Even as he prepares to fight in the K-1 World Grand Prix Final on December 5, Ailstair Overeem is making it clear that he considers himself an MMA fighter first and a kickboxer second.
"My passion is in MMA," said Overeem, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion. "That's what I like to do. But now that I beat Peter Aerts (to get to) the Final 8, I feel like the title is within reach, so I'm going to get it."
K-1 seems to like playing up the MMA vs. K-1 angle when promoting Overeem, and no matter how he does in the Grand Prix Final, K-1 is hoping to have Overeem fight in its sister MMA promotion, Dream, next year. Overeem says he wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko next year, either in Dream or Strikeforce.
In any event, Overeem is a fascinating athlete to watch, and I'm looking forward to seeing him next weekend. But I think he's better at MMA than he is at kickboxing, and I'm glad to know he still considers MMA his specialty.
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