Alistair Overeem: The Strikeforce Tournament Awaits
By Kevin Nelson
The current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion has been, slowly, the last couple of years, building a case as one of the best mix martial artists in the world.
Although it did not always start out that way, you see at one particular point Overeem didn’t do well in 2006 to 2007. He originally started his career as a middleweight but now he is a strong 240 pound behemoth.
He is currently on a 10 fight winning streak and has been a force in the kickboxing world of K1. Although aside from the one title defence against Rogers, Overeem has not defended his Strikeforce Title in 3 years.
In 2010, he won the K1 Title being the first MMA fighter to hold a heavyweight title and K1 title.
Here we look at Overeem’s strengths and weaknesses as a fighter.
Alistair Overeem
Kickboxing Record: 10-4, 3 KO’s
MMA Record: 34-11, 14 KO’s, 19 Submissions
Strengths
Over the years, there has been rampant speculation of Overeem using steroids due to the fact that he once fought at 185 and now is 240 pounds of solid muscle. But whether he has used or not, there is no denying the fact that he is one of the strongest fighters in the sport.
His ground game is very good and his ground and pound can only be described as brutal. His stand up is one of the best in the sport as he seemingly never tires in a fight and exhibits brutal knees that Todd Duffee is still having nightmares about.
He has notable wins:
Sergei Kharitonov
Vitor Belfort
Igor Vovchanchyn
Paul Buentello.
He is one of the most well rounded fighters in the sport.
Weaknesses
His losses are more significant then his wins.
Although he has lost to the very best in the sport Chuck Liddell, Sergei Kharitonov(his last loss), Fabricio Werdum, Mauricio Rua, Antonio Rogerio Nogeira twice.
His weakness has always been his chin and despite his standing as one of the best fighters in the world, his quality of opposition during his 10 fight winning streak is not exactly a list of future hall of famers.
His run in K1, although impressive, still leaves some question marks as to how he will do against opponents that have fought the best over the last couple of years.
The Tournament
With two of the 8 competitors he has lost to (Werdum, Kharitonov) Overeem has a chance to clear up all the question marks regarding his place in mixed martial arts with a tournament victory.
However, if Overeem were to lose in the opening round, then there will be more questions than answers as to the legitimacy as one of the best fighters in the sport.
His victory in K1, although impressive, his skill set in the MMA world is still debatable. But I will say one thing: There will be no question as to who is the best if he were to win the tournament.
For a long time, Overeem was considered a black eye to Strikeforce but with his entrance in this tournament, it will only prove to be positive experience for all parties concerned as we figure out how good is “the Reem” really?