Marc de Bonte

Marc de Bonte (February 27, 1990 – November 5, 2016) was a Belgian kickboxer who competed in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. He won bronze at the IFMA World Championships in 2010 and silver in 2012 as an amateur, and debuted with the Glory promotion in October 2012. De Bonte went missing on the night/early morning 4 and 5 November 2016.

De Bonte began practicing kickboxing and Muay Thai at six years old. As an amateur, he took a bronze medal at the 2010 IFMA World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. He followed this up with a silver at the 2012 games in Saint Petersburg, Russia where he lost to Artem Levin in the final.

In 2011, he signed with the Muaythai Premier League but was able to fight just once in the short-lived promotion, a split decision win over Jiri Zak at Muaythai Premier League: Strength and Honor in Padova, Italy on October 8, 2011.

He knocked out Michael Buxant via a fifth round knee at MaxPain in Genk, Belgium on February 10, 2012 to win the Belgian −81 kg/181 lb Championship.

The following year, de Bonte was recruited by Glory, the world's premier kickboxing organization, and he made his promotional debut at Glory 2: Brussels on October 6, 2012 in Brussels, Belgium where he lost to Murthel Groenhart by knockout from a knee in round two of their 79 kg/175 lb bout.

He returned at Glory 6: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on April 6, 2013, moving up to the 85 kg/187 lb division to face L'houcine "Aussie" Ouzgni. He won via a knee KO early in round one to move up to the #3 spot in Glory's middleweight rankings.

He was set to fight Nieky Holzken in the Glory 13: Tokyo - Welterweight World Championship Tournament semi-finals in Tokyo, Japan on December 21, 2013. However, he was then replaced by Raymond Daniels in the tournament for undisclosed reasons.

He was set to fight against Nieky Holzken for the inaugural Glory Welterweight (-77.1 kg/170 lb) Championship at Glory 14: Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia on March 8, 2014 but the fight was cancelled when Holzken suffered a shoulder injury in a car accident. The match was rescheduled for Glory 16: Denver in Broomfield, Colorado, US on May 3, 2014 but Holzken withdrew once again due to his recurring shoulder injury and was replaced by Karapet Karapetyan. De Bonte defeated Karapetyan via a split decision to take the title.

He lost his title against Joseph Valtellini at Glory 17: Los Angeles in Inglewood, California, US on June 21, 2014 when he dropped a unanimous decision. Both fighters scored knockdowns in the fight; Valtellini dropped de Bonte with a high kick in round three, while de Bonte floored Valtellini with a flying knee in round four.

On the night of November 4, 2016, De Bonte attended a party organized by the gym he worked at in Bladel, Netherlands. He left the party and texted his girlfriend, telling her he would stop by a friend for a drink in Turnhout, Belgium, before going to her place in Best, the Netherlands. De Bonte never arrived at his girlfriend's place and he was reported missing by his family. His car was found next to the Wilhelminakanaal, a canal which runs through Best, Netherlands. Extensive police searches in the Netherlands and Belgium did not lead to any clues on De Bonte's whereabouts. On the 24th of November, De Bonte's body was discovered floating in the Wilhelminakanaal in Oirschot, not far from the place where his car was discovered. The cause of death has not been determined yet, with the autopsy having taken place on November 26.

Kickboxing

• Glory
  • Glory Welterweight (-77kg/170lb) Championship (one time; first)
• Belgian Kickboxing
  • Belgian −81 kg/181 lb Championship
• International Federation of Muaythai Amateur
  • 2010 IFMA World Championships −81 kg/178 lb Bronze Medalist
  • 2012 IFMA World Championships −81 kg/178 lb Silver Medalist

Kickboxing record

84 Wins (20 (T)KO's), 10 Losses, 1 Draws, 0 No Contest Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record 2016-09-10 Win Artur Gorlov Kunlun Fight 51 - 80 kg 2016 Tournament Quarter-Finals Fuzhou, China TKO 3 Qualified to Kunlun Fight 80 kg 2016 Tournament Final 4. 2014-06-21 Loss Joseph Valtellini Glory 17: Los Angeles Inglewood, California, USA Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00 Loses the Glory Welterweight Championship. 2014-05-03 Win Karapet Karapetyan Glory 16: Denver Broomfield, Colorado, USA Decision (split) 5 3:00 Wins the Glory Welterweight Championship. 2013-04-06 Win L'houcine Ouzgni Glory 6: Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey KO (left knee) 1 1:16 2012-10-06 Loss Murthel Groenhart Glory 2: Brussels Brussels, Belgium KO (knee) 2 2012-02-10 Win Michael Buxant MaxPain Genk, Belgium KO (knee) 5 Wins the Belgian −81 kg/181 lb Championship. 2011-10-08 Win Jiri Zak Muaythai Premier League: Strength and Honor Padova, Italy Decision (split) 3 3:00 2011-04-09 Win Fikri Demirci A1 World Combat Cup Eindhoven, Netherlands Decision 3 3:00 2010-11-21 Win Joep Beerepoot Zaandam, Netherlands 2010-00-00 Win Michael Smit Belgium Decision 3 3:00 2008-01-19 Win Geronimo de Groot Heat FC Heesch, Netherlands Decision 3 2:00 Amateur kickboxing record Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 2012-09-11 Loss Artem Levin IFMA 2012 World Championships, Final Saint Petersburg, Russia Decision 4 2:00 Wins the IFMA 2012 World Championships −81 kg/178 lb Silver Medal.

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes