It was a great night for Dutch fighters.
In front of his hometown crowd in the main event of UFC Fight Night Rotterdam on Sunday, Alistair Overeem scored a dynamic second-round TKO win over Andrei Arlovski. With the victory, Overeem has almost assured himself a shot at the UFC heavyweight championship in his next fight.
A crane kick to the chin and a follow-up left hook dropped Arlovski and led to the ground-and-pound finish. It was Overeem’s fourth straight victory. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, Jeremy Botter of FloSports and Bleacher Report MMA were all impressed:
It was an incredible finish by a heavyweight. The agility and coordination it takes to execute a strike like that are not usually present in a fighter as big as the 6’4″ Overeem.
Arlovski had some good moments in the early seconds of the first round. He was able to back Overeem up against the cage and land a flurry of body and head shots. Most of the ones that connected cleanly were to the midsection, but he had to gain some confidence from the sequence.
Slowly but surely, Overeem seemed to seize control of the fight. It was similar to the way he took a grasp of his last bout with Junior dos Santos. Overeem started slowly in that one but ultimately stopped the Brazilian in the second round as well.
By the beginning of the second round, Overeem looked to be the boss in the Octagon, and he was dictating the pace of the fight. He was maintaining a safe distance but still connecting with strikes.
The UFC on Twitter captured a victorious Overeem basking in the glow of his win. The tweet also talks about the clean sweep for Dutch fighters:
Overeem did have one issue after the fight. He dislocated his toe landing the crane kick, and a Octagon-side doctor had to pop it back into place moments after the fight ended.
Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani and MMAFighting.com discussed Overeem’s bright future and his post-fight claim for a title shot.
Overeem made it clear on air he wants to face the winner of the Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic championship battle. Werdum will defend the title at UFC 198 on Saturday. Overeem should get the winner, but he also wants to defend the title back in the Netherlands in 2017.
Back in their days in Strikeforce, Overeem defeated Werdum in the Heavyweight Grand Prix. Werdum has improved since then, but it appears Overeem has as well.
His career has peaks and valleys, but he’s riding higher now than he ever has before.
Arlovski’s second life in the UFC has lasted longer than many probably expected. He made himself a viable contender again when it seemed he was past his prime. Still, it appears he has hit his ceiling. He’s lost two fights in a row, both to great competition (Miocic and Overeem), but it seems clear he’s not among the elite fighters in his division.
Struve Stomps Bigfoot
It took just 16 seconds for Stefan Struve to put Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva away in the co-main event. Silva was sporting a new hairstyle and a beard, but the new persona didn’t produce positive results. Silva charged Struve from the opening horn and immediately ran into a hard right hand.
Bigfoot was stunned and further damaged by an uppercut and a knee. He dropped to his knees with Struve’s back on the cage, but the Skyscraper had enough room to rain down four hammerfists and 14 unanswered elbows to the side of Silva’s head.
Referee Andre Roberts gave Silva a reasonable chance to recover, but he ultimately stepped in to call an end to the bout. Silva complained a little, but the stoppage was just.
Struve was coming off an embarrassing loss to Jared Rosholt in his last fight. Via the UFC, Struve wanted the rest of the heavyweight division to know he’s still relevant:
Per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com, Silva’s recent record suggests he should potentially consider another occupation:
Here’s a look at all of the results from Rotterdam:
Results
Fight Pass Prelims
- Ulka Sasaki def. Willie Gates via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Leon Edwards def. Dominic Waters via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Kyoji Horiguchi def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 30-26)
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
- Reza Madadi def. Yan Cabral via third-round TKO
- Josh Emmett def. Jon Tuck via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
- Magnus Cedenblad def. Garreth McLellan via second-round TKO
- Rustam Khabilov def. Chris Wade via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
Fox Sports 1 Main Card
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Heather Jo Clark via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
- Nikita Krylov def. Francimar Barroso via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Germaine de Randamie def. Anna Elmose via first-round TKO
- Gunnar Nelson def. Albert Tumenov via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Stefan Struve def. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva via first-round TKO
- Alistair Overeem def. Andrei Arlovski via second-round TKO
The Finishes
Sasaki’s Ground Game Too Strong for Gates
Willie Gates’ ground game needs a ton of work. Ulka Sasaki used some basic takedown strategies to control Gates for the majority of the one-plus rounds. In the second frame, Sasaki easily submitted a worn-down Gates with a rear-naked choke.
Gates did have a strong moment at the end of the first round as he landed a strong uppercut on the break. But when the next round began, Sasaki had more in the tank, and he took him apart.
With a record of 1-3 in the UFC and all of his losses having come by stoppage, it’s clearly back to the drawing board for Gates.
Madadi Wears Down Cabral
In a competitive bout, Reza Madadi’s pressure and stamina proved too much for Yan Cabral. In the third round, a noticeably slowed Cabral fell victim to a hard right uppercut that seemingly left him knocked out on his feet.
Madadi followed up with a straight right hand and a left hook just as the referee jumped in to stop the bout.
Cedenblad Stops McLellan
Magnus Cedenblad has some powerful kicks. He dazed Garreth McLellan in the second round with a kick that didn’t even land flush on the head. McLellan blocked the strike with his arm and his hand, but there was enough power on the kick to leave the South African stunned.
Cedenblad wasted no time surging for the finish. He launched a fleet of uppercuts to induce the stoppage victory. UFC tweeted the vine of the finish:
It was his fourth consecutive win, but he’s still got a ways to go before he’ll find himself in the Octagon with a top-10 opponent.
Krylov with 20-20 Vision
Nikita Krylov was in phenomenal physical condition, and he put on a great show against Francimar Barroso en route to a submission victory. Krylov’s physique was far more chiseled than in the past, but he still wasn’t interested in going the distance.
He has 20 wins in his career, and all of them have come by finish. From the beginning, Krylov was more aggressive than Barroso. While he did put himself in harm’s way a few times with some undisciplined work from top position, he ultimately took Barroso’s back and locked in the choke.
It didn’t appear he had it locked in under Barroso’s chin, but nonetheless, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt tapped quickly to the hold.
Krylov still has some kinks to work out, but he’s an interesting fighter in the light heavyweight division.
The Iron Lady Smashes Overmatched Elmose
Anna Elmose had no business in the Octagon with “The Iron Lady” Germaine de Randamie. The latter is a native of the Netherlands, so this bout was set up as a showcase for her. The less experienced and undersized Elmose was put up as a sacrifice.
While she did have boxing experience, Elmose came in with just three professional MMA bouts. De Randamie had eight pro MMA bouts, but she had 46 professional muay thai bouts without a defeat.
That experience translates better to MMA.
Elmose is also six inches shorter, and that size disparity was a major factor. De Randamie was able to secure control in the Thai clinch. A well-placed knee to the midsection sent Elmose to the canvas, and it earned de Randamie the stoppage win.
Nelson Submits Tumenov
It wasn’t suppose to be easy, but Gunnar Nelson made his submission win over Albert Tumenov look simple. From the early moments of the first round, Nelson was quicker in stand-up, and he used that to set up his bread-and-butter game on the ground.
Nelson landed a few timely strikes with the right hand, and he took Tumenov down in the first round. Tumenov would survive the first round, but he wouldn’t be as fortunate in the second.
Nelson countered a Tumenov kick, and he secured another takedown. He’d ultimately take Tumenov’s back before using the rear-naked choke to get the impressive victory.
After having been dominated by Demian Maia in his last fight, this was a much-needed bounce-back victory.
What’s Next?
The UFC will be back in Brazil for UFC 198 on Saturday, and the country will be well-represented throughout the card. Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will defend his title against top contender Stipe Miocic.
In the co-main event, two Brazilian legends will collide when Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on Vitor Belfort. Anderson Silva will also be back in action against talented striker Uriah Hall. Also, Cris “Cyborg” Santos will make her long-awaited UFC debut against Leslie Smith.
Top to bottom, it’s an impressive card on paper. Hopefully the action doesn’t disappoint.
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