Career
After a rather unremarkable beginning to his career, in which he won fights against notables such as Rustemi Kreshnik, Dave Vader and lost a decision against Simon Marcus, Verlinden transcended the local Belgian circuit when he outpointed Marian Baryla to win the WKA European Super Cruiserweight (-90 kg/198.4 lb) Muay Thai Championship. He then made his debut with the It's Showtime promotion on 18 March 2009, losing on points to Rico Verhoeven in a heavyweight bout at Fights at the Border presents: It's Showtime 2009 in Antwerp, Belgium. He rebounded by winning the WKA World Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg/189.4 lb) title in Switzerland later that year.
In late 2010, Verlinden was recruited by United Glory to compete in the 2010-2011 World Series, an eight-man heavyweight tournament. The tournament kicked off in Amsterdam, Netherlands at United Glory 12: 2010-2011 World Series Quarterfinals on 16 October 2010 and Verlinden was eliminated when he lost to Brice Guidon by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight. [4] He then returned to amateur Muay Thai to compete at the 2010 IFMA World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand in December 2010, winning the gold medal in the +91 kg/200 lb division. He defeated all three of his opponents on points, Sergei Lascenko in the quarter-finals, Alexei Kudin in the semis and Christian Colombo in the final. [5]
Despite losing in his first outing in the promotion, Verlinden was invited to United Glory's next event to face Frédéric Sinistra in a non-tournament fight at United Glory 13: 2010-2011 World Series Semifinals in Charleroi, Belgium, on 19 March 2011. Verlinded outworked and outstruck Sinistra to win a unanimous decision in a bout to determine Belgium's top heavyweight kickboxer. [6] He then signed with the Muaythai Premier League in August 2011 to compete in the short-lived promotion's -95 kg/210 lb heavyweight class. [7] In his debut appearance, he scored a one-sided victory against Martin Jahn at Muaythai Premier League: Stars and Stripes in Long Beach, California, United States on 2 September 2011. After hurting his German opponent with a right overhand in round one a coming close to finishing him, the ringside physician stopped the bout at the end of the opening stanza due to a cut above Jahn's eye, giving Verlinden the TKO win. [8] He beat Chris Knowles by way of unanimous decision at Muaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel in The Hague, Netherlands on 6 November 2011. [9]
Verlinden made his return to It's Showtime three years after his first fight there to challenge Danyo Ilunga for his It's Showtime 95MAX (-95 kg/209 lb) Championship at Music Hall & BFN Group present: It's Showtime 57 & 58 in Brussels, Belgium, on 30 June 2012. He wobbled Ilunga with a knee strike in round one but it was not enough to secure victory as he lost by split decision after a scrappy, action-filled five round fight. [10] After It's Showtime was bought out by the newly formed Glory organization, Verlinden soon transferred across and made his promotional debut in Brussels on 6 October 2012 at Glory 2: Brussels where he took a unanimous decision win over Fabiano Cyclone having scored a knockdown with a left hook in the second round. [11] [12] [13]
He was among the best heavyweights in the world when he competed in the sixteen man 2012 Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam at Glory 4: Tokyo - 2012 Heavyweight Grand Slam in Saitama, Japan on 31 December 2012. Although he lost to Remy Bonjasky by unanimous decision at the opening round, [14] his stock still rose in the world of international kickboxing. The lightest fighter in the tournament at 93.1 kg/205 lb, he was able to take the second round from Bonjasky and essentially force the fight into the third due to the "best of three" format in the tournament. [15]
He made the drop down to Glory's -95 kg/209 lb light heavyweight division for his next fight at Glory 6: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on 6 April 2013, when he was initially set to face Unai Unzai but his opponent was changed to Lucian Danilencu. [16] He defeated Danilencu by unanimous decision in a rather lackluster affair. [17] [18] [19]
Verlinden entered his third tournament and first at his natural weight class when he competed at Glory 9: New York - 2013 95kg Slam in New York City, New York, US on 22 June 2013. [20] [21] He took a controversial split decision over Steve McKinnon in the quarter-finals but lost out in a technical battle to eventual champion Tyrone Spong in the semis, losing by unanimous decision. [22]
Verlinden lost to promotional newcomer Saulo Cavalari by unanimous decision at Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US on 12 October 2013. [23] [24]
He dropped down to Glory's middleweight (-85 kg/187 lb) division and defeated Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at Glory 15: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 April 2014. [25] [26]
Verlinden competed in the Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in Inglewood, California, US on 21 June 2014. He scored a first round knockdown over Melvin Manhoef with a head kick en route to a majority decision win in the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual champion Artem Levin in the semi-finals by unanimous decision. [27] [28]
