Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven reflects on success ahead of Glory 100 title defence

At 36, the King of Kickboxing will defend his heavyweight belt against Artem Vakhitov (22-6, 8 KOs). Rico Verhoeven (65-10, 21 KO) has risen to the top of the Glory in recent years and has become one of the organisation’s most popular fighters.

Ahead of his title defence against Vakhitov at Glory 100 on June 14, Verhoeven reflected on his recent success in an exclusive interview with DAZN News.

“I don’t really believe there’s a secret to my success. For me, there’s just one thing, and that’s to be the best version of me every time,” Verhoeven said.

“I’m not so much looking at who I’m fighting, but I’m more looking at how I can improve myself from my last fight.

“Every fight I do, I look back at, I analyze. Of course, you see the things that are good, but you also see a lot of things that can be improved. That’s what we try to focus on.”

Even after winning everything, the Glory heavyweight champion still retains the same motivation as he continues to set high expectations.

“The motivation and the determination is just, like I said, for me, it’s just being the best version of me every day. Every day, I try to be a better version of who I was yesterday and just think about how I can improve,” Verhoeven continued.

“So not really trying to look at my opponents or see if they motivate me or what they expect from me or what the fans expect from me. No, I put the expectations on myself really high. That’s where my focus lies.”