Rico Verhoeven likes to keep a close-knit group of training partners around him when he’s preparing for fights and that team has included Tom Aspinall for the past couple of years.
While Verhoeven is recognized as arguably the greatest kickboxer in the world, he’s never crossed over to MMA, but he’s always praised Aspinall for helping him during his training camps and he returns the favor whenever the UFC interim heavyweight champion needs him. Even now, with Aspinall stuck in limbo while awaiting word on a potential fight against Jon Jones, he still helped prepare Verhoeven to defend his GLORY heavyweight title against Artem Vakhitov on Saturday in the Netherlands.
“It’s a brotherhood,” Verhoeven told MMA Fighting. “The circle we have is really, really small. Everybody that’s in the team is like family. The same with Hughie Fury and Peter Fury, it’s family. So even if they don’t have a fight, the come over and they help us. Same with Tom. I don’t have a fight, I come over and help him, the other way around, the same thing. We call, we pick up for each other, we have each other’s backs, no matter what.
“I understand for other people, he’s Tom Aspinall! For me, he’s just Tom. He’s my brother. He’s my friend. I appreciate and I love him. He’s the best, the sweetest and the kindest guy. He’s so humble. So warmhearted and the only thing you can be thankful. Thankful that you have these people in your life and that are always open to help you. That’s that.”
Rico Verhoeven thinks Tom Aspinall is ‘going to wipe the floor with Jon Jones,’ reflects on over 4,000 days as GLORY champion
Rico Verhoeven says teammate Tom Aspinall is going to run right through Jon Jones if they ever fight and he reflects on his own accomplishments after passing 4,000 days as GLORY champion.
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