Tag: Alistair Overeem

Exclusive: Team Co-Founder Bas Boon Talks the Past Present and Future of Golden Glory

(Boon [far right] with a few of his Golden Glory brothers.)

If you’ve followed kickboxing and MMA for a while, chances are you’re familiar with Golden Glory thanks in large part to fighters like Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, Marloes Coenen, Siyar Bahadurzada, Gokhan Saki and Sergey Kharitonov.

It’s behind the scenes, however, where several key players from coaches Cor Hemmers and Martijn de Jong to founders Ron Nyqvist, Frederico Lapenda and Bas Boon make Golden Glory run like a well oiled machine.

We recently spoke with Bas Boon about the past present and future of his esteemed Dutch-based “fight family.”

Check out what he had to say after the jump.

(Boon [far right] with a few of his Golden Glory brothers.)

If you’ve followed kickboxing and MMA for a while, chances are you’re familiar with Golden Glory thanks in large part to fighters like Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, Marloes Coenen, Siyar Bahadurzada, Gokhan Saki and Sergey Kharitonov.

It’s behind the scenes, however, where several key players from coaches Cor Hemmers and Martijn de Jong to founders Ron Nyqvist, Frederico Lapenda and Bas Boon make Golden Glory run like a well oiled machine.

We recently spoke with Bas Boon about the past present and future of his esteemed Dutch-based “fight family.”

Here’s what he had to say:

First off Bas, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
When did you first get involved with martial arts and kickboxing?

At age 15.

Did you train?

Yes, I trained in tae kwon do and at age 16 I began training in kickboxing. I started together with Peter Aerts. A seminar with Rob Kaman got me hooked. I fought 19 fights and won 17 in a style called PKA. You had to kick eight times above the belt to win. There were not too many low kick fights at that time. I had a knee injury when I was 17 and it got to a point were I stopped fighting and I concentrated on my business. I started a small martial arts store when I was 17.

Do you find that a lot of fans from North America are surprised when they hear about how long Golden Glory has been around and just how deep its roots are entwined in the highest levels of MMA and kickboxing from current members of the team to guys like Bas Rutten (through Cor Hemmers), Rob Kaman, Gilbert Yvel, Peter Aerts, the Dekkers brothers, Heath Herring etc…etc?

I have been together with Cor Hemmers for over 26 years. We promoted fights together like the classics Peter Aerts vs. Maurice Smith, Aerts vs. Frank Lobman and Ballentine vs. Dekkers. I produced about 400 fighting shows. In that period you get a lot of knowhow and I know that when a formula works to keep this going. The only two fighters who went their own way after some years with Golden Glory were Heath Herring and Gilbert Yvel. We wished them luck with their future careers. I admit it is quit unique to have a team that has worked together for almost 12 years and still everybody is together.

Your team is known for primarily as kickboxing specialists because of the K-1 pedigrees of a number of your fighters. Has it been a difficult to convince people that you are both a well-rounded MMA AND a kickboxing team?

Not really. We have Sergey Kharitonov who struggled with a long lasting shoulder injury, but is now fit to fight MMA and kickboxing. We have John Olav Einemo who suffered an injury but is fit to fight MMA again. Siyar Bahadurza defended his Shooto world title belt in Brazil by winning by KO in round one and he did the same at a PTA event, winning his fight by KO in round one. Alistair destroyed Brett Rogers for the Strikeforce world title defense bout and won the K-1 World Grand Prix. Semmy has already promised me that he is hungry to win a fifth K-1 GP belt and then wants to win a title in the UFC or Dream. Marloes Coenen won the Strikeforce women’s world title and has defended it. We convince people by beating our opponents and fighting as much as we can worldwide.

We know who the fighters are. Who are the people who make up the business and training sides of Team Golden Glory?

I handle most of the business, but I do consult a lot with Cor Hemmers and other trainers and people who were involved from the start. I am the person who will look after the contracts and take care of flights, seminars, TV interviews, media appearances, social media, production etc.

Besides your well-known champions like Alistair, Marloes, Siyar and Semmy, what other champions has Golden Glory produced?

We are working on bringing Kharitonov and John Olav Einemo back into the MMA world. Krista Flemming was world champion in kickboxing. Nieky Holzken became the K-1 Max champion in Sweden. Now Robin van Roosmalen and Max are both 21-year-old 70 kg talents who we will see fighting in the K-1 and Glory events next year. Heath Herring won the WVTC9 in Aruba. Chalid Arrab en Stefan Leko won the K-1 Las Vegas GP. Gokhan Saki won the K-1 Hawaii GP and multiple Thai/Kickboxing world titles. Errol Zimmerman won the K-1 GP in Amsterdam, just to name a few.

A little known fact is that the founders of GG were also responsible for creating the International Vale Tudo Championships (IVC). What role did the experience of promoting the IVC play in establishing Team Golden Glory?

My long time business partner Frederico Lapenda who I produce movies with in Hollywood was the founder of the WVTC. During the event in Aruba the idea was created to start an elite fighting team, and as such, Golden Glory was born.

In your opinion, which fighter has progressed the most from the first day they walked into the gym until now?

I must say Alistair Overeem, by far. Semmy progressed a lot in his boxing and so did Siyar, but overall, Alistair has improved the most.

A lot of camps have a rule that teammates will never fight each other. What is Golden Glory’s stance on teammate versus teammate bouts?

We fight each other every day in the gym. Semmy already fought Errol in K-1 and Karaev fought Chalid, so no problem. It becomes an extra match to see who is GG’s strongest fighter.

It’s been said that the best teams are like family. Seeing footage of Marloes and Alistair’s mom waiting with fans at the airport in Amsterdam for his triumphant return after winning his Strikeforce title and seeing the in-ring team celebrations at events like the Glory MMA and kickboxing event you held recently, it’s obvious that your fighters aren’t just training partners. Do you see them as your family members?

Yes it is one big family and even if some of us do not train together, they all fight proudly under the banner of Golden Glory. The good thing is that Semmy Schilt is the man to beat at this moment and he prepares in Golden Glory Zuid Laren in Holland and Golden Glory Romania. Alistair Overeem prepares at Golden Glory Breda in Holland. It would have been a real battle if they had met in the K-1 finals. We sometimes talk crap about each other. In Breda they always say that they will beat the crap out of each other if they would meet in the half-finals or finals. It’s the honor of who is the best GG fighter too. They do this in the gym every week – beating each other up.

You recently made your Ultimate Glory events available through pay-per-view purchase via YouTube. Prior to that they were free. What made you decide to stream past Glory show for free when you could have definitely charged for them?

We want to make it more popular and we want everybody to know that Glory is a very high quality produced show that will compete in the future with any other big fight promoter in the universe. Martijn de Jong and Bert Ditmans are the driving force to promote these glory events. I work more in the production and distribution side of it, like making TV deals and help together with Cor Hemmers and some partners with the matchmaking.

I’m from a small town in Ontario, Canada just outside of Toronto – the Canadian city Dana White calls the Mecca for MMA fans and where the sport was recently sanctioned. Having covered MMA for several years in Canada, I’m sure a show like yours would do well here. Have you considered bringing Glory events or gyms to other locations like Canada?

We are rapidly extending with the opening of GG gyms around the world, recently after Golden Glory Romania and Golden Glory Pattaya Thailand we have opened a Golden Glory gym in Berlin Germany. The beginning of next year Golden Glory California will open and we have serious talks for Golden Glory Dubai and Moscow. If a co-promotion can be done with somebody in Canada, we are all ears.

Can we expect to see more recognizable Golden Glory fighters like Gokhan and Siyar on future Glory cards?

Yes that’s the purpose of the Glory events to create a platform to have our use stable of talented fighter fight on a regular basis.

You recently revealed some details about the Golden Glory satellite location that you are opening in California. Will it be open to the public or is it by invitation only?

It will be open for the public and there will be a professional section in the future.

Alistair’s web-based documentary series “The Reem” is incredible from the cinematography right down to the choice of music. Are there plans to make similar series for other Golden Glory fighters?

It is very expensive to have camera people fly with us all over the world. This is a childhood friend of Alistair and there is a special bond with the team as well. As you could see in the Thailand episode other GG fighters were also interacting with the camera. This is a huge job and the large amount of hours and efforts put into in this documentary is crazy.

A lot of fighters seem to be spending time with other camps to fill in gaps in areas of their game that need work. Do you host fighters from other teams for training camps or do you prefer to keep your cards close as not to reveal any Golden Glory training secrets?

No we do not, only fighters who have signed a management deal. I consider it very unprofessional to help fighters with a different management to then find out that two years later it will be your opponent in some big MMA/kickboxing show.

Considering you are based out of Holland where you helped put Dutch kickboxers and MMA on the map, is it frustrating to think of all of the opposition you’ve encountered from politicians from the earliest days of the Cage Fighting Championships (CFC) to the Glory event you held in October?

Its politics we just have to deal with this. The UFC hired former state athletic employee Marc to only work for the UFC and get the UFC’s shows sectioned in as much states as possible. Europe works different, but overall they make it more and more difficult to promote events in Holland. I am concentrating on the worldwide business of Golden Glory. I run the Golden Glory Pattaya gym and am closely involved in a project called “Fight Game” which is a clothing company that is currently one of the biggest sponsors of Golden Glory. I have more interesting projects I am working on and do not want to spend time in politics which use fighting sports to gain popular interest for their own agendas. I like to keep busy with positive things.

Where do kickboxing and MMA rank in Holland in comparison to other popular sports like football and ice hockey?

Soccer is number one but then fighting sports for sure, no other sport gets 20.000 people for a sports event in Holland.

If you could predict a Golden Glory fighter who will likely be turning heads in the near future, who would you say it would be?

Philp Verlinden and Robin van Roosmalen and Russian fighters Max and Kharitonov will be more and more in the news soon.

What’s next for Golden Glory in 2011?

Alistair fighting Werdum, Semmy back in MMA in UFC or Dream, Kharitonov in Strikeforce, Marloes and Siyar in Strikeforce and there is so much more coming.

Again, Bas, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. We wish you continued success in 2011 and look forward to talking to you again in the future.

Thank you. I wish everybody good health and happiness keep training and make your wishes become reality as a fighter.

-Mike Russell-

Breakfast With a Champion, Featuring Alistair Overeem


(“You kick one little girl at a birthday party and nobody ever lets you live it down.”)

In an effort to constantly increase and improve our interactive offerings to the Potato Nation, we’ve come up with a new concept for a series of ongoing articles that will give our readers the opportunity to interact with some of MMA’s biggest stars.

We dubbed the series, “Breakfast With a Champion,” because we will be posting them early in the morning for you to read and because the concept is that you send us your questions for various titleholders and we forward them and post the replies here when we get them back.

The beauty of it is that you get to ask questions that typically don’t get asked by journalists and you get to contribute to the content you want to read in one of two ways: By posting questions for future guests and by suggesting which champs you want to take your questions.

We’ll do our best to get in touch with as many of them as we can and to answer as many of your questions as possible. All we ask is that you keep your questions respectful and that you spread the word about the series.

So without further adieu, check the first instalment of Breakfast With a Champion, featuring Alistair Overeem after the jump.


(“You kick one little girl at a birthday party and nobody ever lets you live it down.”)

In an effort to constantly increase and improve our interactive offerings to the Potato Nation, we’ve come up with a new concept for a series of ongoing articles that will give our readers the opportunity to interact with some of MMA’s biggest stars.

We dubbed the series, “Breakfast With a Champion,” because we will be posting them early in the morning for you to read and because the concept is that you send us your questions for various titleholders and we forward them and post the replies here when we get them back.

The beauty of it is that you get to ask questions that typically don’t get asked by journalists and you get to contribute to the content you want to read in one of two ways: By posting questions for future guests and by suggesting which champs you want to take your questions.

We’ll do our best to get in touch with as many of them as we can and to answer as many of your questions as possible. All we ask is that you keep your questions respectful and that you spread the word about the series.

So without further adieu, here is the first instalment of Breakfast With a Champion, featuring Alistair Overeem.

Does it annoy you when retardo keyboard warriors make unfunny
horsemeat jokes a thousand times that only they laugh at? -Snakey

I don’t pay much attention to what people say on the internet to be
honest, but sometimes I hear something funny about the horsemeat jokes
and I think some fans are pretty creative. The horsemeat thing is
pretty much overblown because I don’t eat it that often. I eat more
beef, fish and chicken than horse but I have to say it’s a pretty
funny gimmick.

If were not a fighter, what would you be?? -nahin123

I don’t know but before I was fighting I wanted to join the army, like
a special forces unit or something like that, but my eyesight wasn’t
good at the time so I knew that something like that wasn’t going to
happen.

Alistair, after watching you fight for years and reading your
interviews and watching The Reem and all of the other online
interaction we’ve had, I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer.
So my question is…… do you think we should meet? -Lutador Vomitando

I’m pretty much out of the spotlight but I try my best to attend as
many public appearances to meet my fans as I can. I’m very fortunate that I can
inspire them and meet them. They are the big part of my success. For
example, I wasn’t supposed to fight in the K-1 Grand Prix, but when the
fans voted me as a fighter that they wanted in the grandprix I decided
to do it. One year later I won the title. Maybe if you go to a
fight there is a possibility you can meet me in person.

Alistair…
Who’s your favorite fighter to watch? (I mean in combat sports –
Boxing, MMA, Kickboxing, whatever.) –ExpectJesusBro

There are some fighters I like to watch; back in the days it was Bas
Rutten and Vitor Belfort. In my Pride days I liked Shogun, although he was
my competitor. I also like Diego Sanchez for some reason, although
some think he’s a little over the top, but I like his intensity and
mental state. The new kid, Jon Jones, is also a fighter that I like to
see fight and for some reason, Brock Lesnar.

What’s it like knowing you can beat the sh*t out of any human
being? Also, please beat Frank Mir’s face in. -Fedor Penn

It’s pretty weird, actually because I know that it keeps me out of
trouble. When I was a young kid I got in a lot of fights in the
streets, so you would expect that if I know how to fight I would fight
more, but the opposite happened. If you know you can beat most of the
people up, you think it’s not worth it. You can get in trouble even if
it’s not your fault. The public opinion will say, “It’s not a fair
fight,” so I try to avoid problems on the street, otherwise they charge
me with assault with deadly weapons haha ;) .
*Editor’s note: Yes, the world’s most dangerous heavyweight uses emoticons.

Would it be a moral victory if you could submit Werdum? -Trouser Snake

No, not really. Winning against Werdum alone is a moral victory. If I can
submit him, I will of course, but I always want to go for the KO, even if
Werdum is the best ground fighter in the world.

Alistair…What is your take on your fight with Cro Cop? What was up
with the knees? Was Cro Cop faking? I never heard your side of the
story. -Old_Bald_and_Irish

At the time of the fight I thought he was faking some of my knees to
the groin. You have to understand, I was in fight mode and I believe
the first one or one of those shots was a foul so I apologized for it during
the fight. But when you are winning a fight and you think that some of
the shots where not hitting the groin, you think he’s trying to get
out of the fight. It was unfortunate that the fight ended like that
because it was a very heated fight. I called him out because in Japan
there were not many big names out there and Crocop was a fighter who
had that name, so I used the press to get under his skin. I respect
Crocop a lot and he’s one of the legends in the sport and I wish him
good luck and hope to see at least one more fight of him.

What is one thing you’re very good at that isn’t related to fighting? (One skill you could pursue another career with.) -llbunbaoll

I don’t have anything else that I’m good at because all my time is
focused on fighting. But I know how to play videogames haha.

Is there any truth to the rumors that you are having issues with
your Strikeforce contract negotiations and that you may pull out of
the Grand Prix? -Mike Russell

No, that’s false. I think the tournament is one of the greatest things
that’s happing now in MMA and I’m proud to be part of it. I see
winning this tournament as my biggest goal at the moment.

@Alistair: What is the maximum number of teenage Japanese pop
singers that you think you could lift at one time? –Chromium

I don’t know. The girl group I lifted had six girls. I think I can
add two more girls.

Alistair, I know everyone is thinking this and it’s not online anywhere, what is your weightlifting routine and how often do you weight lift? -molson

It’s strange a lot of people ask me that question. To be honest, I don’t do maximum lifting. I do more repeating exercises. I use something like 220 pounds and do it multiple times instead of  bench press only a couple of times. In my YouTube clip you see me deadlifting and that was 660 pounds.

Thanks for taking our questions, Alistair!! What are the biggest improvements you’ve made while evolving as a fighter over the years, and how did you achieve them? -dim mak

Keep training hard and making sure you surround yourself with a good team. When you fight at the top you need to make sure you can focus just on training and have the right team behind you — from your ground and standup trainer to your nutritionist. I think that experience also helps you to become a better fighter. Most importantly, learn from your mistakes.

What’s the best advice you’ve received that you wish a fighter had given you when you were first starting out in MMA? –KarmaAteMyCat

Before you go in to the ring or cage make sure you have proper training. Your coaches know if you have the talent to go into the ring or cage. Some training partners of mine are very good in training but for some reason they are not successful during a fight. So make sure you have the talent and discipline to become a fighter. It’s not a profession you should take lightly and there are way better opportunities in life to make money. I’m very fortunate that I can, but believe me, there are so many fighters and maybe one percent of them can make a decent living.

Would you be able to defeat Batman in a fight? Batman is allowed to use his utility belt. –Tats

The fight is over before he can reach his utility belt. The Reem will destroy Batman!! I have to say though that The Reem is no villain; he’s a hero just like Batman, so I think that fight will not happen.

Alistair, is there a desire for you to fight Badr Hari again in K-1 this year? –Venomous

We have to see what’s happing in Japan. It’s not certain if K-1 will have another Grand Prix this year and my priority is now with the Strikeforce Grand Prix, so I doubt it that the fight is going to happen, but a third fight between him and me would be the biggest fight in K-1 history.

Two part question: Do you think there is anyone in the world who can beat you, and if so who? Why did you kick that little girl? –blackboxmma

I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think at the moment, I’m the best fighter in the world. You have to have that attitude if you go into a fight. Fighting is not like tennis or soccer there is a bigger “x-factor” involved. A fight can be over with one punch or a submission so the chance of losing is much bigger. You can lose a fight althoughyou are a better fighter. That’s what makes fighting so interesting. About that little girl segment, they cut it very bad that it looks like I kick her for no reason. It was her birthday and as a birthday gift she wanted to have a kickboxing lesson from me with her girlfriends. Soat the end she wanted a kick from me and after I gave her a gentle kick and she was saying, “Harder” and I was like, “Are you sure?”. So I kicked her again a little harder and she went to the ground and everybody was laughing, including her, so it was just fun and laughs.

Alistair, you seem poised and well spoken in all interviews (especially The Reem episodes), which would lead me to believe that you are an educated man. What level of schooling did you complete? –destinationblood

When I was young I didn’t like school that much and was a rebel. The teachers always told me that I have potential but at that time I thought that every teacher said the same thing to everybody. I knew that if I studied I could be an educated man, but for some reason the sport chose me. So when I finished my college degree I focused on fighting. Now that I’m older and wiser I would advise my children to stay in school and get a degree in something. Now I school myself by reading certain books for example; Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

When you look at your career up to now what would you say the turning point was? I mean, at 205 you did well but seemed to not be at your best against the best competition (Shogun, Chuck, Lil Nog, Arona). Now at HW you’ve been dominant. -Kid Clam Curtains

When I was fighting at 205 there was a very big talent pool out there. I was pretty young compared to most of them and I looking back my frame was not built to be a 205 fighter. I had to cut too much weight and couldn’t do strength training and we tried to win fights purely based on technique and striking, which my old trainer, Lucien Carbinwas very good in. The turning point came when I started to switch things up in my training camp. I left Lucien Carbin and started training with Cor Hemmers. At his gym there were a lot of K-1 heavyweight fighters, so I sparred against big guys, and trust me, those sessions were just like fights. We made a plan to fight at heavyweight, so we started to gain weight and began fighting like a heavyweight.

If you could change one bad thing about the world into something good, what would it be? –frndlylion

Nuclear power. I have to explain that; the use of nuclear power is highly debatable because of the high risk. Just look at the disaster in Japan. You don’t hear much about it, but it’s the biggest disaster in human history. That can affect the world. They still didn’t find a way to stop the meltdown. So that’s a bad thing, but we are in need of new energy sources because the oil will dry out at one point. So if I can make a wish, then it would be that we find a way to make safe and clean nuclear power so we have ourselves a new energy source.

Which fighter that you’ve met was the biggest douchebag? -Turd Furgeson

Sorry, I’m not going to answer that. I’ve heard some fighters say they think that I’m the biggest douchebag and I don’t even know them personally, so judging people on a first impression is not the way to go if you ask me.

Is there any fighter out there you absolutely hate? Is it Badr Hari? –RwilsonR

No, I don’t hate any fighters, not even Badr. I didn’t like his attitude in the K-1 about the things he said about MMA and the things he did in the ring, but as a person I don’t know him. To be honest I see a new Badr emerging — a Badr Hari that has learned from his mistakes and realizes that his actions affect himself the most. Hating on people costs energy and that energy I need to focus on my fights.

UFC 130 Results: 5 Fights Frank Mir Can Take to Get Back into Title Contention

With his win over Roy Nelson at UFC 130, Frank Mir in once again a serious contender in the heavyweight division. However, there is a difference between being a contender and actually contending for the title.Mir has been trying to regain the undispute…

With his win over Roy Nelson at UFC 130, Frank Mir in once again a serious contender in the heavyweight division. However, there is a difference between being a contender and actually contending for the title.

Mir has been trying to regain the undisputed heavyweight title since losing it due to an unfortunate motorcycle accident back in 2004.

Despite the win over Nelson, Mir likely needs at least one more big win to earn a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. So, let’s take a look at some opponents that could help Mir get to where he wants to go.

Begin Slideshow

Ask the Potato: Does Overeem Do Homework?

Picture is unrelated. Do your worst, Nation. (PicProps: MMTKO)

After a long absence, we decided to solicit questions from our readers to find out what was on your minds, so that we may enlighten and amuse you in an engaging way. Also to keep you jerks occupied, because you get all crazy when you’re bored and that’s why we can’t have nice things.

As always, you can submit questions in the CagePotato Forums (which actually exist behind that button up top labeled “Forums”), or you can submit your queries via email to [email protected]. If The Great And Powerful Potato deigns to answer your question, you agree to buy us beers at the next meet and greet. Those are the rules.

Let’s get to it.

[The All Knowing Potato]

Picture is unrelated.  Do your worst, Nation.  (PicProps: MMTKO)

After a long absence, we decided to solicit questions from our readers to find out what was on your minds, so that we may enlighten and amuse you in an engaging way.  Also to keep you jerks occupied, because you get all crazy when you’re bored and that’s why we can’t have nice things.

As always, you can submit questions in the CagePotato Forums (which actually exist behind that button up top labeled “Forums”), or you can submit your queries via email to [email protected].  If The Great And Powerful Potato deigns to answer your question, you agree to buy us beers at the next meet and greet.  Those are the rules.

Let’s get to it.

[The All Knowing Potato]

A quick two-parter here for you:

Do you not realize that Wanderlei is a fan-favorite fighter who once seemed almost unbeatable? Have you not considered the fact that current fighters might think that Wandy is past his prime, has lost his aura, and is, therefore, the most vulnerable opponent that can skyrocket their own career?

Edit: Let’s make it a three-parter. Who should they be calling out?

-Chri534

When we noted that everybody who is anybody was calling out Wandy, yeah, we knew all that stuff. Clearly, they should have been calling out Bisping this whole time.

-The Unimpressed Potato


Dear Potato,
As we all know, eating horses gives you super-strength, but horses are very expensive and hard to catch. What animal can the average Joe like me catch and eat for similar results?

-El Famous Burrito

If this is research for a new special ingredient, Burrito, do not tell us.

According to a registered dietitian we’ve been seeing, mind where your protein comes from only in regards to its fat content.  Leaner (poultry) and healthier (fish) meats are preferable.  Horse meat is leaner, along with game meats like bison, buffalo, and moose.

For things you can actually catch, may we suggest eggs?

-The Mighty Potato

PS:  Steroids.

Do you see the UFC buying out Bellator anytime soon??

Also, what current BFC fighters do you think would perform the best in the UFC?

-rokabee

To hear Bjorn Rebney tell it, Bellator ain’t for sale, and we tend to believe him. MTV2 has seen an increase in viewership in its first season broadcasting the promotion, and it will likely continue to increase this fall when season five starts. After suffering through lean times, it looks like Bellator could start raking in a little dough.

Rather than acquire them, we kind of wonder if Zuffa won’t attempt to counterprogram Bellator to death, perhaps with the Strikeforce brand. Zuffa could conceivably deliver a weekly SF broadcast on Spike or one of the networks, providing a farm league for the UFC while directly attacking what is, in effect, their only competition. If Bellator went under, Zuffa could then pick up their video library and contracts for peanuts.

In our opinion, the first contracts they would be interested in would be Bellator’s current champs, particularly Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard. You may remember that we mentioned both of those guys when we talked about our top fives.  Alvarez is prehaps the most likely to make a dent in the rankings, while adding Lombard would at least give the 185ers someone else to call out.

-The Sage Potato


What ever happened to the Reem answering our questions we posted on the front page? Liars!
-Nicer

First of all, Nicer, The Potato does not appreciate your tone.

When we asked if any of you had a question for Ubereem, we don’t know what the hell we were thinking.   Some of you bastards are downright creepy.  Still, we picked out a nice selection, and we slipped the list to a guy we met who says he was headed to Amsterdam for a “spiritual journey”.   We assume he was headed there to train with Golden Glory, so he should be able to find Overeem no problem, right?

Connection issues aside, we expect answers back after this weekend, so stay tuned.

-The Exclusive Potato

Strikeforce Preview: Alistair Overeem Discusses Werdum, UFC, Future Opponents

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem has dealt with a lot within the last year, accomplishing almost everything in mixed martial arts. However, “The Demolition Man” has yet to compete in Strikeforce, or defend his title since defeati…

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem has dealt with a lot within the last year, accomplishing almost everything in mixed martial arts. 

However, “The Demolition Man” has yet to compete in Strikeforce, or defend his title since defeating challenger, Brett Rogers last year. Overeem will step back into the Strikeforce cage when he faces Fabricio Werdum in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix next month. 

Despite the extended layoff, Overeem said his body is rested.

“After my fight against Todd Duffee I could go on a holiday and enjoy life, instead of being in the gym all the time. So it gave my body a good rest and that was needed,” Overeem said in an exclusive interview with LowKick.com. 

While it is often debated on where Overeem fits within the rankings of the heavyweight division, the Dutch kickboxer said there will no longer be a debate on his placement following a victory over his opponent. Werdum already holds a win over Overeem dating back to Pride FC, where he lost via submission. 

If he is victorious over Werdum, it would be Overeem’s 10th win in his last twelve fights, and it would surely put him into discussion among the top heavyweights in MMA. One particular bout that fans have been asking for is Overeem to square off against current UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. The recent acquisition of Strikeforce could make this anticipated dream fight a reality at some point, but for now, Overeem said his intention is to win the Strikeforce tournament.

“My main focus is on winning the Strikeforce tournament, so UFC is not on my mind right now. I’ve always stated that the Heavyweight division in Strikeforce has the best fighters and I still think so,” he said.

“The guys you named are all very dangerous fighters that can finish fights. Carwin has great knockout power, Brock is a great wrestler and athlete, Frank Mir improved his standup and has a good ground game and the champion Cain Velasquez is very durable and has great wrestling. So those fighters are world-class for sure.”

Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place on June 18, live from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.

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Strikeforce: Alistair Overeem Predicts He Will Knock out Fabricio Werdum

Lowkick.com’s Anton Gurevich recently had the privilege to interview Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. Overeem is gearing up for a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal fight with Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist Fabricio…

Lowkick.com’s Anton Gurevich recently had the privilege to interview Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Overeem is gearing up for a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal fight with Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum. 

This rematch takes between the two heavyweight takes place in Dallas, Texas on June 18; Werdum submitted Overeem with a kimura in their May 2006 meeting under the Pride banner.  

Overeem is regarded as the eighth best heavyweight in the world by Sherdog, while Werdum is currently ranked the No. 3 heavyweight by the same highly regarded mixed martial arts website.

Despite this fact, there are a number of fans and critics alike who do not believe that “The Demolition Man” is worthy of top-10 status due to facing lackluster competition in recent years.

“The Reem” feels that a win over Werdum is not grounds to be ranked ahead of Fedor Emelianenko, however, he believes “that a win over Werdum will close the debate if I’m a top-10 fighter or not.”

Gurevich was curious if Werdum’s win over Emelianenko would make him overconfident, to which Overeem responded, “Werdum is a professional fighter and he will be confident but not overconfident.”

The Strikeforce title holder was also asked about Fabricio Werdum’s recent comments that “Alistair Overeem is my son.” 

Overeem seemed more puzzled than offended by his next opponent’s statement. 

“I heard him saying that I’m his son, but I don’t understand what he really means. I think he means that he’s superior than me, because he beat me a couple of years ago. I think it’s a lost in translation thing.”

Also the current K-1 World Grand Prix champion, Overeem said that he still has no plans of embarking on a boxing career.

“My goal is to become the best MMA fighter and that’s what my focus is. Boxing is a whole different sport and you shouldn’t take it lightly. If there are no challenges left in my career, then I can consider something like that.”

Overeem was quick to clarify “But for now, there are plenty challenges.”

Gurevich then asked Overeem how interested he was in fighting current UFC contenders Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and Frank Mir; as well as reigning UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. 

“My main focus is on winning the Strikeforce tournament, so UFC is not on my mind right now,” Overeem said.

The Demolition Man continued, “I’ve always stated that the heavyweight division in Strikeforce has the best fighters and I still think so. But still, it would be foolish to say that the UFC heavyweight fighters are not good.”

Overeem described the aforementioned UFC heavyweight household names as “very dangerous fighters that can finish fights” and also stated that “those fighters are world class for sure.”

The Reem even offered a brief analysis of each fighter, all of whom he could encounter in the Octagon somewhere down the line:

“Carwin has great knockout power, Brock is a great wrestler and athlete, Frank Mir improved his standup and has a good ground game and the champion Cain Velasquez is very durable and has great wrestling.”

Finally, when asked for his prediction of knockout or submission in the fight against Werdum, Overeem simply responded “KO.” 

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