Tag: Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem Clears Air, Will Not Compete at DREAM.15

Filed under: DREAM, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsDespite reports to the contrary, Alistair Overeem says he will not be fighting Ricco Rodriguez later this week at DREAM.15.

That’s the word from the Strikeforce heavyweight champion himself, who sent MMA Fig…

Filed under: , ,

Despite reports to the contrary, Alistair Overeem says he will not be fighting Ricco Rodriguez later this week at DREAM.15.

That’s the word from the Strikeforce heavyweight champion himself, who sent MMA Fighting a personal statement, which will hopefully clear the air on the matter.

“I have heard numerous rumors about me fighting at Dream on July 10. I want to give my side of the story before speculation arises:

“After my Brett Rogers fight on May 15, I decided to take time off and do media appearances — MMA expo in Canada, E3 expo, Strikeforce events — and enjoy some time off with my family. I knew Dream wanted me on the show, but I didn’t want to go back in training preparation. Then, they offered me a fight against Andrei Arlovski for the Dream heavyweight title. As I have said on occasions, fighting for a belt means something more, and I wanted that Dream title so much that So as a result, I agreed to lay off my media and holiday plans, and went back to training.

MMA Top 10 Heavyweights: Brock Is the Best

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, Rankings, Heavyweights
The UFC heavyweight champion is now the undisputed heavyweight champion of mixed martial arts.

Zuffa’s belt already signified the best fighter in every weight class from bantamweight th…

Filed under: , , , ,


The UFC heavyweight champion is now the undisputed heavyweight champion of mixed martial arts.

Zuffa’s belt already signified the best fighter in every weight class from bantamweight through light heavyweight, and now the two big heavyweight fights of the last two weekends — Fabricio Werdum’s shocking upset over Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar’s comeback win over Shane Carwin — have resulted in a changing of the guard in the heavyweight division as well.

Lesnar is undeniably the sport’s No. 1 heavyweight, but how does the rest of the top 10 shake out? Find out below.

Overeem/Rodriguez Unlikely for DREAM.15; Ishida, Omigawa Added to Lineup

(Alistair engages in a moment of reflection with his life-partner, Hilda. That’s the name of his sledgehammer. What, you didn’t think I was talking about the dumpy broad on the right, did you?)
Contradicting earlier reports, Alistair Overeem will pro…

Alistair Overeem hammer DREAM MMA
(Alistair engages in a moment of reflection with his life-partner, Hilda. That’s the name of his sledgehammer. What, you didn’t think I was talking about the dumpy broad on the right, did you?)

Contradicting earlier reports, Alistair Overeem will probably not face Ricco Rodriguez at DREAM.15 next Saturday. Said Overeem’s trainer Martin De Jong: "If he’s going to fight, he’s probably not going to fight Ricco Rodriguez…We didn’t receive any contract. [DREAM] proposed Ricco Rodroguez, but they didn’t send a contract, and definitely we did not sign it." De Jong added that Overeem has no problem fighting Rodriguez, but they may skip DREAM.15 due to other issues with the promotion that he wouldn’t discuss.

Nevertheless, three additional fights were announced for the card today, bringing the current total to seven. They are…

read more

Alistair Overeem’s Participation at DREAM.15 in Doubt

Filed under: DREAM, FanHouse Exclusive, News, JapanReports surfaced online late Tuesday evening that Alistair Overeem vs. Ricco Rodriguez was all but signed for the DREAM.15 card on July 10.

However, a source close to Overeem told MMA Fighting that t…

Filed under: , , ,

Reports surfaced online late Tuesday evening that Alistair Overeem vs. Ricco Rodriguez was all but signed for the DREAM.15 card on July 10.

However, a source close to Overeem told MMA Fighting that the fight isn’t close to being official and that there is a “90%” chance that Overeem won’t be fighting on the card altogether.

In addition, Overeem’s trainer, Martijn de Jong, told The Fight Show‘s Mauro Ranallo Wednesday afternoon that Overeem is “definitely not” fighting Rodriguez at DREAM.15.

Report: Alistair Overeem vs. Ricco Rodriguez Unlikely for Dream 15?

Earlier today a few eyebrows likely were raised when it was reported by MMA Junkie, that sources had informed the outlet, that Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem would fight Ricco Rodriguez, at Dream 15 on July 10th. Why may have a few people spit out their early morning brew (ok, maybe it wasn’t that shocking)? […]

overeem

Earlier today a few eyebrows likely were raised when it was reported by MMA Junkie, that sources had informed the outlet, that Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem would fight Ricco Rodriguez, at Dream 15 on July 10th. Why may have a few people spit out their early morning brew (ok, maybe it wasn’t that shocking)? Well, most of the talk surrounding Overeem lately has been tied to a certain Mr. Fedor Emelianenko and a certain Mr. Fabricio Werdum, and not former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez, who hasn’t fought under big-major-promotion lights for some time.

In an updated report from MMA Fighting this afternoon, however, a source close to Overeem has apparently told the site that there is a  “90% chance” the fight is not happening. The story also cites a report on Mauro Ranallo’s “The Fight Show”, where apparently Overeem’s trainer Martijn de Jong, denied the Dutchman is set to fight Rodriguez. On the other hand, sources from Dream and the camp of Rodriguez are saying that each man has verbally agreed to the fight. So WTF right? Guess we’ll wait and see what happens.

So why does any of this matter? Well, if you’re new to the sport you may only recognize Rodriguez from a stint on Celebrity Rehab, but there was a time when the veteran was a top ranked heavyweight. Although Ricco appears to have got things back in order, lost a ton of weight , and won 7 straight, a win over Overeem would certainly blow the minds of a lot of people…

DREAM.15 to Feature Overeem vs. Rodriguez, Mousasi vs. O’Brien

(Ricco Rodriguez: From flab to fab.)
Two months after his beatdown of Brett Rogers at Heavy Artillery, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will return to competition at DREAM.15 (July 10th, Saitama), where he’ll take on former UFC heavy…

Ricco Rodriguez fat MMARicco Rogriguez thin weight loss
(Ricco Rodriguez: From flab to fab.)

Two months after his beatdown of Brett Rogers at Heavy Artillery, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will return to competition at DREAM.15 (July 10th, Saitama), where he’ll take on former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez in a non-title bout. While that may sound like Alistair is getting back to his Japanese squash-match roots, keep in mind that Rodriguez is on a seven-fight win streak since last July (six of which came by stoppage), including victories over veterans Travis Fulton and Moise Rimbon. He also looks a lot better physically these days (see above), and competed in the 218-pound division at last year’s ADCCs.

Can Rodriguez use Overeem as a springboard to a career rebirth? No, probably not — but he could impress a lot of people just by giving Overeem a tough fight and not spitting on anybody. In a related story, Ricco is no longer listed for that 7/18 Impact FC fight against Jeff Monson, which is unfortunate because you can bet that Paulo Filho and Ken Shamrock will be dropping out at the last minute…

read more