Picture taken by Ben Pontier/GLORY

The GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8′ tournament took place this past Saturday at the historic PalaLottomatica Arena in Rome, Italy. Georgio Petrosyan managed to battle his way through three opponents to take home the GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ lightweight (70 kilogram/154 pound) tournament championship and a grand prize of $300,000.

Petrosyan used his world class kickboxing to defeat Ky Hollenbeck of the USA, Davit Kiria of Georgia and Robin van Roosmalen of the Netherlands in the final fight of the evening.

Here is what Marcus Luer, Managing Director of GLORY, had to say:

“Italy has a history of producing master artists,” said Luer. “Petrosyan is to his art what Leonardo Da Vinci was to his. He really is that special and that unique. His performances are beautiful to witness, they really do transcend the sport.”

In the final bout of the evening Petrosyan stepped up to face the dangerous van Roosmalen in what was a real clash of styles. Giorgio was able to work some nice angles and used good positioning to avoid some potentially devastating power strikes. Not allowing his opponent to land big with his punches and avoiding any damaging exchanges, Petrosyan, managed to put in the more dominant performance earning himself the decision victory.

Here is what Giorgio Petrosyan had to say:

“I was confident that, if I went out there and did my best, that I would win the tournament and I did,” he said. “But they were all very strong fighters and they are champions too. I am very proud that this tournament was in Rome and that I could fight in front of an Italian crowd. Their support was very nice and I would like to thank everyone who came to the arena to support me.”

The full GLORY Rome ‘Final 8′ Results are below:

- 70kg Final: Giorgio Petrosyan def. Robin van Roosmalen by decision
- 70kg Semifinal: Robin van Roosmalen def. Sanny Dahlbeck by TKO (Bodyshot) R3
- 70kg Semifinal: Giorgio Petrosyan def. Davit Kiria by decision
- 70kg Quarterfinal: Sanny Dahlbeck def. Yoshihiro Sato by TKO in Round 2
- 70kg Quarterfinal: Robin van Roosmalen def. Tim Thomas by TKO (Ref Stoppage) in Round 2
- 70kg Quarterfinal: Davit Kiria def. Shemsi Beqiri by decision
- 70kg Quarterfinal: Giorgio Petrosyan def. Ky Hollenbeck by TKO (Injury) in Round 2
- 70kg Reserve Fight: Alessandro Campagna def. Fabio Pinca by decision
- 70kg Reserve Fight: Warren Stevelmans def. Dzhabar Askerov by decision

Superfights:

- 70kg: Jordan Watson def. Mustapha Haida by decision
- 72.5kg: Alka Matewa def. Marco Re by decision

Preliminary Card:

GLORY Rules Bouts:

- Catchweight 72.5kg: Ricardo Lecca def. Giuseppe D’Amuri by KO, 2:05 R1
- 70kg: Julian Imeri def. Emannuele Raini by unanimous decision, (30-27)

MMA Rules Bouts:

- Cesario di Domenico def. Davide Dolce by Submission (RNC, 1:08 R1)
- Ivan Musardo def. Giorgio Belsanti by Submission (RNC, 3:00, R1)

Stay close to The MMA Review (themmareview.co.uk) for all the latest GLORY news.

Jay Cee – The MMA Review

@themmareview