Ricardo "Rico" Verhoeven (pronounced [riˈkɑrdoː ˈrikoː vɛrˈɦuvən]; born 10 April 1989) is a Dutch professional kickboxer, professional boxer and mixed martial artist. He formerly competed in the Heavyweight division of GLORY, where he was the promotion's longest-reigning Heavyweight Champion, while also defending the title a record thirteen times. A professional since 2004, he also competed in K-1, It's Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT. He challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in a boxing match at the Giza Plateau, Egypt, in 2026. 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.
Verhoeven has been regarded as one of the greatest kickboxers of all time and has held the Glory heavyweight title for 4,220 days, equivalent to over 11 years, winning 26 straight fights under the GLORY banner as champion. Verhoeven holds GLORY's record in most wins in title bouts (14), the most consecutive title defenses (13), the most wins (28), and the longest winning streak (27), while also tying in the record of the promotion's most bouts (29).
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Early life
Rico Verhoeven was born in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands. He began learning martial arts at age one, 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.
He has trained mainly in Zevenbergen under Dennis Krauweel at Superpro Sportcenter, with fellow kickboxers Benjamin Adegbuyi, Albert Kraus and Alviar Lima.
Professional kickboxing career
Glory
After competing in K-1, It's Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT, Verhoeven signed with Glory World Series.
He was drawn against Russian mixed martial artist Sergei 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.
He defeated Jhonata Diniz via unanimous decision at Glory 7: Milan in Milan, Italy on 20 April 2013.
He rematched Errol Zimmerman at Glory 9: New York - 2013 95kg Slam in New York City on 22 June 2013. Despite being deducted a point for rabbit punching in round one, he outworked and outstruck Zimmerman for three rounds and won by unanimous decision.
He won the Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States in October 2013. After taking a majority decision over Gökhan Saki in the semi-finals, and scoring a knockdown in round one, he beat Daniel Ghiță by unanimous decision in the final.
Rico further established himself by defeating Peter Aerts by split decision in the main event of Glory 13: Tokyo - Welterweight World Championship Tournament in Tokyo, Japan on 21 December 2013.
He rematched and defeated Daniel Ghiță via unanimous decision in a bout for the vacant Glory Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Championship at Glory 17: Los Angeles in Inglewood, California, US on June 21, 2014.
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. Each fighter had previously won once, Verhoeven by decision, and Zimmerman by knockout.
Professional boxing career
Verhoeven was scheduled to make his professional boxing debut against Nikolaj Falin at Mix Fight Gala XV in Darmstadt, Germany on 26 April 2014 but his opponent was changed to János Finfera for undisclosed reasons. Verhoeven defeated the Hungarian by second-round knockout.
Verhoeven vs. Usyk
Verhoeven challenged Oleksandr Usyk for his WBC heavyweight title in Giza, Egypt, on 23 May 2026. The proposed fight attracted attention due to Verhoeven's status as a long-time Glory Heavyweight Champion despite his limited professional boxing experience. The WBA stated that, should Usyk win, the bout would count as a successful defence of his WBA (Super) heavyweight title, although the title would not be at stake for Verhoeven. The IBF announced that if Usyk were defeated, the IBF heavyweight title would be declared vacant; if Usyk retained his titles, he would be required to make a mandatory IBF defence within 180 days. Verhoeven lost by TKO in the 11th round due to a controversial stoppage by the referee. Going into the round, two judges scored the fight even 95–95, with the other judge scoring 96–94 in favor of Verhoeven. The following day, Verhoeven's team lodged a formal protest against the result, calling for an apology from the officials and an immediate rematch. A commission agreed the fight was stopped after the bell, and that Verhoeven showed no signs of confusion or disorientation after the stoppage, although they decided not to change the result of the fight.
Professional mixed martial arts career
Verhoeven made his MMA pro debut at RXF 20: Verhoeven vs. Bogutzki in Sibiu, Romania on 19 October 2015 defeating Viktor Bogutzki by TKO in the 1st round due to punches. Prior to his MMA debut he trained in San Jose, California at the American Kickboxing Academy, where he trained with fighters like Daniel Cormier and Jon Fitch.
Fighting style
Verhoeven is creative and focuses a lot on technicality. He has a wide arsenal of attacks, most notably his powerful low kicks, and a tight defense. He also worked closely with former two-time heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson Fury, whom he credits with turning his jab into the highly effective weapon it is now.
Personal life
Verhoeven has a YouTube channel. He is friends with 2017 World's Strongest Man Eddie Hall and UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall. They regularly appear in each other's YouTube videos. As of September 2024, Verhoeven was engaged to Naomy van Beem. Verhoeven and his ex-wife, Jacky Duchenne, have three children.
Acting
Verhoeven made his film debut in a small role opposite Alain Moussi in the sequel Kickboxer: Retaliation.
Documentary
In 2022, the four-part Amazon Prime Video docu-series RICO: Dream Big followed Verhoeven in his fighting career and his attempts to break through as an actor in Hollywood.
Championships and accomplishments
Glory
2013 Glory Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) World Championship Tournament Champion
2014 Glory Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Championship (one time; former)
Thirteen successful title defenses
Most successful title defenses in Glory history (13)
2017 Glory Fighter of the Year
2017 Glory Knockout of the Year vs. Jamal Ben Saddik.
2019 Glory Highlight of the Year
2021 Glory 77 Heavyweight Tournament Winner
2021 Glory Fight of the Year (vs. Jamal Ben Saddik)
2024 Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix Winner
2024 Glory Fighter of the Year
Awards
Combat Press
2024 Fight of the Year (vs Levi Rigters II)
Liverkick.com
2017 Fighter of the Year
Kickboxingplanet.com
2016 Kickboxer of the Year
BloodyElbow.com
2013 Kickboxer of the Year
