Midnight Mania: Verhoeven Vs. Ngannou In Riyadh?

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Reigning Glory Kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven may end up crossing into the boxing ring as Francis Ngannou’s next opponent. Speaking with MMA Fighting, Verhoeven confirmed that he’s in talks with Saudi Arabia and that boxing Ngannou has been discussed as an option.

“The talks have been there,” Verhoeven revealed. “We’ve been talking to [Saudi Arabia] for different fights. It was fun that Francis came out of the hat but we were already in talks before that. So I’m excited for whatever the future holds. I’m open to all kinds of fun.”

For those who don’t know, Verhoeven is very clearly the best Heavyweight kickboxer on the planet. The Dutch striker hasn’t lost since 2015, winning 20 fights in a row and defending the Glory belt 11 times in that span. In fact, he’s scheduled to rematch Levi Rigters this weekend (Dec. 7, 2024) despite stopping him earlier this year.

There’s actually history between Verhoeven and Ngannou as well. Back in 2021, Ngannou specifically sought out Verhoeven as a training partner to help him prepare for his title defense opposite Ciryl Gane. That shared experience together would be an interesting angle for the fight, and it would be a more reasonable boxing opponent for Ngannou compared to the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

“I think it definitely sparks the interest for me but also the fans,” Verhoeven said of the match up. “Because it’s so, so different. We’re both standup combat sports champions and the most complete. He’s an MMA fighter, I’m a kickboxer and yeah, we both know how to use our hands and our feet. So how cool would it be to get those words together?

“Instead of just the boxers or just an MMA fighter going into boxing. No let’s get an MMA fighter against a kickboxer and we can do that in different weight classes. But especially in the heavyweight division, that’s what everybody wants to see. It’s the most entertaining as well.”

As for Ngannou, he returned to the cage and the win column in one fell swoop, clobbering Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut (watch here). It’s not clear whether Ngannou’s next fight will be in MMA or boxing, but an Ngannou vs. Verhoeven match up would be exciting whenever it’s booked.

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