Filip Verlinden

Last updated
Filip Verlinden
Filip-Verlinden2.jpg
Verlinden in 2013
Born (1982-12-26) 26 December 1982 (age 42)
Lier, Belgium
Other namesThe Belgian Bull
Fille
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb; 15.0 st) [1]
Division Cruiserweight
Heavyweight
Reach75.5 in (192 cm)
Style Kickboxing, Muay Thai
Fighting out of Breda, Netherlands
TeamBulls Gym
Golden Glory Breda
TrainerWim Verlinden
Cor Hemmers
Nicky Hemmers
Years active–present
Kickboxing record
Total70
Wins46
By knockout17
Losses22
Draws1
No contests1
Other information
Website www.filipverlinden.com
Medal record
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Men's Muay Thai
IFMA World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svgBangkok 2010+91 kg
Last updated on: 21 June 2014

Filip Verlinden (born 26 December 1982) is a Belgian retired kickboxer who peaked number 6 in the world in 2014. [2]

Contents

Early life

Filip Verlinden was born in Lier, Belgium, and raised in Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium. [3] His father, Wim, was a Belgian champion kickboxer who trained under Cor Hemmers and so Filip was introduced to the sport at an early age, beginning kickboxing and Muay Thai at the age of ten. He himself would go on to train under Hemmers at Golden Glory Breda in the Netherlands while also being coached by his father at Bulls Gym in his homeland. [4]

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. [5]

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. [6] 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. [7]

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. [8] 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. [9] 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. [10] He beat Chris Knowles by way of unanimous decision at Muaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel in The Hague, Netherlands on 6 November 2011. [11]

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. [12] 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. [13] [14] [15]

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, [16] 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. [17]

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. [18] He defeated Danilencu by unanimous decision in a rather lackluster affair. [19] [20] [21]

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. [22] [23] 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. [24]

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. [25] [26]

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. [27] [28]

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. [29] [30]

In 2017 Verlinden fought Ibrahim el Boustati for the Enfusion world title losing by decision. [31]

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

Fight record(incomplete)

Professional kickboxing record
46 wins (17 KOs), 22 losses, 1 draws, 1NC
DateResultOpponentEventLocationMethodRoundTime
2018-12-07Loss Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Ulric Bokeme Enfusion Live United Arab Emirates Decision33:00
2018-09-15Win Flag of Morocco.svg Mohamed El Moussaoui Enfusion Live 70 Belgium TKO (Referee Stoppage)2
2018-05-05Loss Flag of Morocco.svg Boubaker El Bakouri Enfusion Live Spain Decision33:00
2017-12-9Loss Flag of the United States.svg Joe Schilling Bellator Kickboxing 8: Florence Florence, Italy Decision (unanimous)33:00
2017-11-18Win Flag of Brazil.svg Mauricio Costa Cardoso Enfusion Live 56, League R. 2 Groningen, Netherlands Decision33:00
2017-09-16Loss Flag of Spain.svg Lorenzo Javier Jorge Enfusion Live 52, League R. 1 Zwolle, Netherlands Decision33:00
2017-08-04Loss Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Chalykh Fight Night Saint-Tropez France Decision33:00
2017-04-29Loss Flag of Morocco.svg Ibrahim El Boustati Enfusion Live 49 The Hague, Netherlands Decision (unanimous)33:00
For the Enfusion Live middleweight Championship -85 kg.
2016-09-17NC Flag of Morocco.svg Ibrahim El Boustati Enfusion Live 41Anvers, BelgiumDecision (overturned [33] )33:00
2016-07-02Loss Flag of Nigeria.svg Israel Adesanya Glory of Heroes 3 Jiyuan, Henan, China Decision (unanimous)33:00
2016-03-12Loss Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jason Wilnis Glory 28: Paris Paris, France Decision (unanimous)33:00
Record 44-15-1 documented by Glory. [34]
2015-08-04Loss Flag of Russia.svg Aleksander VezhevatovFight Night Saint-Tropez [35] Saint Tropez, France Decision (unanimous)42:00
2015-06-05Loss Flag of Tunisia.svg Mourad Bouzidi Glory 22: Lille Lille, France,Decision (unanimous)33:00
2014-08-04Win Flag of France.svg Corentin Jallon Fight Night Saint-Tropez II Saint-Tropez, France Decision33:00
2014-06-21Loss Flag of Russia.svg Artem Levin Glory 17: Los Angeles - Middleweight Last Man Standing Tournament, Semi Finals Inglewood, California, USA Decision (unanimous)33:00
2014-06-21Win Flag of the Netherlands.svg Melvin Manhoef Glory 17: Los Angeles - Middleweight Last Man Standing Tournament, Quarter Finals Inglewood, California, USA Decision (majority)33:00
2014-04-12Win Flag of Nigeria.svg Israel Adesanya Glory 15: Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey Decision (unanimous)33:00
2013-10-12Loss Flag of Brazil.svg Saulo Cavalari Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USADecision (unanimous)33:00
2013-06-22Loss Flag of Suriname.svg Tyrone Spong Glory 9: New York - 2013 95kg Slam, Semi Finals New York City, New York, USADecision (unanimous)33:00
2013-06-22Win Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve McKinnon Glory 9: New York - 2013 95kg Slam, Quarter Finals New York City, New York, USADecision (split)33:00
2013-04-06Win Flag of Romania.svg Lucian Danilencu Glory 6: Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey Decision (unanimous)33:00
2012-12-31Loss Flag of the Netherlands.svg Remy Bonjasky Glory 4: Tokyo - 2012 Heavyweight Grand Slam, First Round Saitama, Japan Decision (unanimous)32:00
2012-10-06Win Flag of Brazil.svg Fabiano Cyclone Glory 2: Brussels Brussels, Belgium Decision (unanimous)33:00
2012-06-30Loss Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Danyo Ilunga Music Hall & BFN Group present: It's Showtime 57 & 58 Brussels, Belgium Decision (split)53:00
For the It's Showtime 95MAX (-95 kg/209 lb) Championship.
2012-01-00Win Flag of France.svg Hicham DiopTKO (leg injury)40:31
2011-11-06Win Flag of England.svg Chris KnowlesMuaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel The Hague, Netherlands Decision (unanimous)33:00
2011-09-02Win Flag of Germany.svg Martin JahnMuaythai Premier League: Stars and Stripes Long Beach, California, USA TKO (doctor stoppage)13:00
2011-05-22Win Flag of Guinea.svg Mamoudou KetaThaiboxinggala Putte Putte, Belgium TKO (cut)11:51
2011-03-19Win Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Frédéric Sinistra United Glory 13: 2010-2011 World Series Semifinals Charleroi, Belgium Decision (unanimous)33:00
2010-10-16Loss Flag of France.svg Brice Guidon United Glory 12: 2010-2011 World Series Quarterfinals, Quarter Finals Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision (unanimous)33:00
2010-08-29Win Flag of Suriname.svg Redouan Cairo Fighting with the Stars Paramaribo, Suriname Decision33:00
Loss Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Simon Marcus
2009-03-18Loss Flag of the Netherlands.svg Rico Verhoeven Fights at the Border presents: It's Showtime 2009 Antwerp, Belgium Decision33:00
2009-00-00WinFlag placeholder.svg Simon Aston Switzerland
Wins the WKA World Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg/189.4 lb) Championship.
2008-00-00Win Flag of Poland.svg Marian Baryla Belgium Decision53:00
Wins the WKA European Super Cruiserweight (-90 kg/198.4 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
2007-03-24Win Flag of the Netherlands.svg Karim el BazeFights At The Border Lommel, Belgium Decision53:00
2005-10-01Win Flag of Albania.svg Rustemi Kreshnik Fight of the Gladiator 4 Belgium Decision52:00
Amateur kickboxing record
DateResultOpponentEventLocationMethodRoundTime
2010-12-Win Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Colombo2010 IFMA World Championships, Final Bangkok, Thailand Decision42:00
Wins the 2010 IFMA World Championships +91 kg/200 lb Gold Medal.
2010-12-Win Flag of Belarus.svg Alexei Kudin 2010 IFMA World Championships, Semi Finals Bangkok, Thailand Decision42:00
2010-12-Win Flag of Ukraine.svg Sergei Lascenko 2010 IFMA World Championships, Quarter Finals Bangkok, Thailand Decision42:00
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References

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