Snapshot · The Joe Rogan Experience
Rico Verhoeven claimed kickboxing is the second most popular sport in the Netherlands, behind only soccer, yet it remains almost non-existent in the American market.
Where this was said
At 1:27:59 · chapter starts 1:24:50
The discussion turns to one of combat sports' great geographic anomalies: a nation of roughly 17 million people giving the world an extraordinary proportion of all-time kickboxing legends [1] — Rico Verhoeven "A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verh…" 1:33:10 . Rogan lists them: Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, and Rico himself. Rico's explanation is elegant: the Netherlands is so small that you can drive to any gym, any trainer, any sparring partner within an hour. That physical proximity enables constant cross-pollination of techniques and knowledge. The training ecosystem is self-reinforcing. Kickboxing's roots trace back to Dutch fighters going to Thailand, absorbing Muay Thai, and bringing it home to blend with their boxing tradition. Rico notes that kickboxing is the #2 sport in the Netherlands behind only soccer — a statistic that shocks Rogan. The contrast with America, where cross-country flights make the same exchange logistically prohibitive, explains much of the gap.
Thomas's wife is already ranked in the top 2,000 CrossFit athletes in the world — roughly the top 1% — and Thomas wants her to pursue the sport professionally now that he is graduating law school.
Research shows athletes who mentally imagine practicing basketball or soccer have better performance than those who do not include imagination in their training.
Rico Verhoeven dominated approximately 10 of 12 rounds against undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk before a controversial post-bell stoppage.
Rico's appeal confirmed the fight was stopped after the bell rang, and the ringside doctor found no concussion or disorientation — yet the result was never overturned.
Glory Kickboxing uses 5 judges rather than boxing's 3, which Joe Rogan argues reduces the chance of a corrupt or incompetent minority swinging the result.
Rico Verhoeven had only one professional boxing match before fighting undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC title.
Despite having just one pro boxing match, Rico Verhoeven had been training boxing for 15 years alongside his kickboxing career.
Rico used a full 6 months to transition from kickboxing stance to a proper boxing stance under trainer Peter Fury, calling it essential rewiring.
Rico Verhoeven has had approximately 75 professional kickboxing fights, giving him a massive combat sports experience advantage over pure boxers.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.