GLORY 41 recap! Verhoeven cruises past Lazaar, Robin van Roosmalen reclaims featherweight title

The action went down earlier today (Sat., May 20, 2017) at GLORY 41: Holland from inside the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, Netherlands, with the Superfight Series portion airing exclusively on UFC Fight Pass and the GLORY 41 main card airing on ESPN3.

In the main event of the evening, GLORY heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven aimed to win his 13th-straight promotional bout when he took on GLORY newcomer Ismael Lazaar in a non-title fight. The taller Verhoeven used his reach in the early going, snapping jabs that kept Lazaar at bay. Lazaar landed a mean right hand at the end of the first round that knocked the champ’s mouthpiece out of the ring. In Round 2, Verhoeven really started to open up with kicks, landing high strikes on the exit and strong blows to Lazaar’s legs and body. Lazaar would land a few solid uppercuts and hooks in the third frame, but Verhoeven refused to give into the newcomer’s inside pressure. From that point on, Verhoeven picked apart the tired Moroccan with chopping leg kicks and push kicks, eventually locking down the unanimous decision win.

In the co-main event of the evening, Robin van Roosmalen looked to reclaim his featherweight title when he took on Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao for the vacant strap. Kiatmookao was looking to become the youngest champion in GLORY history. Despite slamming countless body kicks into the right side of Roosmalen, Petchpanomrung was unable to ward off the former champ’s counters, combos, and pressure along the ropes. In the end, Roosmalen walked away with the majority decision victory, despite landing less strikes than his counterpart (140-143).

Here is some other top-flight action from GLORY 41:

Check out the full GLORY 41 results below:

Superfight Series results:

Rico Verhoeven def. Ismael Lazaar via UD (49-46, 50-45 x4)

Robin van Roosmalen def. Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao via MD (50-45, 47-47, 49-45, 49-45, 48-46)

Murthel Groenhart def. Alan Scheinson via SD (29-28, 28-29, 30-27 x3)

Mourad Bouzidi def. Michael Duut via DQ (three point deductions - Round 2, 2:18)

Tyjani Beztati def. Youssef Assouik via UD (30-26 x 5)

Zakaria Zouggary def. Yetkin Ozkul via UD (30-27 x 5)

GLORY 41 main card results:

Heavyweight Tournament Final: Marshall def. Silva via UD (30-27 x4, 29-28)

Hesdy Gerges def. Tomas Hron via UD (30-24 x5)

Chenglong Zhang def. Wilson Sanches Mendes via UD (30-25 x3, 29-26 x2)

D’Angelo Marshall def. Mohamed Abdallah via KO (Round 1, 0:48)

Anderson Silva def. Giannis Stoforidis via KO (Round 2, 2:26)