Rico Verhoeven’s return to action has been confirmed to be on Nov. 4, 2023. The GLORY Kickboxing heavyweight world champion will face the interim titleholder Kevin Tariq “Cookie” Osaro. The event will be GLORY: COLLISION 6 at the GelreDome in Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Rico Verhoeven vs. Tariq “Cookie” Osaro at GLORY: COLLISION 6
The Dutch-born Verhoeven has been the long-reigning GLORY heavyweight king. He earned the title in 2014 and has since defended it in an impressive 10 bouts against notable fighters, such as Badr Hari, Jamal Ben Saddik, Hesdy Gerges, Benjamin Adegbuyi, and several others.
Verhoeven was booked to face top-ranked Croatian Antonio Plazibat earlier this year, but, due to an injury, was forced to pull out. Instead, Plazibat faced the winner of a heavyweight tournament for an interim heavyweight title.
Osaro won a one-night tournament at GLORY 85 by knocking out both Jahfarr Wilnis and Murat Aygün. This earned the Nigerian-Dutch striker a shot at Plazibat. Over five rounds at GLORY: COLLISION 5, Osaro was able to powerfully defeat his Croatian opponent, thus becoming crowned the GLORY interim heavyweight world champion.
On Nov. 4, live from the GelreDome in Arnhem in the Netherlands, headlining GLORY: COLLISION 6, Verhoeven will face Osaro for the undisputed GLORY heavyweight world title.
GLORY Kickboxing announced the match through a press release.
Rico Verhoeven vs. Tariq Osaro confirmed for November 4
It is official! The king of the GLORY heavyweight division will be decided at GLORY COLLISION 6 on November 4 as heavyweight champ Rico Verhoeven (60-10, 20 KO) meets interim-heavyweight champ Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro (25-2-1, 13 KO) to determine who is the undisputed GLORY heavyweight champion.
This mega-fight will officially take place at the GelreDome in Arnhem in the Netherlands, a venue that has become synonymous with historic nights in GLORY over the years.
Verhoeven has been away from the GLORY ring since his all-time classic fight against Jamal Ben Saddik at GLORY: COLLISION 3 back in 2021. A knee injury halted his return to action earlier this year but now he has finally been given all clear to make his highly anticipated GLORY comeback.
The 34-year-old has risen to the top of the kickboxing game thanks to his phenomenal wins over Badr Hari, Gokhan Saki, Benjamin Adegbuyi, Peter Aerts, Errol Zimmerman, and many more legends. He holds the record for the most title defenses (10) in GLORY history and is currently on an incredible 16-fight undefeated streak stretching back almost a decade.
However, during his absence a new champion has burst onto the scene. Over the past year, Tariq “Cookie” Osaro has had a breakout debut year in GLORY with six incredible performances with KO after KO that has made him a new promotional star.
Most recently the Nigerian giant defeated the heavily favourite Antonio Plazibat with a devastating knockout in the main event of GLORY: COLLISION 5 in June to capture the interim-heavyweight title.
Immediately after this victory, Osaro sent a clear and direct message to Verhoeven, who was watching from the stands; “get as ready as possible, I’m coming for the title!”