In other words, Overeem is someone to know in the fight game. Keep reading to find out more about him.
Date of Birth
Alistair Overeem was born on May 17, 1980 in Hounslow, England.
Training Camp and Fighting Organization
Overeem trains with Golden Glory in Holland. He fights for the Strikeforce organization.
Nickname
The Demolition Man
Early MMA Career
Overeem made his successful MMA debut on 10/24/99, winning by way of guillotine choke over Ricardo Fyeet at It's Showtime. He then lost his next fight for the Rings organization by decision to Yuriy Kochkine. Overeem would post a 10-3 record, fighting mostly in Rings and 2H2H, before the PRIDE Fighting Championships came calling.
PRIDE Days
Overeem made his PRIDE debut on 7/20/02 with a TKO victory over Yusuke Imamura. Cumulatively, while bouncing back and forth between promotions, Overeem would only post a 7-7 record with the organization, losing most of his biggest battles to fighters like Chuck Liddell, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (twice), and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (twice). He often started these fights very strong, with clear explosive power and excellent striking, only to fatigue and be defeated later. It should also be noted that Overeem mostly fought as a middleweight with the promotion (205 pounds).
Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion
Soon after PRIDE's demise, Overeem stopped Paul Buentello via submission on 11/16/07, making him the first Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. Important to note is that since moving up to the heavyweight division, Overeem's cardio has been better, perhaps indicating that cutting weight was the reason why he kept gassing in fights.
Kickboxing Career
Overeem made his kickboxing debut on 3/14/99 with a decision victory over Paul Hordijk. From there, he lost three straight kickboxing matches. However, more recently he has been impressive, even splitting two contests via KO with the sensational Badr Hari. Overeem also owns a decision victory over Peter Aerts.
Fighting Style
Overeem is a Dutch kickboxer and Muay Thai specialist. In other words, he likes to stand up and trade strikes with opponents. Along with this, he is technically very good on his feet, offers a diverse stand up game, and hits like a truck with both his legs and hands. What's more, he possesses underrated takedowns and takedown defense.
Perhaps Overeem's greatest strength, however, is his explosive strength and athleticism. He literally overpowers opponents.
From a submissions perspective, Overeem is known for a very strong guillotine choke.
Some of Alistair Overeem's Greatest Victories
- Overeem defeats Sergei Kharitonov by TKO at PRIDE 31: Overeem had been somewhat disappointing as a light heavyweight with the PRIDE organization. That said, he was able to somehow move up to heavyweight and do away with Kharitonov, a contender at the time.
- Overeem defeats Paul Buentello by submission at Strikeforce- Four Men Enter, One Man Survives: Buentello, a very capable striker himself, was dominated by the Dutch fighter in this contest. With the win, Overeem became the first Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion.
- Overeem defeats Brett Rogers by TKO at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery: The Demolition Man dominated Rogers in this contest. Considering that Rogers was coming off of a good fight in a losing effort against Fedor Emelianenko, his performance left many wondering how he might do against The Last Emperor.
