Overeem Can Become Superstar With Win Over Lesnar

By Aman Sehdev
When Alistair Overeem steps into the Octagon on 30th December at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to battle the dangerous Brock Lesnar it will be a chance for the Dutchman to introduce himself to a mainstream North American MMA audience that doesn't really know a whole lot about him.

Despite racking up huge accolades everywhere he has been, Pride, DREAM, K-1 and Strikeforce, he has only fought five times in the USA in his 47 bouts and still remains relatively unknown to those outside the die hard MMA fans.

Alistair was born in the United Kingdom and moved to his mother land- Holland when his parents divorced. It was here that "The Reem" was first introduced to fighting by his brother Valentijn (also a Mixed Martial Arts fighter) and competed in his first bout at 19 years old.

After posting a 10-3 record in smaller promotions he moved on to Pride Fighting Championships in 2002, he would go on to reach the quarter finals of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix - losing to Chuck Liddell and the semi finals of the 2005 Grand Prix - losing to Mauricio Shogun Rua (the eventual champion). Despite these showings he compiled a modest 7-7 record in Pride and it would take him until 2010 to become a legitimate superstar in combat sports.

After losing to Rua again in 2007 Overeem decided he wasn't fulfilling his potential and a change of weight class was in order: “I took an honest look at myself and made some hard decisions, while I had some impressive results like beating Vitor Belfort twice, I was not living up to my potential and I took a good look at the reasons why. I decided that one of the main reasons I wasn’t living up to my talents was I was starving myself to make 205 pounds. I could not eat correctly, could not train weights. I was weak at the weight and wasn’t even healthy, much less fit and healthy.” After rededicating himself to his craft, including altering his diet to include horse meat, rice and protein shakes and a heavier weight-lifting regimen he added 50 pounds of muscle to eventually reach a hulking 256 pounds.

Overeem went on to win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship in 2007 and has remained unbeaten since the move to a bigger weight division. After a successful defence against Brett Rogers in May 2010 he decided to enter the K-1 Kickboxing Grand Prix where he became the first man in combat sports history to hold a Kickboxing an MMA World Title simultaneously, after winning three fights in one night to become K-1 Champion. A few months later he would add the DREAM Heavyweight Championship to his collection and cement himself as a legend in Japan - where the majority of his biggest accomplishments occurred.

The Dutchman was added to an eight man Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix along with Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, Brett Rogers, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. A quarter final victory over Werdum was followed by removal from the semi finals after rejecting the fight with Antonio Silva be moved up a month, Overeem stated he needed more time to prepare. He was later released from the promotion after a falling out between his management company- Golden Glory and Strikeforce over monetary issues.

In September 2011 it was announced the UFC had signed Overeem to face Brock Lesnar, with the winner gaining a Heavyweight title shot at Junior Dos Santos in the future.

Overeem did gain some mainstream publicity by appearing in LMFAO's music video for "Sexy and I Know It", however he prefers his fighting to do the talking.

A deadly striker, due in part to his kickboxing days it is rather ironic that 19 of his wins have come via submission. Overeem has stated many times that he is an all around fighter, who has a multitude of different ways to beat an opponent: "I do everything. I’ve got wrestling, I’ve got submissions, I’ve got striking. My striking is something that I focused on because of the K-1, and my striking obviously got a lot better because of K-1 and the fact that I prefer knockouts over submissions anytime. I think everybody does.”

The former UFC heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar will provide the sternest test to date in the career of the "Demolition Man". A decorated NCAA amateur wrestler champion, Lesnar is relatively new to MMA, competing in his 8th fight (5-2 record). Ever since arriving in the UFC, the former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar has battled the best the heavyweight division has to offer, including beating Heath Hearing, Frank Mir, Randy Couture and Shane Carwin. Both fighters are huge, with Lesnar enjoying a 10 pound weight advantage (265lbs- 256lbs). The perception is of a classic striker vs wrestler matchup, however both have underrated facets of their game that could come into play. Lesnar's wrestling is well known, however his striking, although not some of the best in the division has punished legends such as Couture and Mir and he has improved since he first started in 2007.

Overeem as mentioned has won more fights by submission than knockout, yet his punching power is lethal and part of the mystique and legend surrounding the Dutch star. While working off his back has served him well in the past, Alistair will be best suited to stand and trade with Lesnar, as Brock's wrestling ability can thwart any attempts at a submission. Conversely Lesnar will be looking to shoot for takedowns often as he will fare better than trying to stand with Overeem.

The variables of the match add up to make it a must see and a fantastic way for the UFC to close out 2011. Lesnar hasn't fought in 14 months after his second bout of diverticulitis and conditioning and ring rust will be a factor. Overeem's lead up as been even less rosy, complications with drug testing (which were sorted out) and family issues have distracted his build up, “There have been some distractions, yes, but I’m pretty good at focusing myself, keeping the focus on my training. “Also, I have to thank my team because they’ve taken, I’d say, 99 percent of the weight off of my shoulders. That kept me focused".

In the most significant fight of his career, Overeem is confident he will beat Lesnar and continue to build his legacy in the sport, "I'm happy to be in the UFC, the biggest promotion in the world, my goal is that UFC belt and Brock is in the way, on friday I'm going to beat him.

A big victory will announce Overeem's arrival to the big time and he will no longer be the unknown quantity to casual fans, he will become a genuine superstar.