groenhart cruised to a victory in the tournament semi-finals, defeating Gallo by a technical knockout victory. After connecting with a jumping knee, a cut opened up on the forehead of Gallo and the fight had to be halted for the doctor to check it. The fight was waved off moments later. Official time came at 1:03 of the second round.

"The Predator" improved his record to 58-18-3 and 4-3 in GLORY. He will face current welterweight champion Nieky Holzken for the title at GLORY 26 in Amsterdam on December 4, 2015. After a 1-1 evening, Ghajji is now 95-12-1 and 1-4 in GLORY.

In the other semi-final bracket, Karim Ghajji defeated Yoann Kongolo via majority decision after a hard-fought battle. Ghajji scored a knockdown in the first round with right hook and that proved to be enough to edge out the decision to advance to the tournament final. Kongolo falls to 60-6 overall and is now 1-1 in GLORY.

Serhiy Adamchuk defeated Gabriel Varga in the Superfight Series headliner to win the GLORY featherweight title. The decision was a controversial one as Adamchuk clinched and held Varga for the majority of the five-round contest. Referee Stefano Valenti came under fire as well due to never deducting a point despite giving countless warnings to Adamchuk throughout the fight.