Kevin VanNostrand (left) (photo via GLORY)

By Press Release

DENVER – Robin van Roosmalen will not be defending his featherweight world title at GLORY 55 New York.

The reigning featherweight champion – and former lightweight champion – suffered a shoulder injury during training.

“I tried to work through it, but it became too difficult,” said Van Roosmalen. “I’m disappointed to have to pull out of the fight. I’m sorry to let my fans down, but I think they know that I would only pull out for something serious. Health is the most important thing, so I need to get back to 100% and then I will be back to remind people who the featherweight boss is.”

While the champion recovers and prepares to return to action, GLORY will establish an interim featherweight title at GLORY 55 New York, broadcast live from The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, July 20.

No. 2-ranked “The Professor” Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao (159-36-2, 27 KO, fighting out of Thailand), Van Roosmalen’s original opponent, will now face former interim featherweight champion Kevin Vannostrand (17-2, 12 KO, fighting out of the United States), currently ranked No. 3 at featherweight.

Twenty-two-year-old Petchpanomrung, more commonly referred to as “Petch,” has won three in a row. Two of those three victories came by way of head kick, including a 2017 Knockout of the Year contender against Zakaria Zouggary in December, and what’s sure to be a Knockout of the Year nominee for 2018, submitted against Abdellah Ezbiri in May.

Vannostrand, seeking his second stint as interim champion, hails from New York and is undefeated under the lights of The Hulu Theater, racking up wins over Giga Chikadze, Anvar Boynazarov and Mo Abdurahman last year.

GLORY is seeking an opponent for Massaro “The Project” Glunder (31-12-4, 20 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands), who was slated to face Vannostrand before the shake-up.

The updated five-fight card for GLORY 55 New York can be found below:

GLORY 55 New York

Middleweight Title Bout: Alex Pereira (c) vs. Yousri Belgaroui

Interim Featherweight Title Bout: Kevin Vannostrand vs. Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao

Featherweight Bout: Massaro Glunder vs. TBD

Lightweight Bout: Elvis Gashi vs. Nick Chasteen

Featherweight Bout: Victor Pinto vs. Nate Richardson

GLORY 55 New York will be carried:

• • Friday, July 20 at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT – Live on ESPNews
  • Sunday, July 22 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT – ESPN2 Replay
  • Sunday, Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT – ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language broadcast)

Before GLORY 55 New York, former welterweight champion Cédric “The Best” Doumbé (69-6-1, 40 KO, fighting out of France) squares off against Alan “Superboy” Scheinson (51-6, 37 KO, fighting out of Argentina) in the GLORY 55 SuperFight Series headline bout.

The promotion has also added a lightweight bout between Chris “Super Swiss” Lukusa (15-3, fighting out of the United States) and PJ Sweda (4-2, fighting out of the United States) to the SuperFight Series card.

The updated seven-fight card for GLORY 55 SuperFight Series can be found below:

GLORY 55 SuperFight Series

Welterweight Bout: Cédric Doumbé vs. Alan Scheinson

Heavyweight Bout: Junior Tafa vs. Anthony McDonald

Super Bantamweight Bout: Tiffany Van Soest vs. Sofia Olofsson

Lightweight Bout: Itay Gershon vs. Trevor Ragin

Featherweight Bout: Asa Ten Pow vs. Justin Greskiewicz

Lightweight Bout: Chris Lukusa vs. PJ Sweda

Middleweight Bout: Joe Taylor vs. Jacob Rodriguez

GLORY 55 SuperFight Series will stream live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Friday, July 20.

Tickets for GLORY 55 New York and GLORY 55 SuperFight Series are on sale now and available for purchase at ticketmaster.com or the Madison Square Garden box office.

For more information about GLORY, visit glorykickboxing.com.