Alistair Overeem is preparing for his first fight in the UFC, but he’s reportedly preparing for a legal fight as well.
According to TMZ, the decorated mixed martial artist who will debut in the Octagon against Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30 has filed a lawsuit against his management team for their alleged refusal to pay him money owed from their deal.
It’s no small amount, as the lawsuit alleges that they’re holding out on paying him more than $151,000 he’s owed. He’s also seeking a court order to break his management contract.
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Overeem revealed that he had left his longtime home, Golden Glory, due to a “major breach of trust,” moving his training camp to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Overeem also called Golden Glory “harmful management” in his interview, suggesting that he was taken advantage of.
The lawsuit claims that Overeem agreed to give managers 35 percent of his pre-tax earnings. You may recall that in July, the UFC parted ways with most of the Golden Glory fighters they had under contract, with UFC president Dana White alleging that they insisted on business practices that made it impossible to work with them. Among them was an insistence on the UFC directly paying Golden Glory rather than its fighters, as is required by most state athletic commissions.
“We don’t work that way,” White said then. “It’s not the way we do business. It’s not how it works in the United States with the athletic commissions. You don’t pay the managers and the managers pay the fighters. You pay the fighters and the fighters pay the managers.”
Overeem’s complaint suggests that Golden Glory was directly paid to some degree, as part of his missing income includes a bonus he claims he was due after signing with the UFC.
Overeem was part of the Golden Glory stable for more than a decade, winning heavyweight championships in Strikeforce and DREAM as well as the K-1 World Grand Prix while fighting under their banner. His first time away from them will come in Las Vegas, in the main event at UFC 141.
A Golden Glory official did not immediately return a message from MMA Fighting seeking comment on the lawsuit, but later said a statement would be forthcoming.
Alistair Overeem is preparing for his first fight in the UFC, but he’s reportedly preparing for a legal fight as well.
According to TMZ, the decorated mixed martial artist who will debut in the Octagon against Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30 has filed a lawsuit against his management team for their alleged refusal to pay him money owed from their deal.
It’s no small amount, as the lawsuit alleges that they’re holding out on paying him more than $151,000 he’s owed. He’s also seeking a court order to break his management contract.
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Overeem revealed that he had left his longtime home, Golden Glory, due to a “major breach of trust,” moving his training camp to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Overeem also called Golden Glory “harmful management” in his interview, suggesting that he was taken advantage of.
The lawsuit claims that Overeem agreed to give managers 35 percent of his pre-tax earnings. You may recall that in July, the UFC parted ways with most of the Golden Glory fighters they had under contract, with UFC president Dana White alleging that they insisted on business practices that made it impossible to work with them. Among them was an insistence on the UFC directly paying Golden Glory rather than its fighters, as is required by most state athletic commissions.
“We don’t work that way,” White said then. “It’s not the way we do business. It’s not how it works in the United States with the athletic commissions. You don’t pay the managers and the managers pay the fighters. You pay the fighters and the fighters pay the managers.”
Overeem’s complaint suggests that Golden Glory was directly paid to some degree, as part of his missing income includes a bonus he claims he was due after signing with the UFC.
Overeem was part of the Golden Glory stable for more than a decade, winning heavyweight championships in Strikeforce and DREAM as well as the K-1 World Grand Prix while fighting under their banner. His first time away from them will come in Las Vegas, in the main event at UFC 141.
A Golden Glory official did not immediately return a message from MMA Fighting seeking comment on the lawsuit, but later said a statement would be forthcoming.
Alistair Overeem is preparing for his first fight in the UFC, but he’s reportedly preparing for a legal fight as well.