Alistair Overeem still doesn't know whether his next fight will be for K-1 or Strikeforce, but he does have a wish list of fights that he would like to see happen sooner rather than later.Overeem, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, stopped by The MMA Hour on Monday, and made it clear that if things went the way he wanted them to, Fabricio Werdum would be his next opponent.
"Let's just say this, there's a couple of fights that I would like to have, and I'm going to start with the first one: the first one is going to definitely be Werdum -- he's the winner of that fight [against Fedor Emelianenko]. I'm sure, 100% sure, I'm going to beat him," Overeem said.
Overeem wants Werdum next not only because he recently defeated Emelianenko, but because "The Demolition Man" lost to "Vai Cavalo" in the first round of the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix.
"It's payback time, baby. Payback time, and it's going to be sweet," a confident Overeem said.
The Dutch fighter went on to explain that he would like to fight Emelianenko after Werdum and then finish up the K-1 Finals.
"Second fight is the Fedor fight. He lost his last fight. Did he get caught? I don't know. Has he lost it? I don't know. But he's still one of the guys I would love to fight. I've been challenging him for a year, I was hoping that I was going to be the one to beat him, but now he's lost to Werdum. But still, I've been challenging him for a year, so I still want to fight him.
"And then the third choice would be the K-1 Finals, the last fight."
Here's where things get tricky: Overeem added that the next big Strikeforce show is expected to take place in October, which is around the same time as the start of the K-1 Grand Prix Final 16. So it's unlikely that he will be able to compete for both Strikeforce and K-1 in the same month.
"I have qualified for the final 16. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to compete, but I would like to compete. K-1 is striking, I like it, it has a little bit different audience. It's very popular in Holland. So yeah, I want to become champion. I see myself as champion."
Oh, and while Overeem says he wants Werdum next, Werdum himself has already stated that elbow surgery will most likely put him out of action until next year.
That leaves Emelianenko, the fight everyone has wanted to see since "The Last Emperor" signed with Strikeforce last summer. However, the issue with that scenario is that Strikeforce might be reluctant to book Emelianenko in a title with only one fight left on his contract.
So many questions, so little answers. Such is the life of the Strikeforce heavyweight champion.
(Ed. note: Watch this week's edition of The MMA Hour featuring Overeem, Charlie Brenneman and Tim Kennedy below)
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I don't hear anyone complaining about the UFC's exclusivity contracts. This is a perfect example of why it's necessary. Overeem fights Buentello for the title and defends it ... wait for it ... 30 months later against Rogers. Now he likely won't defend the SF title until sometime next year.
Well ... at least the "few" cards they manage to put together are free.
I see a big problem in fighters being adamant in demanding fights. Like Werdum only wants to fight Fedor. He's already stated something to the effect of "I've already beaten Overeem in 06, why should I fight him again", and he wants to fight Fedor in Russia.
Fedor and his management are more into a potential rematch with Werdum. Coker needs to be more stern in creating these matchups and placing value on the Strikeforce brass. Werdum SHOULD fight Overeem, and the winner of that fight (the champion) should fight Fedor/Big Foot winner.
However, I feel like Strikeforce has been too accomodating. They let Alistair not defend for, as you said, 30 months. They let Cung Le not defend his belt for almost 2 years. If this org wants to be credible, they need concrete match-ups and direction to go in. They can't just book according to what's "convenient for fighters."
yea Strikeforce needs direction. I'm a huge Overeem fan but defend the title or give it up. I'd rather see Overeem in K-1 anyways. Strikeforce needs to start forcing there hands and make creditable fights
Hope to see overeem fight multiple fights like he did in 09. Nothing against Werdum but Overeem is gonna have to whoop em
Strikfarce is a joke. Take a look at their website. Not one picture of Werdum on the front page, this is the guy that beat Fedor, why no story!? Ohh there it is, after the news about Frank Shamrock's retirement. 3 words: short - term - thinking.
Meanwhile, another company, K1, must be overjoyed with all the publicity they are getting in the US MMA media through Overeem and Schilt... Good for them.
But regarding exclusivity contracts, would Strikefarce have been able to sign a fighter like Overeem, if they had insisted on having him sign one?
I guess Strikforce is too small for a fighter like Alistair. The HW in strikforce is not big enough, to put enough "big-fights". Now that Werdum won't fight till February, the only possible fight for Overeem in Strikeforce this year would be a fight against Fedor I guess.. After all, he's been waiting for the Fedor fight for over a year now.
I think that Fedor just focusses on Werdum, and Overeem will fight in K1 this year..
Realistically, you're probably right. Strikeforce doesn't want to let Fedor fight Overeem right away, not because he lost his last fight, but because it's his last fight in contract and they don't want him to leave the org with their belt, like Shields did.
Strikeforce wants to cash in on the Werdum vs. Fedor rematch. Fedor, after winning, would then either fight Alistair in Strikeforce or go to the UFC (I hear is management is lessening their ridiculous demands. They're fine with no co-sponsorship.) I look forward to seeing the Overeem vs. Badr Hari rubber match.
I hope strikeforce can gain some popularity but stay below the PPV level, stay with showtime and keep bringing great fights...if you lose fedor, you lose fedor...same with most fighters, but at least promote the ones you have...as kennedy...noons...the MW division...and 15 others are ranked waaaay lower than they should be just due to the SF name...thats unfortunate.
Allistar will destroy everyone in the strikeforce heavyweight division. Yes even Fedor. The most overrated fighter in history.
In my opinion, Alistair Overeem is the the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world. Experience - He has over 40 fights, most when he was very young and much lighter. Imagine a fighter who has fought Shogun Rua (twice) Rodrigo Noguera (twice) and Chuck Lidell when he was just a baby in his early 20's at 205 pounds. That certainly seems a little more significant than Brock Lesnars 6 fights? Now that he is all grown up at 6' 4" and 256 pounds, he looks 205 pound "fast" against ridiculously slow heavyweights. Wrestling/Grappling - Overeem has over 20 submissions, I think that says enough about his grappling ability. However, he is an extremely good takedown wrestler and one thing that even the experts don't seem to understand is that he is a master a tripping and thowing opponents, which is huge in MMA. Throwing Brett Rogers to the ground was no fluke, I have seen him step to the outside of the knee and throw almost anyone he wants to in the past couple of years. He does it effortlessly and no one in the heavyweight division is prepared for this. Striking - Overeem is a very fast and very quick puncher, the equal of anyone in the heavyweight division. On top of that, his knees are the most lethal (either standing or on the ground) of anyone in MMA. He is a world class K-1 competitor, beating some of the best fighters in the world. Compared to Brock Lesnar turning his back and running around the ring against Shane Carwin, I think Overeem matches up quite well with the number one ranked heavyweight. Conditioning - Frankly, Overeem looks in better shape than anyone in the division. Both Lesnar and especially Carwin were exhausted three and half minutes into one round. With his experience, Overeem clearly knows how to sprint, do damage, relax, recover and not gas himself in a fight.
Anyone can be beaten in MMA in any fight. However, when you match up everything Overeem has to offer, he is the best of all the heavyweights. The only thing he has yet to prove is championship ring savy and I am pretty sure he is ready for that after 15 years of development. He certainly showed it with Brett Rogers. He is a pretty independent guy so he is not going to stupidly try and put on a show (like Fedor against Werdum) or be influenced by the pressure to perform like the UFC guys. He will just use his strengths to his advantage and his results will be devastating. My bet is that the next time he fights Werdum, he will not go to the ground against one of the best ju jitsu fighers in the world, he will just stand and strike and win.
I say the Demolition Man is number one!