Filip Verlinden

Filip Verlinden
Born December 26, 1982
Lier, Belgium
Other names The Belgian Bull
Fille
Nationality Belgian
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Weight 84.7 kg (187 lb; 13.34 st)
Division Cruiserweight
Heavyweight
Reach 75.5 in (192 cm)
Style Kickboxing, Muay Thai
Fighting out of Breda, Netherlands
Team Bulls Gym
Golden Glory Breda
Trainer Wim Verlinden
Cor Hemmers
Nicky Hemmers
Years active -present
Kickboxing record
Total 57
Wins 44
By knockout 16
Losses 12
Draws 1
Other information
Website www.filipverlinden.com
last updated on: June 21, 2014
Filip Verlinden
Medal record
Competitor for  Belgium
Men's Muay Thai
IFMA World Championships
Gold Bangkok 2010 +91 kg

Filip Verlinden (born December 26, 1982) is a Belgian kickboxer who competes in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Verlinden was introduced to the sport at an early age and came to prominence in 2008 when he won the WKA European Super Cruiserweight Muay Thai Championship, followed by the WKA World Cruiserweight title the following year. He then took the gold medal at the 2010 IFMA World Championships in the +91 kg/200 lb division as an amateur before a short stint in the It's Showtime promotion where he unsuccessfully challenged Danyo Ilunga for the It's Showtime 95MAX Championship in June 2012. Later that year, he joined Glory.

Early life

Filip Verlinden was born in Lier, Belgium and raised in Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium.[1] 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.[2]

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 March 18, 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 October 16, 2010 and Verlinden was eliminated when he lost to Brice Guidon by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight.[3] 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.[4]

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 March 19, 2011. Verlinded outworked and outstruck Sinistra to win a unanimous decision in a bout to determine Belgium's top heavyweight kickboxer.[5] 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.[6] 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 September 2, 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.[7][8] He beat Chris Knowles by way of unanimous decision at Muaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel in The Hague, Netherlands on November 6, 2011.[9][10]

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 June 30, 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.[11] 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 October 6, 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.[12][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 December 31, 2012. Although he lost to Remy Bonjasky by unanimous decision at the opening round,[16][17] 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.[18]

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 April 6, 2013 where he was initially set to face Unai Unzai but his opponent was changed to Lucian Danilencu.[19] He defeated Danilencu by unanimous decision in a rather lackluster affair.[20][21][22]

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 June 22, 2013.[23][24] 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.[25][26][27]

Verlinden lost to promotional newcomer Saulo Cavalari by unanimous decision at Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US on October 12, 2013.[28][29][30]

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 April 12, 2014.[31][32]

Verlinden competed in the Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in Inglewood, California, US on June 21, 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.[33][34][35]

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

Kickboxing record

44 wins (16 KOs), 12 losses, 1 draw
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2015-06-05 N/A Tunisia Mourad Bouzidi Glory 22: Lille Lille, France, N/A N/A N/A
2014-08-04 Win France Corentin Jallon Fight Night Saint-Tropez II Saint-Tropez, France Decision 3 3:00 44-12-1
2014-06-21 Loss Russia Artem Levin Glory 17: Los Angeles - Middleweight Last Man Standing Tournament, Semi Finals Inglewood, California, USA Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 43-12-1
2014-06-21 Win Netherlands Melvin Manhoef Glory 17: Los Angeles - Middleweight Last Man Standing Tournament, Quarter Finals Inglewood, California, USA Decision (majority) 3 3:00 43-11-1
2014-04-12 Win New Zealand Israel Adesanya Glory 15: Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 42-11-1
2013-10-12 Loss Brazil Saulo Cavalari Glory 11: Chicago Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 41-11-1
2013-06-22 Loss Suriname Tyrone Spong Glory 9: New York - 95kg Slam Tournament, Semi Finals New York City, New York, USA Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 41-10-1
2013-06-22 Win Australia Steve McKinnon Glory 9: New York - 95kg Slam Tournament, Quarter Finals New York City, New York, USA Decision (split) 3 3:00 41-9-1
2013-04-06 Win Romania Lucian Danilencu Glory 6: Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 40-9-1
2012-12-31 Loss Netherlands Remy Bonjasky Glory 4: Tokyo - Heavyweight Grand Slam Tournament, First Round Saitama, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 2:00 39-9-1
2012-10-06 Win Brazil Fabiano Cyclone Glory 2: Brussels Brussels, Belgium Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 39-8-1
2012-06-30 Loss Democratic Republic of the Congo Danyo Ilunga Music Hall & BFN Group present: It's Showtime 57 & 58 Brussels, Belgium Decision (split) 5 3:00 38-8-1
For the It's Showtime 95MAX (-95 kg/209 lb) Championship.
2012-02-25 Win France Frederic Heini Black Panthers Gym championship [37] Antwerp, Belgium Decision 3 3:00
2012-01-00 Win France Hicham Diop TKO (leg injury) 4 0:31
2011-11-06 Win England Chris Knowles Muaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel The Hague, Netherlands Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2011-09-02 Win Germany Martin Jahn Muaythai Premier League: Stars and Stripes Long Beach, California, USA TKO (doctor stoppage) 1 3:00
2011-05-22 Win Guinea Mamoudou Keta Thaiboxinggala Putte Putte, Belgium TKO (cut) 1 1:51
2011-03-19 Win Belgium Frédéric Sinistra United Glory 13: 2010-2011 World Series Semifinals Charleroi, Belgium Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2010-10-16 Loss France Brice Guidon United Glory 12: 2010-2011 World Series Quarterfinals, Quarter Finals Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2010-08-29 Win Suriname Redouan Cairo Fighting with the Stars Paramaribo, Suriname Decision 3 3:00
2009-11-15 Win Switzerland Blerim Rashiti Switzerland KO (punches and knee) 3
Wins the WKA World Thaiboxing Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg/189.4 lb) Championship.
2009-05-30 Win France Pierre Celestin Yana Bull's Gym Gala Putte [38] Putte, Netherlands Decision 3 3:00
2009-05-02 Win Morocco Mohammed Benyaich [39] Beverlo, Belgium Decision 3 3:00
2009-03-18 Loss Netherlands Rico Verhoeven Fights at the Border presents: It's Showtime 2009 Antwerp, Belgium Decision 3 3:00
2008-00-00 Win Poland Marian Baryla Belgium Decision 5 3:00
Wins the WKA European Super Cruiserweight (-90 kg/198.4 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
0000-00-00 Loss Canada Simon Marcus
2005-10-00 Loss Albania Rustemi Kreshnik Fight of the Gladiator 4 Belgium Decision 5 2:00
Amateur kickboxing record
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2010-00-00 Win Denmark Christian Colombo 2010 IFMA World Championships, Final Bangkok, Thailand Decision 4 2:00
Wins the 2010 IFMA World Championships +91 kg/200 lb Gold Medal.
2010-00-00 Win Belarus Alexei Kudin 2010 IFMA World Championships, Semi Finals Bangkok, Thailand Decision 4 2:00
2010-00-00 Win Ukraine Sergei Lascenko 2010 IFMA World Championships, Quarter Finals Bangkok, Thailand Decision 4 2:00

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

External links

References

  1. ↑ Knucklepit interview Filip Verlinden
  2. ↑ Meet the Fighter – Fillip Verlinden
  3. ↑ United Glory Put On a Pretty Slick Event in Holland Over the Weekend and We Have the Videos
  4. ↑ Filip Verlinden wereldkampioen Muay Thai I.F.M.A.
  5. ↑ Golden Glory Dominates 'United Glory' World Series
  6. ↑ Fight card announced for the Muaythai Premier League's "Stars & Stripes" event
  7. ↑ Results and recap: Muaythai Premier League "Stars and Stripes"
  8. ↑ Buakaw Victorious in MPL's Debut Outing
  9. ↑ Results and Recap: Muaythai Premier League "Blood & Steel"
  10. ↑ MuayThai Premier League 3rd Round Results
  11. ↑ It's Showtime 57/58: Aerts vs. Spong Live Results
  12. ↑ GLORY 2 Brussels Live Results
  13. ↑ Results for Glory 2 Brussels: Bonjasky edges out Silva in return to action
  14. ↑ Weekly Kicks: Glory 2 Brussels results and analysis plus more
  15. ↑ It's Showtime Results: Great Action Overshadowed By Big Announcement
  16. ↑ Glory 4 Results: Schilt wins Heavyweight Grand Slam
  17. ↑ DREAM 18 / GLORY 4 Tokyo Live Results
  18. ↑ Whose stock went up at GLORY 4
  19. ↑ Updated GLORY 6 Istanbul Fight Card For Saturday, April 6
  20. ↑ GLORY 6 Istanbul: Daniel Ghita vs. Gokhan Saki, Live Results
  21. ↑ Glory 6 results and recap
  22. ↑ Glory 6 results and gifs: Gokhan Saki knocks out Daniel Ghita
  23. ↑ GLORY 9 New York Gets Ghita vs. Guidon, Valtellini vs. Ambang
  24. ↑ Full Glory 9 NYC Fight Card So Far
  25. ↑ Glory 9 Results and Recap: Tyrone Spong Wins Light Heavyweight Tournament
  26. ↑ GLORY 9 Results and Review: Tyrone Spong Wins Light Heavyweight Tournament, Ghita Dominates Guidon
  27. ↑ GLORY 9 New York Live Results and Updates
  28. ↑ GLORY 11 CHICAGO - NEW FIGHTS CONFIRMED
  29. ↑ GLORY 11 Chicago Live Results and Discussion
  30. ↑ Glory 11 Results and Recap
  31. ↑ Glory 15 Results and Recap
  32. ↑ GLORY 15 Results/Pictures: Saki wins title, Spong suffers horrific leg injury
  33. ↑ Glory 17 and Last Man Standing Live Results
  34. ↑ Glory's Last Man Standing Results
  35. ↑ Glory results: Artem Levin, Rico Verhoeven and Joseph Valtellini take home Glory gold
  36. ↑ Filip Verlinden pakt Wereldtitel(Dutch)
  37. ↑ 25-02-2012 | Gala A te/à Sint-Niklaas
  38. ↑ "Verslag Gala Bulls gym 30 mei Putte - Bulls Gym Berlaar (Dutch language)". bullsgym.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  39. ↑ 3x winst op gala 02 mei in Beverlo(Dutch)