Alistair Overeem is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fighter to hold world titles in MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time.
105 Facts About Alistair Overeem
2.
Alistair Overeem decided to pursue a competitive sports career by his brother's example, first in Judo and later Track and Field and Basketball.
3.
Alistair Overeem initially did not like the sport, as he was routinely beaten by more experienced students, but he changed his mind when he met Bas Rutten and Joop Kasteel, after which he fully dedicated himself to training.
4.
Alistair Overeem won two more fights in Pride before entering the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination 2003 and losing to future UFC Light heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell in the quarterfinal match.
5.
Alistair Overeem rebounded to defeat Tomohiko Hashimoto at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 in 36 seconds.
6.
On 31 October 2004, Alistair Overeem fought Hiromitsu Kanehara, defeating him by TKO in the second round at Pride 28.
7.
Alistair Overeem lost his next fight against Brazilian Top Team fighter Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
8.
In 2005, Alistair Overeem entered the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination 2005, in which he defeated UFC Light heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort by submission in the opening round.
9.
Alistair Overeem moved on to fight Igor Vovchanchyn in the quarterfinals at Pride Critical Countdown 2005 and won via submission in less than two minutes.
10.
Alistair Overeem lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion Mauricio Rua.
11.
In February 2006, Alistair Overeem fought Russian Top Team favourite Sergei Kharitonov.
12.
Alistair Overeem fought Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum, and lost via kimura in the second round.
13.
On 9 June 2006, Alistair Overeem travelled to San Jose, California, to win a rematch with Vitor Belfort by decision at Strikeforce: Revenge.
14.
Worried Alistair Overeem would be more severely injured, his corner threw in the towel.
15.
At Pride Final Conflict Absolute, Alistair Overeem lost to Ricardo Arona.
16.
Alistair Overeem was on the receiving end of a leg kick that caused a non-serious injury to his nerves, causing him to lose feeling in his foot and leg.
17.
Unable to mount much offence or defend against Arona, Alistair Overeem tapped out to avoid further injury.
18.
Alistair Overeem then suffered another KO loss to Mauricio Rua at Pride 33, but returned in June 2007 with a submission win over Michael Knaap at K-1 Grand Prix in Amsterdam.
19.
On 17 September 2007, at the Hero's 10: Middleweight Tournament Final, Alistair Overeem faced Sergei Kharitonov again.
20.
Alistair Overeem showed solid movement as soon as the first round began, but he suffered a KO loss just before the end of the first round.
21.
On 16 November 2007, Alistair Overeem defeated Paul Buentello for the vacant Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship by submission due to knee strikes.
22.
On 15 June 2008 Alistair Overeem won by KO in the first round against Lee Tae-Hyun at DREAM 4.
23.
On 21 July 2008, Alistair Overeem defeated K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Mark Hunt in the first round by submission at Dream 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final Round.
24.
Alistair Overeem's next fight was against Mirko Cro Cop at Dream 6 on 23 September 2008.
25.
The bout was stopped about halfway through the first round and declared a no-contest, after Alistair Overeem landed multiple knees to the groin of Cro Cop.
26.
Alistair Overeem was scheduled to make his first Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship defence in a rematch against Fabricio Werdum at Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg, but had to pull out due to a hand injury, most likely caused from his nightclub brawl.
27.
Alistair Overeem defeated Tony Sylvester at Golden Glory's 10-year anniversary celebration with a standing guillotine choke.
28.
Alistair Overeem used the same choke only eight days later to submit James Thompson at Dream 12.
29.
Alistair Overeem quickly overpowered his opponent and recorded a knockout with a knee to the head.
30.
Alistair Overeem next faced Brett Rogers on 15 May 2010 at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery to defend his Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship.
31.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via TKO in the first round.
32.
Alistair Overeem defeated Duffee by way of knockout 19 seconds into the first round to win the interim DREAM Heavyweight Championship.
33.
In early 2011, Alistair Overeem was named as one of eight men that will take part of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, alongside Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, Brett Rogers, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.
34.
Alistair Overeem defeated Werdum by unanimous decision.
35.
On 17 July, it was announced that Alistair Overeem was removed from the promotion's 2011 Heavyweight Grand Prix.
36.
Team Golden Glory leader Bas Boon stated he has since changed the policy, and that Alistair Overeem could come to the UFC under an exclusive deal if the right terms are offered, which he later received.
37.
Alistair Overeem was ultimately given a conditional license for the fight by the committee during a meeting held on 12 December 2011.
38.
On 30 December 2011, at UFC 141, Alistair Overeem made his UFC debut in the main event against Brock Lesnar.
39.
Alistair Overeem hurt Lesnar multiple times early on with knees to the body, and went on to finish the fight with a kick to the liver and subsequent punches at 2:26 of the first round.
40.
Alistair Overeem was scheduled to fight UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos on 26 May 2012 at UFC 146.
41.
However, on 4 April 2012, Alistair Overeem was revealed to have failed his pre-fight drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
42.
Alistair Overeem had a 14-to-1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, over the allowed ratio rate of 6-to-1.
43.
On Friday 20 April 2012 UFC President Dana White confirmed that Alistair Overeem had been removed from his fight with dos Santos and replaced by Frank Mir.
44.
Alistair Overeem was allowed to reapply after this time period in December 2012.
45.
Alistair Overeem returned to face Antonio Silva on 2 February 2013 at UFC 156.
46.
Alistair Overeem was expected to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos on 25 May 2013 at UFC 160.
47.
Alistair Overeem was dominant early in the fight, attacking Browne with a flurry of knees and punches.
48.
Alistair Overeem was scheduled to face Frank Mir on 16 November 2013 at UFC 167.
49.
Alistair Overeem defeated Mir by unanimous decision and called out Brock Lesnar in his post-fight interview.
50.
Alistair Overeem injured his elbow and decided to take the time out to have surgery, expecting to return in September 2014.
51.
Alistair Overeem faced Stefan Struve at UFC on Fox 13 on 13 December 2014.
52.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via KO in the first round.
53.
Alistair Overeem next faced Roy Nelson on 14 March 2015 at UFC 185.
54.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via TKO in the second round.
55.
On 15 February 2016, Alistair Overeem announced that he had signed a new contract with the UFC.
56.
Alistair Overeem faced Andrei Arlovski on 8 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 87.
57.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via TKO early in the second round.
58.
Alistair Overeem faced Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on 10 September 2016 at UFC 203.
59.
Alistair Overeem dropped Miocic with a quick straight left punch before losing the fight via knockout in the first round.
60.
Alistair Overeem faced Mark Hunt in a rematch on 4 March 2017 at UFC 209.
61.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via knockout in the third round.
62.
Alistair Overeem faced Francis Ngannou on 2 December 2017 at UFC 218.
63.
Alistair Overeem lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
64.
Alistair Overeem faced Curtis Blaydes on 9 June 2018 at UFC 225.
65.
Alistair Overeem lost the fight via TKO due to elbows in the third round.
66.
Alistair Overeem faced promotional newcomer Sergei Pavlovich on 24 November 2018 at UFC Fight Night 141.
67.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via TKO in the first round.
68.
Alistair Overeem was expected to face Alexander Volkov on 20 April 2019 at UFC Fight Night 149.
69.
Alistair Overeem was expected to face Walt Harris on 7 December 2019 at UFC on ESPN 7.
70.
Alistair Overeem lost the fight via knockout in the last four seconds of the fifth round after being up on all three judges' scorecards.
71.
Alistair Overeem was dropped and almost finished early in the first round, but went onto dominate the fight with ground and pound, eventually finishing Harris with a head kick and more ground and pound for a second round TKO win.
72.
Alistair Overeem faced Augusto Sakai on 5 September 2020 in the main event of UFC Fight Night 176.
73.
Alistair Overeem won the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round.
74.
Alistair Overeem faced Alexander Volkov on 6 February 2021 at UFC Fight Night 184.
75.
Alistair Overeem lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.
76.
On 3 March 2021, it was announced that Alistair Overeem had been released from his UFC contract.
77.
Alistair Overeem then moved on to K-1, having two K-1 fights in six years against Errol Parris and Glaube Feitosa.
78.
Alistair Overeem was knocked out in both bouts and stayed with MMA from then on.
79.
Alistair Overeem did not fight in K-1 for four more years.
80.
Alistair Overeem defeated Hari by way of knockout in the first round.
81.
Alistair Overeem had success in the first and second rounds, but was knocked down by a right hook from Bonjasky in the third, who secured a unanimous decision win.
82.
On 26 September, at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final 16, having been selected by fan voting after his impressive performances against Remy Bonjasky and Badr Hari, Alistair Overeem shocked the kickboxing world by achieving a huge upset.
83.
Alistair Overeem defeated K-1's longest-serving member, legendary three-time champion Peter Aerts, by unanimous decision.
84.
At the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final, Alistair Overeem knocked out the Kyokushin karate champion, Ewerton Teixeira, with a knee strike in the first round, but lost to Badr Hari via TKO in the semifinals.
85.
At the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama, Alistair Overeem defeated Dzevad Poturak via KO in round one at 2:40.
86.
Alistair Overeem defeated Ben Edwards by TKO in the first round on 2 October 2010 at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16, which qualified him for the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix.
87.
On 11 December, at the Ariake Coliseum, Alistair Overeem won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final.
88.
Alistair Overeem came out aggressively and finished Aerts in the first round.
89.
Over a decade removed from his previous kickboxing bouts, news surfaced on 8 June 2021, that Alistair Overeem had signed a multi-fight contract with Glory.
90.
Alistair Overeem was scheduled to challenge the reigning Glory Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven at Glory: Collision 3 on 23 October 2021.
91.
On 6 October 2021 it was announced that Alistair Overeem had to withdraw from the event due to an injury.
92.
Alistair Overeem was replaced by former Glory heavyweight title challenger Jamal Ben Saddik.
93.
Alistair Overeem faced Badr Hari on 8 October 2022 at Glory: Collision 4.
94.
On 21 November 2022, it was revealed that Alistair Overeem had tested positive for a banned substance.
95.
Alistair Overeem was scheduled to headline the first Wrestling Entertainment Series event in England against WWE wrestler Braun Strowman.
96.
Alistair Overeem is considered one of the most well-rounded heavyweights in the sport, though he is mainly known for his excellence and power in the striking field.
97.
Alistair Overeem is proficient with left overhands and hooks once his opponents are worn down.
98.
Alistair Overeem was labeled as "the best grappler in Europe" after submitting all his opponents in the ADCC 2005 tryouts through this move.
99.
Alistair Overeem became a free man and bought a large tract of land on which he started a village, which has survived and prospered to this day.
100.
Alistair Overeem's Dutch mother is a descendant of King William III of the Netherlands through one of his many illegitimate children.
101.
Alistair Overeem has a cameo appearance in the music video for LMFAO's hit single "Sexy and I Know It".
102.
Alistair Overeem started arguing with a bouncer when he found himself without coins to pay the toilet woman and was asked to leave by five other security workers.
103.
The incident ended with five bouncers having to go urgently to the hospital and Alistair Overeem being forced to turn down a title fight due to a hand injury gained in the brawl.
104.
Not arrested but summoned to court, Alistair Overeem was charged with misdemeanor battery and faced a maximum of six months in the Clark County Detention Center and a fine up to $1,000.
105.
On 28 March 2012, Alistair Overeem was given a 90-day county jail sentence that would be suspended depending on the completion of 50 hours of community service and anger management.