After a rather unremarkable beginning to his career, in which he won fights against notables such as
Rustemi Kreshnik, Dave Vader and lost a decision against
Simon Marcus, Verlinden transcended the local Belgian circuit when he
outpointed Marian Baryla to win the
WKA European Super Cruiserweight (-90 kg/198.4 lb) Muay Thai Championship. He 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. He rebounded by winning the WKA World Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg/189.4 lb) title in
Switzerland later that year. In late 2010, Verlinden was recruited by
United Glory to compete in the 2010-2011 World Series, an eight-man heavyweight tournament. The tournament kicked off in Amsterdam, Netherlands at
United Glory 12: 2010-2011 World Series Quarterfinals on 16 October 2010 and Verlinden was eliminated when he lost to
Brice Guidon by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight. He then returned to amateur Muay Thai to compete at the 2010
IFMA World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand in December 2010, winning the gold medal in the +91 kg/200 lb division. He 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. Despite losing in his first outing in the promotion, Verlinden was invited to United Glory's next event to face
Frédéric Sinistra in a non-tournament fight at
United Glory 13: 2010-2011 World Series Semifinals in
Charleroi, Belgium, on 19 March 2011. Verlinded outworked and outstruck Sinistra to win a unanimous decision in a bout to determine Belgium's top heavyweight kickboxer. He then signed with the Muaythai Premier League in August 2011 to compete in the short-lived promotion's -95 kg/210 lb heavyweight class. In his debut appearance, he scored a one-sided victory against Martin Jahn at
Muaythai Premier League: Stars and Stripes in
Long Beach, California, United States on 2 September 2011. After hurting his German opponent with a right
overhand in round one a coming close to finishing him, the ringside physician stopped the bout at the end of the opening stanza due to a cut above Jahn's eye, giving Verlinden the TKO win. He beat Chris Knowles by way of unanimous decision at
Muaythai Premier League: Blood and Steel in
The Hague, Netherlands on 6 November 2011. Verlinden made his return to It's Showtime three years after his first fight there to challenge
Danyo Ilunga for his
It's Showtime 95MAX (-95 kg/209 lb) Championship at ''
Music Hall & BFN Group present: It's Showtime 57 & 58'' in
Brussels, Belgium, on 30 June 2012. He 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. After It's Showtime was bought out by the newly formed
Glory organization, Verlinden soon transferred across and made his promotional debut in Brussels on 6 October 2012 at
Glory 2: Brussels where he took a unanimous decision win over
Fabiano Cyclone having scored a knockdown with a left
hook in the second round. He 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. Although he lost to
Remy Bonjasky by unanimous decision at the opening round, his stock still rose in the world of international kickboxing. The lightest fighter in the tournament at 93.1 kg/205 lb, he was able to take the second round from Bonjasky and essentially force the fight into the third due to the "best of three" format in the tournament. He made the drop down to Glory's -95 kg/209 lb light heavyweight division for his next fight at
Glory 6: Istanbul in
Istanbul,
Turkey on 6 April 2013, when he was initially set to face Unai Unzai but his opponent was changed to Lucian Danilencu. He defeated Danilencu by unanimous decision in a rather lackluster affair. 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. He 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. 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. He dropped down to Glory's middleweight (-85 kg/187 lb) division and defeated Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at
Glory 15: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 April 2014. Verlinden competed in the
Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in
Inglewood, California, US on 21 June 2014. He 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. In 2017 Verlinden fought Ibrahim el Boustati for the
Enfusion world title losing by decision. ==Championships and awards==