Rico Verhoeven had no shortage of options when he decided to walk away from GLORY as its long-reigning heavyweight champion. After more than a decade of dominance and an unbeaten run that made him one of the sport’s most recognizable figures, the Dutch star found himself at a crossroads.
With his contract nearing its end, “King of Kickboxing” began exploring new opportunities, and interest came quickly. The UFC was among the promotions that showed serious intent, especially given his training experience alongside Tom Aspinall.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Verhoeven explained how the decision ultimately played out.
“It’s been one hell of a ride, I can tell you that,” Verhoeven said. “I really felt like my GLORY contract was coming to an end, and I was like, we did it all. Kickboxing, it was just played out. From there on, we just started looking around and seeing what other opportunities were there.”
Both MMA and boxing were legitimate paths at the time.
“We were looking at UFC, we were looking at a big crossover in boxing, and both options were on the table,” he continued. “The boxing opportunity looked more interesting, so that’s the road we took.”
That choice now leads “King of Kickboxing” to one of the most unique settings in combat sports. Verhoeven is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk this Saturday in Egypt, with the fight taking place in front of the Pyramids of Giza. The bout will see him challenge for Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title.
Usyk enters the contest with an unblemished 24-0 professional record and is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of his era.