In a heavyweight clash between two elite Dutch kickboxers in need of a victory, Alistair Overeem overpowered Stefan Struve to secure a first-round TKO at UFC on Fox 13 on Saturday night.
Unable to truly capitalize early in the fight due to Struve‘s pesky length, Overeem opted to abandon his strong striking skills and take the towering 26-year-old down.
As one of the better heavyweights on the mat, Overeem took his time and picked his shots in an effort to avoid Struve‘s crafty submission ability.
After delivering some serious ground-and-pound from the top position, The Reem methodically wrapped up his third UFC victory by way of TKO.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
First and foremost, this fight represented a resurgent and unheralded comeback on behalf of Struve, who was making his first Octagon appearance since March of 2013 due to a fairly serious heart condition.
So for that, hats off to him.
But besides his ability to overcome health issues and rebuild his body to actually compete again, Struve did little to impress on fight night.
Instead, it was Overeem’s precise and powerful ground game that ultimately rang true, as Struve struggled to even land an ounce of offense in this fight.
What We Learned About Overeem
For years, Overeem has been pegged and billed as an overzealous offensive dynamo capable of launching devastating body shots in the clinch and outmuscling opponents at almost every turn.
It has made him a popular entity since he ended Brock Lesnar‘s MMA career in his UFC debut back in 2011, but it has also triggered disappointing outings fueled by eager punching and an empty gas tank.
Saturday night, however, offered a new insight into his potential and skill set.
Knowing that Struve was going to command the center of the Octagon with his reach and aggressiveness, Overeem chose to shoot for a takedown and score the finish on the ground.
It was not only a testament to Overeem’s ability to bounce back in a dangerous division but to his maturation as a fighter who can now game-plan beyond his comfort level and fight smart.
What We Learned About Struve
With such little offense put together opposite Overeem on Saturday, it’s difficult to suggest that we actually learned anything about Struve.
He did show some good signs of control off his back, but it’s not like we didn’t already know he was dangerous in that position.
At the end of the day, Struve‘s heart and professional determination to get back into the cage are the only positives we can take away from his performance.
There just wasn’t enough action during that first round to tell whether or not a lengthy layoff helped him in any way.
What’s Next for Overeem
A loss for Overeem would have been his fourth in the division and absolutely devastating to his promotional stock.
But considering he is now back in the win column and more or less escaped Saturday’s do-or-die bout unscathed, a quick turnaround would not be out of the question.
The UFC will do all it can to push him to the forefront of the heavyweight pack in order to cash in on the remaining few years he has left.
A 2015 showdown with Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski or the loser of Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic would suffice.
What’s Next for Struve
Struve is back, and that’s all that really matters.
He’s been one of the best finishers in the weight class throughout his tenure, and the organization should be happy to have that sort of explosive potential on any of its cards.
As long as he can stay healthy heading into 2015, he should be able to regroup and use this loss to reboot his career, which has been chock full of obstacles.
Some top bets to test Struve‘s chin the next time around include Brendan Schaub, Todd Duffee and Ruslan Magomedov.
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