16 Facts About Filip Verlinden

Filip Verlinden was born on 26 December 1982 and is a Belgian kickboxer who competes in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

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

Filip Verlinden's 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.

Filip Verlinden then made his debut with the It's Showtime promotion on 18 March 2009, losing on points to Rico Verhoeven in a heavyweight bout at Fights at the Border presents: It's Showtime 2009 in Antwerp, Belgium.

Filip Verlinden rebounded by winning the WKA World Cruiserweight title in Switzerland later that year.

Filip Verlinden 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.

Filip Verlinden beat Chris Knowles by way of unanimous decision at Muaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel in The Hague, Netherlands on 6 November 2011.

Filip Verlinden 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.

Filip Verlinden 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 31 December 2012.

Filip Verlinden defeated Danilencu by unanimous decision in a rather lackluster affair.

Filip 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 22 June 2013.

Filip Verlinden 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.

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

Filip Verlinden dropped down to Glory's middleweight division and defeated Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at Glory 15: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 April 2014.

Filip Verlinden competed in the Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in Inglewood, California, US on 21 June 2014.

Filip Verlinden 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.