The Reem: The Champion

At Space Shower TV: The Diner in Shibuya, the newly crowned Champion made his plans known for the remainder of the year, and 2011. Events Producer Mr. Tanikawa joined him to give us some hints about the future of K-1, and the upcoming DYNAMITE!! card.
Mr. Tanikawa went to first, so he could then completely hand the stage over to Alistair “The Reem” Overeem. He talked about what a tough year it has been for K-1, and admitted that initially he had no expectations for decent ratings for the event. While the ratings themselves won’t be announced until tomorrow, he said he was now really quite excited to see what they would be.
He went on to mention that he hoped Alistair will fight on the DYNAMITE!! card, and that while Jerome LeBanner was absent from the WGP, he expected him to be part of the New Year lineup, and more than likely in a MMA fight. For 2011 he said there are already plans being made to hold more events both locally and abroad.
He finally made the statement that while he felt it was very rude to say it, he felt that Alistair Overeem would be a far more popular champion that either Semmy Schilt or Remy Bonjasky, and that he wanted to help him become bigger than Bob Sapp.
The champion said, “I am very proud to be sitting here with the belt. It is a happy feeling. I have no injuries at all. I think the event was great as it was a nice mixture of technical fights and knockouts. The surprise of the night was Peter Aerts stopping Semmy. He fought like a lion last night and did great.”
He continued with, “I think coming from an MMA background and being a world champion there, it has helped me adapt to K-1. Now that I have, I feel I have brought something different and upgraded K-1. The fighters now need to make changes to deal with my style. I’m proud of that, and will continue to help K-1 become a better sport.” He went on to say that even if it was Semmy Schilt that he faced in the finals, he would have “kicked his ass.” Perhaps as something of a warning, he admitted to having his eyes on Semmy’s Super Heavyweight title as well.
Regarding his request to fight for the DREAM belt on DYNAMITE!! he had this to say, “I have no fighter in mind for the title. I’ll leave that up to DREAM and my management. I’ll take a few days’ rest, and hopefully hear from my management about a probable opponent that I can prepare for. I have no injuries so I would like to fight, but I want it to be for the DREAM title.” He said he would happily fight Semmy for that title on New Year’s Eve. If Fedor was offered to him, “I would need to consider that. Different fighters require different preparation and other sorts of sparring partners. But if it was for the DREAM title, that would be huge motivation for me.”
Finally, to reassure everyone he made it known he would stay in K-1. “I love to fight MMA and I want to fight StrikeForce in April or May. Maybe even once more in summer. After that I will fight K-1. I want to do both, but looking back I have fought K-1 more, so maybe that will happen again.”
A new era has emerged. This is the first time in 8 years that there has been a new K-1 World Grand Prix Champion crowned, and for the first time in over a decade it is someone that the fans already love. The buzz among the media is evident, and the level of interest has already increased. The future is bright, and Alistair Overeem has promised to do everything he can to make it brighter.