Alistair Overeem has yet to be beaten since his second fight with Sergei Kharitonov In the 2007 Hero’s Tournament Final. Since then he has made some incredible strides in combat sports as he is the current Dream, Strikeforce and 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Heavyweight Champion. If that isn’t enough to get him into the UFC, it goes far deeper.
Overeem has fought and beaten a long list of the top athletes in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions, and his losses are to the best fighters on the planet. When Alistair was competing in Pride he had yet to mature as a fighter. Opponents like Chuck Liddell, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were already at the top of their careers. Though Overeem has split his outings with Kharitonov and Fabricio Werdum, he has shown persistent growth throughout the latter stages of his career. Maybe even enough to bring him from “good” to the upper echelon of greatness.
Now, aside from his growth and maturity as a fighter there is another important factor to consider; The Fans. Generally speaking there are two kinds of MMA fans. Either you love Overeem and find yourself defending him on all the Forums and Facebook pages, or you hate him. If you factor in all “The Demolition Mans” fans that will tune in to watch him get the win, and his hordes of haters tuning in hoping he will lose it could make for huge ppv sales, or more importantly very high ratings for the first UFC on FOX event if they are able to get a deal done in time.
Alistair Overeem can bring just as many fans to the television as a Brock Lesnar Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva. When the UFC is looking to become the biggest sport in the world, they need all the Alistair Overeem’s that they can get. Love him or hate him, Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem is great for the sport.
Cody Ryan Zatorski
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