The Alistair Overeem-Golden Glory saga just opened a new chapter on Wednesday when Bas Rutten made his opinion known.
In Part I of this story, we covered the background of the issue and presented the main reason why Overeem has made the choice to separate from his former management.
What many people considered to be a business deal gone wrong, just touched a nerve on the pathos side of the argument.
According to Rutten, he believes “Overeem disrespected Golden Glory.”
Besides cutting ties with Golden Glory, a gym/company Overeem had been a part of for over 10 years, Rutten describes a conversation he had with Overeem.
When Rutten attempted to remind Overeem that these people (Golden Glory) had been there through his ups and downs and helped contribute to his success, Overeem’s response was disrespectful indeed of his former trainer.
“Yeah, if we have to talk about people who contributed to my success, then I also have to mention my cleaning lady who cleans my house for eleven and a half Euros an hour,” said Overeem.
Rutten explains that the idea that Overeem would put the words “trainer” and “cleaning” lady in the same sentence was very disrespectful. He also claimed that Overeem made a new offer to Golden Glory, Overeem offered them less than one percent.
In what has become a clouded picture as the days go on, Rutten explains that like most issues in life, it comes down to money.
“It’s a money thing. He simply doesn’t want to pay the people who made him. When he lost three fights in a row…well, like pretty much 5, I mean, he lost, won, lost three times in a row, won, and lost again…and nobody wanted to have him.” (paullazenby.com)
Besides money, the main problem presented by Rutten is one of loyalty. If you have a minute, check out the entire interview and you can see that Rutten, likely along with other members of the Golden Glory team, feel like Overeem has “left them out to dry” so to speak.
When Overeem was going through a tough stretch, the people at Golden Glory stood by him and did all they could to get organisations to get a fight for him.
An interesting point presented by Rutten is when he explains that Golden Glory would use Semmy Schilt (a much bigger name at the time) as leverage.
“If you want Semmy Schilt to fight, then you have to take Alistair as well,” said Rutten.
Perhaps this sheds light on why Dana White made such a galiant move in releasing some prominent Golden Glory fighters when Zuffa bought out Strikeforce.
Rutten is a highly respected MMA commentator so his opinion will be considered fact by a good number of fans. Is he right though?
Is Overeem wrong for simply wanting to better his life?
As with any argument, the idea of right and wrong is subjective to each individual.
If someone offered you a better paying job with more perks, odds are you’d leave your current company. But nobody would fault you for being loyal to the company you’re with either.
Overeem certainly owes Golden Glory a great deal as they’ve helped his career grow. At the same time though, I can’t fault the man for trying to find a better deal for his fight contract.
Overeem has since moved his camp to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and that is a move that will likely make him a better MMA fighter. He seems content on putting Golden Glory behind him and moving to the United States in time.
Perhaps it is best for Golden Glory to move on from Overeem as well? If the Golden Glory team truly did make Overeem into what he is today, they should be able to make the next “MegaReem.”
The two sides are likely to engage in bit of slandering to damage each other’s image to the public which likely mean fans will have to make an even tougher choice as to who is right, and who is wrong.
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