Rico Verhoeven (born 10 April 1989) is a Dutch professional kickboxer, former professional boxer and mixed martial artist who currently competes in the heavyweight division of GLORY, where he is the reigning Glory Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2004, he also competed in the K-1, It's Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT promotions. He is currently ranked the number one heavyweight in the world by Combat Press.[3] Verhoeven has been continually ranked as the number one heavyweight kickboxer in the world by Combat Press since September 2014, when the rankings were first established.[4][5]
Early life
Rico Verhoeven was born in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands. He began learning martial arts at age five, starting with Kyokushin. He was trained by his father, a karate black belt. After transitioning into kickboxing, Verhoeven began training at the age of seven and started competing against adults when he was 16 years old, due to his large size.[2]
After competing in K-1, It's Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT, Verhoeven signed with Glory World Series.
He was drawn against Russian mixed martial artistSergei Kharitonov at the opening round of the sixteen-man 2012 Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam held at Glory 4: Tokyo - 2012 Heavyweight Grand Slam in Saitama, Japan on 31 December 2012. As he was leading the judges' scorecards after the first two, two-minute rounds, he advanced to the quarter-finals where he lost out to the eventual tournament winner, his countryman Semmy Schilt by the same margin.[7][8][9]
Verhoeven was scheduled to make his professional boxing debut against Nikolaj Falin at Mix Fight Gala XV in Darmstadt, Germany on 26 April 2014[29] but his opponent was changed to János Finfera for undisclosed reasons.[30] Verhoeven defeated the Hungarian by second-round knockout.[31]
Verhoeven was scheduled to make the first defense of his Glory Heavyweight title against Errol Zimmerman at Glory 19: Virginia, in what would be their trilogy match.[35] Each fighter had previously won once, Verhoeven by decision, and Zimmerman by knockout.[36][37]
Verhoeven kept to out fighting, looking to deal damage with body kicks and straight shots, while keeping his opponent at distance with snap kicks and teep kicks. With a minute left in the first round, both fighters engaged in a wild exchange, with Errol being dropped at the end of it. He was once again dropped with a front kick, with half a minute left in the round. The fight ended in a technical knockout, as Zimmerman injured his left knee, following a missed spinning back kick.[38][39]
Adegbuyi fights
For his second title defense, Verhoeven was scheduled to fight the former SUPERKOMBAT Heavyweight GP winner Benjamin Adegbuyi at Glory 22: Lille.[40] Adegebuyi managed to stun the champion in the first round, before Verhoeven took over in the second. He dominated the rest of the affair, picking up in both volume and pace as the fight went on, while Adegbuyi slowed down. Rico won the fight by unanimous decision (49–47, 49–47 and 50–45).[41][42]
After this loss, Adegbuyi won the 2015 Glory Heavyweight Contender Tournament, to once again earn a title shot at Glory 26: Amsterdam, six months after their first fight.[43][44] The second fight ended with a first-round KO, with Verhoeven quickly overwhelming his opponent and knocking him out with right hook.[45][46] After this fight, Verhoeven changed his nickname from "Prince of Kickboxing" to "King of Kickboxing".[47]
Verhoeven was scheduled to defend his title for the fourth time just three months later, at Glory 28: Paris, against the newly crowned FFC Heavyweight champion Mladen Brestovac.[48] Just as with his two previous title bouts against Benjamin Adegbuyi, Verhoeven was thoroughly dominant, despite a slow first round which he lost with one of the judges. He won the fight by unanimous decision (49–46, 50–45, 50–45).[49]
For his fifth consecutive title defense, Verhoeven was to face the Brazilian Anderson Braddock Silva at Glory 33: New Jersey.[50] Verhoeven began the fight with several leg kicks, which he would keep throwing for the duration of the bout, landing 16 kicks from 22 attempts in the first round alone. Early in the second round, he knocked Silva down with an inside right leg kick. After 40 seconds in the second round, Verhoeven once again knocked Silva down, this time with a left leg head kick. He would knock Silva down for the third time with five seconds left in the second round, forcing the referee to wave the fight off.[51][52]
Verhoeven vs. Hari
The 10 December 2016 bout against former world champion Badr Hari at GLORY Collision in Oberhausen, Germany, was considered a watershed moment for Verhoeven's career, with Hari being a very entertaining, albeit controversial fighter, who had been a dominant force in the kickboxing community, while also being taller (1.98 to 1.96 m) with a reach advantage over Verhoeven. Competing for the first time in over a year, Hari promised he would knock out Verhoeven in the first round.[53] Intending to keep his promise, Hari came out aggressively in the first round, opening a cut on Verhoeven's nose early in the fight. Hari won the first round. The GLORY heavyweight champion returned more aggressive in the second round, but the fight ended by an injury at Hari's arm after which he couldn't continue the fight.[54] Verhoeven scored the 50th victory of his kickboxing career with a TKO.[55]
After defeating Hari, Glory was unable to find an appropriate opponent for Verhoeven, and so arranged for him to fight the reigning Enfusion Super Heavyweight champion Ismael Lazaar in a non-title fight at Glory 41: Holland.[56] Verhoeven dominated the fight, with Lazaar being unable to cover the distance, being six inches shorter than the champion. He won the fight by unanimous decision.[57] Lazaar would later fail a doping test and was suspended for four years.[58]
Glory would once again book Verhoeven in a non-title match against Antônio Silva, in what the website Bloody Elbow called a "gross mismatch".[59] Silva was given a 35-1 odds to win. Verhoeven abandoned his usual strategy of outfighting, unleashing several combinations on the MMA fighter. The fight ended in a technical knockout, after Rico knocked Silva down with a head kick 43 seconds into the second round.[60]
Verhoeven vs. Ben Saddik
Verhoeven fought Jamal Ben Saddik in defense of Glory heavyweight title, on 9 December 2017.[61] In a fight that has been called the biggest fight in kickboxing history due to the size of the contestants, with Jamal being 6' 9", 280 lbs and Rico himself at 6' 5", 260 lbs. Jamal defeated a young Rico in their first meeting in 2011, but since then has had a record of 11 wins to 6 losses, while Rico climbed the P4P rankings and established himself as a kickboxing world champion.[62]
Ben Saddik found success early on in the fight, before Verhoeven took over as the fight went on, winning by a fifth-round TKO.[63]
Verhoeven was again scheduled to defend his title at Glory 54: Birmingham, in a rematch with Mladen Brestovac. Verhoeven had won five straight fights since their first meeting, while Brestovac came into the fight on a three fight winning streak.[64] The champion stuck to his patented outfighting, damaging the challenger with low kicks and front kicks from distance early, and unleashing hand combinations later in the fight. Verhoeven won a comfortable unanimous decision with 50–45 on all five scorecards.[65][66]
He was scheduled to defend his title for a record setting eighth time at Glory 59: Amsterdam, when he faced the WGP Heavyweight champion Guto Inocente.[67] Inocente would use several illegal moves during the fight, such as a foot sweep and a judo throw, however, Verhoeven would again dominate the bout, winning all five rounds on each of the judges scorecards.[68][69]
Verhoeven vs. Hari II
Rico training in 2020.
For his ninth title defense, Verhoeven was set to fight a rematch with Badr Hari at Glory 74: Arnhem. Since their first fight, Hari had served a prison sentence, and had only fought once in the meantime, he won against Hesdy Gerges by unanimous decision but later turned into a no-contest.[70]
The fight itself took place in the sold out GelreDome, in front of 30 000 fans.[71] Verhoeven began the fight in an uncharacteristically aggressive fashion, and was knocked down at the 1:40 minute mark of the first round. He found more success in the second round, but was once again knocked down with a head kick in the third round. The fight ended in the third round, with Verhoeven winning by TKO, after Hari broke his ankle with a missed kick.[72][73]
Aside from selling out the arena, the rematch also drew 3.5 million viewers, an estimated 53% of the live television audience in the Netherlands, which was the second highest viewership of a live sports broadcast, in Dutch television history.[74]
Glory 77
It was revealed by Glory in October 2020 that Verhoeven would fight a trilogy match with Jamal Ben Saddik in early 2021, although the exact date and event weren't announced.[75] Their fight was a rubber match, as both fighters held a TKO win over the other.[76] Their fight was later scheduled for Glory 77 on 30 January 2021.[77] 11 days before the event, Ben Saddik withdrew due to a back injury.[78] Accordingly, Verhoeven was scheduled to take part in a four-man heavyweight tournament, facing Hesdy Gerges in the semifinals,[79] after Gerges called Verhoeven out.[80] He won the semifinal bout against Hesdy Gerges by unanimous decision, and the final bout against Tarik Khbabez by TKO, after Khbabez retired at the end of the first round.[81]
Verhoeven vs. Ben Saddik III
It was announced on August 23, 2021 that Verhoeven would make the tenth defense of his Glory Heavyweight Championship against the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix winner Alistair Overeem. The fight was scheduled for Glory: Collision 3 on October 23, 2021.[82] On October 7, it was revealed that Overeem had suffered an injury in training and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Overeem was replaced by Jamal Ben Saddik, who stepped in on two-weeks notice.[83] Verhoeven defeated Ben Saddik by TKO in the fourth round.[84]
Verhoeven vs. Gerges IV
On April 12, 2022, it was announced that Verhoeeven's next fight would take place at the inaugural "HIT IT" event, a sports and live entertainment show.[85] Although it was initially assumed that the fight would be an exhibition bout, on June 2 it was revealed that he would face the former It's Showtime World Heavyweight champion Hesdy Gerges for the fourth time in his professional career and who he had beaten in all three of their previous meetings. The quadrilogy bout headlined the "HIT IT" event, which took place on October 29, 2022, at the Rotterdam Ahoy.[86] Verhoeven won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout.[87]
Verhoeven vs. Osaro
Verhoeven was expected to make his eleventh Glory heavyweight title defense against Antonio Plazibat. The title bout was initially supposed to take place in spring 2023, but was postponed after Verhoeven suffered a knee injury in training.[88] As Plazibat suffered a stoppage loss to Tariq Osaro in an interim Glory Heavyweight Championship bout at Glory: Collision 5 on June 17, 2023, Verhoeven was rescheduled to face him instead.[89] The title unification bout took place at Glory: Collision 6 on November 4, 2023.[90] Verhoeven won the fight by unanimous decision (49–47, 50–46, and 50–45 x3).[91]
GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix
Verhoeven was scheduled to face Sofian Laidouni in the quarterfinals of the Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix on March 9, 2024.[92] He won the fight by a routine unanimous decision.[93] Verhoeven next faced Nabil Khachab in the semifinal bout of the one-day tournament. He likewise won the fight by unanimous decision.[94] Verhoeven captured the tournament title, as well as the $500,000 prize, with a second-round technical knockout of Levi Rigters.[95]
GLORY: Collision 7
In September 2024 it was reported that Verhoeven would defend his Glory heavyweight title at Collision 7 on December 7, 2024 at GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands against the winner of the Glory 95 main event bout between Levi Rigters vs Bahram Rajabzadeh.[96] On November 8, 2024 it was announced that Verhoeven was scheduled to face Rigters.[97] Verhoeven won the fight by unanimous decision.[98][99]
Verhoeven is tall and very athletic for a fighter his size.[citation needed] Besides his physical gifts, he is an intelligent fighter. He has a wide arsenal of attacks, most notably his powerful low kicks, and a tight defense. He also worked closely with WBC and Lineal heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, whom he credits with turning his jab into the highly effective weapon it is now.[2]
In 2022, the four-part docu-series RICO: Dream Big followed Verhoeven in the run-up to his fight against Badr Hari and his attempts to break through in Hollywood.
