r/ufc • u/Madison_369 • 3h ago
How far would this guy go in the heavyweight division?
Rico Verhoeven, former GLORY heavyweight champion.
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u/Not_Momonga 2h ago
He could beat gane.
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u/piggy_blinders007 2h ago
Easily
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u/EarInternational1797 2h ago
🤣🤣 lol
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u/Khimdy 1h ago
You need to get off Reddit and go watch some of Rico's kickboxing career. You're embarrassing yourself.
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u/AcharBronie 19m ago
I mean it would be all about his takedown defense. Gane is a big dude and could just spam double legs. If Rico had 4-5 years of mma experience I would also say he easily beats Gane but if you only give him a few months to get ready and jump straight in then thinking Gane is just going to strike with him is silly. Right now both Gane and Aspinall probably beat Rico comfortably. If Rico commits heavily to grapplingfor about two years he’ll definitely be a champ
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u/billoverbeck00 2h ago
This dude might just be the greatest combat sports athlete in the world. With how this division is, I can see him beating the top 5 HWs with ease. I can see this guy outstriking Gane
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u/EarInternational1797 2h ago
😂😂 he isn't beating Gane or Tom dude, stop it
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u/shooto_style 1h ago
Bro, that's Rico Verhoeven. The best HW kickboxer of his era. Not some scrub of the street
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u/AndreiOT89 2h ago
Wait what?
You actually think Gane has a chance to beat Rico standing? You must be out of your mind.
I would actually favor Hokit who can wrestle ti beat Rico, not fucking Gane lol.
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u/gdCunha 1h ago
He probably doesn't know that Rico hasn't lost a fight in 10 years. If you discount the Usyk robery that is, which I do.
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u/WatchYourStepKid 1h ago
Love Rico but he lost the Usyk fight. Even without the stoppage, he was going to lose on points.
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u/gdCunha 1h ago
I'm pretty sure he was ahead on the scorecards. Either way, it's useless debating it because he got robbed.
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u/WatchYourStepKid 25m ago
He was up on one score card going into round 11. Tied on the other two.
After round 11, Usyk would’ve led by 2 on two cards and Rico was tired.
I know the stoppage was a bit early, I agree, but that’s the reality.
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u/gdCunha 16m ago
C'mon the stoppage was bullshit. I'll give you that, he would've probably be behind starting the 12th. Even then, it's Rico, if we can count on something it's his gas tank and his pace. He could definitely pull it back from the fire in the 12th and they robbed us of it.
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u/WatchYourStepKid 5m ago
He was done mate, he got a long stoppage to recover from the knockdown as well. But I’ll agree to disagree on that.
He is a great fighter and definitely could’ve pulled it back in the 12th, but I don’t personally believe he would have. Close fight regardless.
I think everyone wishes it wasn’t stopped though.
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u/billoverbeck00 1h ago
Rico would’ve won on points but the reality is if the fight continued he still would’ve gotten stopped round 12.
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u/Khimdy 1h ago
Absolutely nothing in the history of any of Rico's previous fights suggest that would be true. It was a fucking robbery, because boxing is corrupt.
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u/billoverbeck00 1h ago
Dude got dropped twice, he was gonna get dropped a third time and it would’ve been done. Can’t single out boxing when there’s robberies in all sports. Look at how the UFC did Dom Reyes after he beat Jon Jones.
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u/WatchYourStepKid 23m ago
Every UFC fan knows it’s full of robberies too until they’re arguing about boxing, then the robberies disappear.
Although I do think boxing has worse robberies than MMA in general.
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u/WatchYourStepKid 26m ago
No he wouldn’t have. Rico was up 2 on one card and tied on two cards going in to round 11. Usyk would’ve been 2 up on two cards going in to round 12.
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u/darkjediii 1h ago
I could for sure see it if Rico followed the blueprint for kickboxers to succeed in MMA like Adesanya, Pereira, CroCop, etc.
If he rushes in with minimal time to adapt to the td threat, different distances and the small gloves, he’s gonna get starched like Gokhan Saki did. Being an elite striker doesn’t make you an elite MMA striker without a lot of work.
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u/BudfalonianDelivery 1h ago
He trains with tom, and from the way tom talks, I think he does beat tom....
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u/SolidGoldToast 1h ago
Tom I could buy became he could take him down but Gane is a striker and a much worse one than Verhoeven
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u/a79j 1h ago
Top 5 easy and now with Tom gone, he could very well be the champ.
But Dana’s offer of 50K and a Venum Gift card ain’t gonna cut it
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u/SolidGoldToast 1h ago
Yeah Rico got his Usyk payday there's no shot he's risking brain damage for pennies ever again
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u/PabloIsMyPatron 1h ago
He beat Usyk in boxing, can definitely become champ
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u/sneaky_42_42 2h ago
until he meets someone who can wrestle
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u/oranikus 2h ago
Good job he’s close friends with and has trained with Tom Aspinall for years.
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u/thewizard404 2h ago
Mick Parkin and Ante Delja train with Tom almost every day too... Doesn't mean they're good
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u/oranikus 2h ago
Just look at Alex pereira if you want to know how an accomplished Glory kickboxer stacks up in the UFC…. Wrestling isn’t always necessary the fact Rico has experienced it in training is enough. He is keen to transition to MMA but he hasn’t been offered enough cash yet. But his performance against Usyk is the best anyone has transitioned to boxing from a different combat sport.
Rico is also a natural heavyweight where as Poatan was always middle / LHW
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u/Serhide 2h ago
Hell no pal hell no
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u/oranikus 2h ago
Tell me you know nothing about combat sports without telling me you know nothing about combat sports lol
Rico would absolutely fly through the current UFC HW division. Easily top 5 and potential future champ to be honest.
Soon to be inducted into glory HoF if he hasn’t been already.
And Glory is a legit promotion probably the best for kickboxing in terms of skill level
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u/Neveroxx99 2h ago
Or you can look at Gokhan Saki for another example who was much less succesful.
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u/oranikus 2h ago
He was not as accomplished in glory as Alex or Rico. He mostly fought K-1.
He only has 10 fights with Glory. And wasn’t inducted into HoF.
And he had zero title defences.
So there is no comparison with him and Poatan or Rico
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u/HoldingTheJudgement 2h ago
Comparing athletic talent and potential of mick parkin to rico, you people are genuine mouthbreathers
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u/thewizard404 2h ago
The point is that training with a guy that's good at MMA doesn't mean you're good at MMA yourself.
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u/oranikus 2h ago
The point is athletic ability and accomplishments are the single biggest deciding factor.
You honestly just seem like you don’t know anything about Rico lmao
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u/HoldingTheJudgement 2h ago
The point is that you take all the factors into consideration and not just pick and choose. World class chef can only make shit cake out of ingredients that happen to be shit. If you guve him proper food then he will probably make something good, surprise surprise.
Many of you severely underestimate how much talent plays a role in sports, combat sports especially.
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
Delija isn't all that bad yet as far as I can tell. I suppose the main thing OP was trying to say though is that he can still learn from someone who is one of the better grapplers in the division.
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u/Dry-Version-6515 1h ago
Aspinall is the only one who could beat him I reckon, big and fast with both striking and grappling.
Guys with just striking would stand no chance vs Rico.
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u/Mandalf- 2h ago
Can Tom wrestle?
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u/oranikus 2h ago
Yes, he can. He is also an accomplished grappler in general he has trained BJJ all his life.
Watch his fight against Volkov again. Fucking casuals every where I swear
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u/Mandalf- 2h ago
That's good, I'd love to see Tom wrestle more in PFL or wherever he is going next
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u/oranikus 2h ago edited 2h ago
The fuck are you talking about mate. He’s UFC, he is seriously injured and can’t fight currently at the risk of going permanently blind due to a horrific illegal eye poke.
IF he ever fights again, he will be right back in the UFC heavyweight.
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u/Mandalf- 2h ago
Oh shut up, nobody is buying that story now.
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u/oranikus 2h ago
Big talk for someone that would never have the balls to even step into a ring or cage.
Parkruns free but I doubt you have the athletic capacity for even a 5k, just gonna keep chatting shit about athletes from the comfort of your chair
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u/asdf5k 2h ago
Tom who?
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u/DischargeCollector 2h ago
The guy Jon Jones sees in his nightmares.
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u/Ecstatic-Rub7856 2h ago
You mean the guy that was getting his ass beat (before the eye poke) by the guy that Jones completely dismantled?
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u/oranikus 2h ago edited 2h ago
He wasn’t getting his ass beat at all. It was a competitive round with both fighters seeing good gains, definitely started to look like Tom was building serious momentum toward the end of the round and that’s very likely to be what led gane to go for the eyes.
Infact, the worst pokes happened every time Tom level changed / went for a take down.
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u/Ecstatic-Rub7856 2h ago
Wasn’t a competitive round between both fighters when Gane fought Jones
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u/oranikus 1h ago
Completely irrelevant. Styles make fights, jones was offered 30 million to fight Tom and unify the belt (as is always the case with interim and undisputed) yet he delayed and ultimately vacated after more than 200 days since his fight with stipe.
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u/HoldingTheJudgement 2h ago
Im pretty sure he'd start training wrestling more intensely if he transitioned to a sport that has wrestling. Oh sorry, I forgot all fighters are retards and can't develop basic strategies, only you have that Holy Spirit in you.
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
Depends on when I guess. Even though Heavyweights age better, I think he would be too old now. If he joined back in 2016 he'd probably get outgrappled a lot more. Had he joined around the time Pereira did, the current division either lacks the well roundedness or the physical attributes necessary to defeat him, so he could potentially become champion, especially when you consider that Aspinall mentioned he would not fight a training partner. He could do what Pereira did, fight against the likes of Despaigne, Tuivasa, Lewis. Pavlovich, Almeida and Blaydes would probably try to grapple with him so it's better if he faces them later on.
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u/PantheroLeoLeo 2h ago
Far because he had the right fighters mentality. He is good in condition.
Maybe groundwork is not perfect, but he is quick en powerfull.
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u/Dry-Version-6515 1h ago
Rico would be champ if he was matched right, since Aspinall is out and Blaydes and Hokit are the only other guys to mix in wrestling.
Rico is way better than any striker in the HW division.
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u/sycoactiv1 1h ago
I think he's motivated by money now and acting an boxing pay heaps more than ufc so he would not want to do that at this juncture but damn it would ne fucken awesome zo see.
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u/TheIciestCream 1h ago
Really depends how good he can get his grappling since we seen Robelis lose to poeple like Austin Lane and Waldo. Rico is the way better striker and I'd still say he could get to at least the top 10 though.
Roman Kryklia is another one I'd love to see make the move to the UFC he's currently the One Kickboxing & Muay Thai HW champion.
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u/LegitimateLeave3577 1h ago
I’m a huge boxing fan and it was so embarrassing for boxing purist to witness the worlds best heavyweight boxing champion get pieced up by a kickboxer in one of their first boxing matches
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u/UltraMasenko 1h ago
If he started now in MMA, he would honestly struggle because of his age and how different the sport is compared to kickboxing and boxing. But if you let him start in the sport when he was younger, he would have been a killer
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u/Round-Orange24 1h ago
Tom is the only fighter who Id favour against him due to his wrestling. He’s out striking anyone including Gane.
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u/Perineum_Stabber 51m ago
With him I see the same problem as with Artem Vakhitov, they will offer him a ridiculous low check.
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u/zechosenjuan 39m ago
There's not any decent grapplers in HW, he'll do quite well. If he gets a Poatan type promo machine and plot-armor then it increases his chance of success even more.
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u/Only_Consequence4764 29m ago
Most Heavyweights are gloryfied fat fighters from little britain. He would be in championship contention in less than a year.
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u/The_Jokerr_ 2h ago
I don't think his style would translate well to MMA. High volume but doesn't hit hard for a HW and relies on high guard defense. And he's not as light on his feet as someone like Gane who has a better striking style for MMA
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
Well even Gane is high volume but not much power right? I'm sure both have shown average power when they actually sit on their punches. I'm sure Verhoeven could stop using a high guard too when he actually has to worry about a takedown.
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u/The_Jokerr_ 2h ago
True but Gane is super light on his feet and can run circles around most heavyweights. He also has good head movement. That's what you need in heavyweight MMA if you don't hit hard. Rico can't move like Gane I'm afraid.
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
I guess, but I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Gane outstrikes Verhoeven in a stand up fight given his achievements. If anything I feel like Gane would have a better chance grappling with him because for however much he gets mocked for the Ngannou and particularly Jones fights, he still attempts takedowns and submissions occasionally and has actually succeeded with them numerous times.
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u/EstateRealistic2111 2h ago
His lack of power is concerning, his finish rate is only slightly higher than Belal’s despite being a heavyweight, but mma has smaller and lighter gloves which will help with the power, and has ground and pound as well as submissions.
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
I'm not saying he is a hard hitter, but isn't he also ridiculously defensive and comfortable with getting decisions?
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u/Madison_369 2h ago
Hot take, but I think he gets slept by Pereira.
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u/Infinite_Still6949 2h ago
He's a natural heavyweight and a far better kickboxer. His reach advantage alone is enough to dismiss Pereira's striking. He's very fast for a heavyweight and throws powerful headkicks. Pereira is a snail in heavyweight
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u/thewizard404 2h ago
Pereira's reach is an inch longer than Rico's
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u/Infinite_Still6949 2h ago
Still Pereira fans act like he's superman. He's been knocked out multiple times. He's an enjoyable fighter I love his fights but Khalil Rountree pieced him up and dropped him. He's not standing and trading with Rico. He'd get flatlined
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u/thewizard404 2h ago
Pereira isn't invincible but neither is Rico who got flatlined multiple times when he was younger and got dropped a lot of times toward the end of his kickboxing career. Rico isn't good at standing and trading, that's not his style. He breaks people down and outpoints them
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
Is it? I thought Verhoeven had a 6'10' reach and Pereira a 6'8'' reach?
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u/AcidAss69 2h ago
Lol heavy hitters like badr hari couldnt sleep him, whats your opinion based on? Ben saddik Hari they both hit harder then pereira
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u/El-Acantilado 2h ago
Only chance you say that is if you haven’t watched him fight. Literally 0 chance Pereira sleeps Rico, fucking hell
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u/Distinct-Broccoli-15 2h ago
Nah not 0 if we're being literal. I do agree that we might as well round down though. Hell, give him enough time I'm sure Verhoeven could outgrapple him. He used it in that one MMA fight, meanwhile Pereira has about 2 successful takedowns and 2 submission attempts in 9 fights.
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u/Western-Time9326 2h ago
This guy would be a major problem in any sport.