All Hail the King: The Title Reign of Rico Verhoeven

Over the years, Glory Kickboxing phenom Rico Verhoeven has become kickboxing royalty. “The Prince of Kickboxing” has dominated his opposition every step of the way. Since joining Glory, Verhoeven has gone an astounding 21-1 with his lone loss coming almost a decade ago. He became Glory heavyweight champion in June of 2014 and has never looked back.

Verhoeven’s seven-year reign hasn’t been dominant in the traditional sense of the word. As a matter of fact, he has had his fair share of close calls in his title run, but the reccurring issue with Verhoeven is his knack for consistently coming out on top.

When he takes on Ben Saddik at Glory “Collision 3,” Verhoeven will look to add another kickboxing legend to his incredible résumé. Here are some of the names that have fallen to “The Prince of Kickboxing”: Errol Zimmerman, Gokhan Saki, Peter Aerts, Daniel Ghita, Benjamin Adegbuyi, Anderson “Braddock” Silva, Badr Hari and Antonio Silva. Verhoeven thrives on fighting the big names. It’s what gives him purpose.

While he had been around for a while, Verhoeven burst onto the scene in 2013 when he defeated Saki and Ghita in the same night to win the Glory heavyweight tournament. Verhoeven then went out to prove he wasn’t a one-trick pony. His next opponent was Aerts, one of the best kickboxers ever to live. Aerts’ résumé eclipses even Verhoeven’s as a who’s-who of kickboxing from the late 80s until his semi-“retirement” in 2015. The fight was close but Verhoeven came out on top of the split decision proving that he was here to stay.

Then at Glory 17, Verhoeven’s title reign began. He rematched Ghita and won a decision without drama to claim the vacant Glory heavyweight belt.

The Title Reign of Rico Verhoeven

In his first defense of his Glory title, Verhoeven took on Zimmerman, whom he had fought twice before. In their first match, Verhoeven was knocked out in the first round, to this day his only loss in Glory. In their rematch at Glory 9, Verhoeven evened the score with a unanimous decision.

Near the end of the first round, Verhoeven and Zimmerman were banging it out when Verhoeven dropped Zimmerman. At about 30 seconds left, Verhoeven landed a front kick and knocked him down again, but Zimmerman survived the round. In Round 2, Zimmerman tried a spinning back kick that injured his knee, making Verhoeven the victor.

At Glory 22, Verhoeven returned and faced Adegbuyi. Again, Verhoeven was stunned in the first round, but wasn’t to be denied. For the rest of the fight, he kept his foot on the gas and pieced up Adegbuyi to win the fight via decision. The two were not yet finished, however. Adegbuyi would go on to win the heavyweight grand prix and would challenge Verhoeven again. Verhoeven put a stamp on the series in that fight, knocking out Adegbuyi in the first round and ending any doubts lingering from the first fight.

Glory “Collision 3” is exclusively available on pay-per-view and can only be purchased online at www.gloryfights.com. You can purchase and stream the pay-per-view for €19.99, £17.99 or US$24.99 from anywhere in the world.

After defeating Mladen Breatovac in his next defense, Verhoeven and Anderson “Braddock” Silva were set to fight at Glory 33. Verhoeven would go to the legs in that fight, chopping Silva down quickly. After a first round of hell for Silva, he tumbled early in the second round. With a shaky base, Silva fell again, this time to a head kick. And at the buzzer, Silva fell once more, making Verhoeven the winner by TKO thanks to the three-knockdown rule.

Verhoeven and Badr Hari

Glory “Collision” was minted for the next epic matchup for Verhoeven. Hari had long been the most intimidating kickboxer on the planet. He promised to put the champion away in the first and came out with dynamite in his fists looking to fulfill the promise. Verhoeven lost the first round but came out in the second looking for war. Hari allegedly injured his arm in the second round but regardless, Verhoeven was the victor.

After winning the Hari fight, Glory turned its eyes abroad to bring in more potential challengers for Verhoeven. First, Enfusion champion Ismael Lazaar came to challenge Verhoeven, albeit not for the title. Lazaar was juiced to the gills and Verhoeven still dominated the bout. Lazaar would go on to fail a post-fight drug test and be suspended for four years. But for Verhoeven, it was come one, come all. He makes everyone fall.

Next, Rico Verhoeven took on “Bigfoot” Silva, who had defeated Fedor Emelianenko in MMA a few years prior. Silva was no match for Verhoeven, however, who put him away in the second round with little to no danger to himself.

Next, Verhoeven went on to avenge another loss, this time his 2011 bout with Jamal Ben Saddik, which ended in a TKO loss via corner stoppage for Verhoeven. In the rematch, it looked as though Ben Saddik would repeat his success early on, but Verhoeven brought the reins in, took over the fight and put on a clinic until he put Ben Saddik away early in the fifth round.

The Rematch: Verhoeven vs. Hari 2

After defeating Ben Saddik, Verhoeven was headed for a rematch with Hari. After the way the first fight ended, Verhoeven looked to put the rivalry to rest. He rematched and dominated Brestovac again, and then took on Guto Inocente. Inocente threw Verhoeven in a desperate attempt to frustrate the champ, which failed.

The rematch with Hari didn’t go as smoothly for Verhoeven. He came out more aggressive and was dropped. In the second round he reeled things in again and started to turn the tide. However, Hari started taking back over, dropping Verhoeven, then broke his ankle on a missed kick, giving Verhoeven the win once again.

Leading into the third fight with Ben Saddik, Verhoeven has won two more since the second Hari fight. He was originally supposed to take on Ben Saddik at Glory 77. Then Ben Saddik was forced out due to an injury. Verhoeven then took part in a tournament instead, defeating Hesdy Gerges and Tarik Khbabez in one night.

Verhoeven’s reign over the Glory heavyweight division has been legendary. After so many years on top, there aren’t many more names to conquer. While Verhoeven hasn’t been perfect, he’s been determined, gritty, and nearly always finds a way to win.