Alistair Overeem looked more like The Demolition Man in his first-round smashing of Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve at UFC on Fox 13.
Thousands of MMA fans piled into the Talking Stick Resort Arena (formerly the US Airways Center) in Phoenix, Arizona, Saturday night expecting to see a stand-up battle between the two Dutchmen. However, Overeem reminded the world why he is equally as dangerous on the ground as he is on the feet.
Attempting to close the distance on a 7-foot opponent like Struve can be downright discouraging, which prompted Overeem to take the road less traveled by gargantuan heavyweights with ridiculous knockout power.
After a slow feeling-out process, the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ calmly secured a body lock takedown and went to work inside Struve’s guard. Like Overeem, Struve is primarily known for his striking despite the bulk of his wins having come by submission.
The heavyweight bout turned into an unlikely battle of ground positioning and guard control. With all of his long limbs and ground wizardry, Struve failed to control Overeem’s posture and eventually fell victim to some vicious ground-and-pound.
While controlling Struve’s right arm, Overeem postured up and blasted the 26-year-old heavyweight with unanswered punches, forcing referee John McCarthy to step in and call a halt to the action at 4:13 of the first round.
It was a much-needed victory for Overeem, who had quickly fallen off the contender wagon after losing three of his last four fights. As for Struve, this fight marked his first back in over a year after being sidelined with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged heart.
Struve now has back-to-back losses for the first time in his professional career.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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