Mixed martial arts rankings are always a hotly debated topic among MMA fans. This is primarily due to two reasons. The first is that fighters compete only a small number of times every year and the second is because ranking are somewhat relevant as to which fighters will fight for a title.
Although no two lists are the same, the fighter whose place in the rankings of different publications ranges the most is Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem. Depending on what list you look at he ranges from No. 3 on FIGHT! magazine to No. 9 on Sherdog.com.
In addition to the wide difference in placement on lists it seems as though he is the fighter that fans disagree on the most.
It seems that there are two differing opinions on the Demolition Man. One group of MMA fans think that he should be ranked in the top-five because he is the Strikeforce, Dream, and K-1 Grand Prix champion and the other group thinks that he should be placed between six and 10 because recently the competition he has faced is not top notch.
Personally I fall under the second group, although I would not consider myself a “hater” of Alistair Overeem. I think he is a fantastic striker with a good ground game. However rankings are not based on the skills of a fighter, but the results of his fights and the level of his opposition.
Writers and fans who believe Alistair Overeem is a top-five heavyweight all tend to mention a few reasons to back up their opinion. Here are the most common explanations I hear and my rebuttal to them.
- “Overeem easily finishes his opponents.”
- While the Demolition Man has lived up to his nickname by finishing his opponents in the first round in all of his victories at heavyweight. The level of his completion has been very weak; he has never beaten a top-10 heavyweight.
- “He is the Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight champion.
- Although Overeem holds belts in two prestigious organizations the competion he has faced winning and defending them has been very lacking. To win the Strikeforce belt he beat Paul Buentello and then defended his title for the first time three years later against an undeserving Brett Rogers. To win the Dream title he beat another undeserving fighter in Todd Duffee.
- “He won the K-1 Grand Prix.”
- His victory in the 2010 K-1 Grand Prix is very impressive, however K-1 is not MMA and should not contribute towards his ranking.
- “He would crush (insert any heavyweight here).
- While this may be true, we don’t know what will happen. However we do know that the other fighters above him have beaten heavyweights of higher calibers.
Summed up, my opinion on Alistair Overeem is that he is a very talented fighter who has not fought good opponents.
However if he wins the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament then I will gladly rank him much higher on the heavyweight rankings.
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