At the risk of sounding incredibly biased, I’m really tired of seeing Alistair Overeem get knocked out. On top of that, I feel pretty confident in saying that there are lots and lots of people who feel the same way I do about this. The main reason for this is simple: we were promised Overeem would come in and dominate. His entrance into the UFC had an intense hype machine behind it which seemed at first to be justifiable.
Overeem’s first fight in the UFC was against fan favorite Brock Lesnar. Very few people enter a promotion and get to fight on a main card against a vet, but this guy was special. This was the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. This was the guy who dethroned Peter Aerts. This was The Reem. And in that first fight, Overeem did not fail to impress, beating Lesnar by TKO in the first round. A UFC legend was already in the making.
The Bad Time
That’s when it the trouble started. Overeem’s next time out ended with a failed drug test that’s been blamed on everything from horse meat to anti-inflammatory medicine to (the most likely reason) actual drugs. Still, people wanted to see the legendary striker enter the octagon again and do damage to somebody. So, the next time the now named “Ubereem” (because he was huge from all that anti-inflammatory horse meat) got on the stage with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Overeem entered as a heavy favorite. Subsequently, in the third round, everyone who had bet on that favorite lost their money. The Reem went down in a barrage of punches.
The next and last time we saw Overeem fight was against Travis Browne. At first, it looked like the Reem was back, putting Browne against the cage and hammering him nonstop. What could have been an easy stoppage if it continued turned into Overeem getting tired and slowing down. Then, after several unblocked kicks to the face from Brown, the beast fell to ground. His fans were not impressed.
Heavy Weight Champ
There is a reason people want to see Alistair Overeem win. For a heavyweight, Overeem is a very dynamic fighter. Heavyweight fights tend to be slow, and not many of the big guys can stand up and go toe to toe for too long. On the other hand, Overeem was promoted as the next big kickboxer with hard precise striking. Even when not hopped up equestrian juice, his fights are supposed to be exciting and explosive. This is what we were promised, and this is what we want. On top of that, there is a bit of fluidity in the heavyweight rankings. Even though Overeem is ranked #8 right now, there aren’t too many steps between him and the champ Cain Velasquez. Daniel Cormier and/or Junior Dos Santos have been floated as potential matchups that would be both exciting for the fans and profitable for both Overeem and the UFC. These are the #4 and #1 ranked, respectively. However, these matchups can only happen if Overeem avoids getting his face on the canvas during his next fight.
The Present
The next time the Blackzillion Heavyweight fights will be UFC 169 on February 1 against Frank Mir, and the odds are somewhat in Overeems favor. Then again, the same could be said for his last two fights, but that didn’t stop him from getting knocked out both times. If The Reem can deliver the goods, he could quickly find himself amongst the top contenders in the UFC’s heavyweight division. If he doesn’t, it would be another painful fall to the canvas, and another blow to what was once a promising career.
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