Alistair Overeem – The Biggest Legacy in Combat Sports
Beware of an old man in a profession where men die young. Despite age and battle-damage, few have had the tenacity of one Alistair ‘The Demolition Man’ Overeem.
At 40 years of age, Overeem retired from the sport of MMA with a professional record of 47-19-0(1NC), he saw the final bell in only 8 of these 67 fights. But If 16 of his losses were by finish, how can he be the greatest of anything?
Well, Overeem is a multi promotional champion and held belts in multiple organisations at the same time. He competed for near-enough championship status in every major promotion he was in. He also fought the very best for a majority of his career and took no shortcuts nor any breaks.
What sets Overeem apart however is his ability to jump to an entirely different sport (from MMA to Kickboxing), and still defeat stiff competition. Plus, his uncanny ability to return from adject adversity.
The Legacy of The Demolition Man
I refer back to the ‘tenacity’ part in the opening line. Despite tough losses and major set-backs, Overeem always fought and beat the best. He dominated multiple world-class combat organisations whilst facing down a murderer’s row of past and future champions.
He hopped sports frequently, and took out kickboxing world champions whilst holding major titles in MMA. Alistair was one of the first multi-promotional, multi-sport champions, and held major titles in MMA and kickboxing simultaneously, whilst achieving accolades in submission grappling too.
The Timeline of Alistair Overeem
2006 – PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix Semi-Finalist
Overeem defeated Vitor Belfort and Igor Vovchanchyn to secure a place in the semi-finals, before losing to future UFC/PRIDE Champion Mauricio 'Shogun' Hua. Belfort and Vovchanchyn had a combined record of 67-13-1 at the time.
2007 – Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion – Defended x1
Overeem beats Paul Buentello for the vacant Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, and defends it against Brett Rogers in 2010.
2008- Jumps to K-1 and defeats lineal champion Badr Hari
Overeem returns to kickboxing, and knocks out lineal K-1 heavyweight champion and one of the greatest of all time in Badr Hari, it was a huge upset.
2010 – Interim DREAM Heavyweight Champion
Overeem secures the DREAM Heavyweight Championship by defeating Todd Duffee (6-1-0) 19 seconds into round 1.
2010 – K-1 World Grand Prix Winner
Alistair defeated Tyrone Spong, Gokhan Saki, and Peter Aerts to win the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010. All three of these kickboxers have legendary status in the sport.
2011 – Demolishes Brock Lesnar in his UFC Debut
In Overeem's promotional debut, he would headline against former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Overeem would demolish Lesnar in the first round.
2016 – Loses UFC Gold by the Skin of his Teeth
Overeem would face UFC heavyweight champion Stipé Miocic. He dropped Miocic in the first round but tried to secure a submission rather than finishing Stipé with strikes. Stipé would recover and finish Overeem later in the same round.
2022 – Defeats Badr Hari at Glory: Collision 4 at 40 years of age
After retiring from MMA, Overeem announced his return to kickboxing. It would have been a decade since his last kickboxing match. He was scheduled to face the heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven, but withdrew due to an injury. It was then announced that a trilogy fight with Badr Hari was to happen. Overeem defeated Hari by unanimous decision.
One Last Victory…
Following Overeem’s victory over Badr Hari, GLORY and Overeem are looking to set up the Verhoeven fight with fell through before. By defeating Verhoeven, Overeem would secure the GLORY heavyweight championship, and cement his legacy as one of the most decorated fighters in combat sports history.
Mathew is a UK based combat sports writer. His work can be found in MMAKnockout and Heavy on UFC. Contact Mat via [email protected]