The path from striking to MMA is very common among fighters, but none of them have had such meteoric success as Alex Poatán, former UFC middleweight champion (up to 83,9 kg) and current UFC light heavyweight champion (up to 93 kg). The biggest name in world kickboxing today, Rico Verhoeven heaped praise on the Brazilian, but stated that he does not necessarily feel motivated to try to repeat his feats.
In an interview with 'MMA Junkie', the Dutchman, current GLORY heavyweight champion, had several compliments for Alex Poatán and said he was not surprised by the Brazilian's success in MMA.
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“I’m definitely not surprised by Alex’s performances because he’s an incredible fighter. He was incredible in GLORY and he’s incredible now. He’s a real athlete who works really hard. He’s a great guy and a great champion,” Verhoeven praised.
Despite success stories like Alex Poatán e Israel adesanya, Rico Verhoeven does not regret not having invested in MMA, a sport in which he has only competed once, with a victory, in 2015.
“Of course when I see him, I think that could have been a path for me, but I don’t know. I believe that everything in life happens for a reason and you always have to be honest, look in the mirror and think: Would my ambition be to become the best, of the best, of the best MMA fighters? Probably not, to be honest. For me it works like this, being transparent. If the answer is maybe, it’s more no than yes. For me the answer is no,” said the champion.
Read More about: Alex Poatán, Glory, kickboxing, MMA, Rico Verhoeven, UFC
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