Photo of the Day: Alistair Overeem & Badr Hari are InstaFriends/Training Partners Now, Apparently


(“Of course I’d love to train with you, old pal! And since we’re such good friends now, you wouldn’t mind telling the police that I was at your house from the hours of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. last night, would you chum?”) 

Abraham Lincoln was once infamously quoted as saying, “What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” It’s a quote I could not help but reflect on in the days following Alistair Overeem’s devastating, hype-deflating KO loss to Antonio Silva at UFC 156. To be fair, it was just as much the media’s fault for filling Overeem’s head with premature discussions of his inevitable UFC title reign as it was his own, but in either case, his arrogance was surely on full display in his lackluster performance that night. Thankfully, we learned not to do the same thing with Uriah Hall.

In either case, it appears that the slice of humble pie Overeem was served last February was not taken lightly by the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ, as he recently posted the above photo on his Instagram account showing himself alongside former K1 rival and terrorizer of the Amsterdam nightclub scene, Badr Hari, along with the following caption:

Badr Hari & me at mikes gym after a great training session. The REEM vs Badr III might just happen… In training.

If you recall, Overeem and Hari engaged in a brutal (albeit brief) pair of fights a few years back — first at Dynamite!! 2008, then at the KI World Grand Prix semifinals in 2009 –with each man emerging victorious in one bout by way of (T)KO. You can find videos of both fights here and here.


(“Of course I’d love to train with you, old pal! And since we’re such good friends now, you wouldn’t mind telling the police that I was at your house from the hours of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. last night, would you chum?”) 

Abraham Lincoln was once infamously quoted as saying, “What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” It’s a quote I could not help but reflect on in the days following Alistair Overeem’s devastating, hype-deflating KO loss to Antonio Silva at UFC 156. To be fair, it was just as much the media’s fault for filling Overeem’s head with premature discussions of his inevitable UFC title reign as it was his own, but in either case, his arrogance was surely on full display in his lackluster performance that night. Thankfully, we learned not to do the same thing with Uriah Hall.

In either case, it appears that the slice of humble pie Overeem was served last February was not taken lightly by the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ, as he recently posted the above photo on his Instagram account showing himself alongside former K1 rival and terrorizer of the Amsterdam nightclub scene, Badr Hari, along with the following caption:

Badr Hari & me at mikes gym after a great training session. The REEM vs Badr III might just happen… In training.

If you recall, Overeem and Hari engaged in a brutal (albeit brief) pair of fights a few years back — first at Dynamite!! 2008, then at the KI World Grand Prix semifinals in 2009 –with each man emerging victorious in one bout by way of (T)KO. You can find videos of both fights here and here.

As a longtime fan of Ubereem despite his many faults, I must say that it is honestly refreshing to see him bring in some elite talent to help hone his technique, rather than continue to solely rely on his power like he did against Silva. Not to go down the road of speculation, but I speculate that Hari’s help, along with that of the Blackzilians new wrestling coach, Olympic legend Kenny Monday, will propel Overeem to not only a UFC title, but a series of no less than 12 title defenses and a future position in the UFC, MMA, and Baseball Hall of Fames.

God I’m glad I didn’t blow this development out of proportion.

–J. Jones