Overview of JRE MMA Show #183 with Rico Verhoeven
Joe Rogan talks with Rico Verhoeven about his controversial heavyweight boxing fight with Oleksandr Usyk, the disputed stoppage and judging, and what comes next in his career. The conversation also covers Rico’s transition from kickboxing to boxing, the business of crossover fights, the state of kickboxing in the U.S., and his growing interest in acting as a post-fighting path.
The Usyk Fight: Controversy, Frustration, and the Case for a Rematch
- Rico felt he won the fight clearly and was frustrated that the judges saw it differently.
- The stoppage after the bell was a major source of anger; he said the appeal confirmed the bell issue, but nothing was overturned.
- Rogan argued that if Rico had lost on the cards, it would have been a “crime” given how the fight looked live.
- Both men agreed the fight felt unjust, with Rogan leaning toward either incompetence or corruption in the judging.
- They emphasized that this was arguably the toughest and most competitive heavyweight test of Usyk’s career, which is why a rematch makes the most sense.
How Rico Prepared: Game Plan, Cardio, and Size Advantage
Building the strategy
- Rico and trainer Peter Fury studied Usyk’s southpaw style and built a plan around:
- moving left instead of drifting into Usyk’s power hand,
- smothering him with size and pressure,
- using high-volume offense to keep Usyk from setting his rhythm.
- The plan was designed to make Usyk fight a style he hadn’t seen before.
Transitioning from kickboxing to boxing
- Rico said the transition required months of real adjustment, especially learning a proper boxing stance and abandoning kickboxing habits.
- He trained with heavy southpaw partners and rotated sparring looks to prepare for Usyk’s movement and timing.
Conditioning
- Rogan was impressed by Rico’s gas tank for a 260-pound fighter.
- Rico explained that his conditioning is built around high-rep, high-pace training, endurance work, and mental toughness rather than max strength.
- He trains on a treadmill that reduces impact on his knees because of past injuries.
Career Crossroads: Boxing, MMA, and the Bigger Picture
- Rico vacated his GLORY belt after cleaning out kickboxing and deciding to pursue crossover fights that felt bigger and more meaningful.
- He originally had talks for an Anthony Joshua fight, but that path fell apart after Joshua took the Jake Paul fight and then suffered a serious car accident.
- The Usyk opportunity came together through Jason Statham, who helped get Rico’s name in front of the right people.
- Rico is now a free agent and said multiple major organizations have approached him.
- He’s keeping options open, but is leaning toward boxing because the Usyk experience showed him he can perform at that level.
Rogan and Rico on Judging, Rule Sets, and Combat Sports Reform
- They discussed how combat sports need more transparency, better judging, and better review systems.
- Rogan suggested:
- more than three judges, like GLORY’s five-judge setup,
- some kind of expert app or collective scoring system,
- more openness similar to VAR in soccer.
- They also talked about the limits of replay and why subjective stoppages are hard to overturn.
Kickboxing, UFC, and Why the Sport Deserves More Attention
- Both men argued that kickboxing is one of the most exciting stand-up sports in the world, but it lacks promotion in the U.S.
- Rogan said the UFC succeeds because it tells stories well, with embedded-style content, countdown shows, and humanizing the fighters.
- They discussed how kickboxing’s popularity in the Netherlands contrasts with its near invisibility in America.
- Rico explained that Dutch kickboxing grew through shared knowledge, frequent sparring, and a small-country culture of competitive exchange.
Grief, Growth, and Acting
- Rico shared that his mother died during the Usyk camp, and that later finding photos of her in front of the pyramids made the event feel strangely full circle.
- He admitted that he tends to convert emotional pain into fighting fuel instead of fully processing it.
- He said that’s something he wants to work on as a person, especially as he moves toward life after fighting.
- Acting has become a new passion:
- he’s worked on projects like Den of Thieves: Pantera and Road House,
- he’s been around actors like Jake Gyllenhaal and Dave Bautista,
- and he sees acting as a meaningful next chapter.
Notable Takeaways
- Rico believes the Usyk fight absolutely warrants a rematch.
- He sees himself in the late stage of his fighting career, but still wants legacy-defining bouts.
- He values both money and meaning, but says any future fight has to make sense.
- The episode frames Rico as not just an elite athlete, but also a crossover star with real momentum in boxing and film.