Alistair Overeem discusses his removal from the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP
Posted on July 20, 2011, 06:05 PM by Joey Santosus"Yes, of course I'm disappointed. Winning the tournament was my number one goal. I understand their position, but they have to understand mine, and I'm disappointed we couldn't work it out... Everybody is trying to find reasons why I was pulled out of the tournament, but I can tell you this: it's not that difficult. Strikeforce promised me a date in the fall, I acted on it and chose to go on holiday and start my training in August. Zuffa/Showtime then decided to do it in September and then the ball was in my court, and I had to decline because I know it's too short of time to be prepared 100-percent. Instead of postponing the event they decided that the show must go on and use one of the alternates... I don't know (why) but my guess is that when Zuffa took over Strikeforce there were other interests. If you look at the month of October, you can see three UFC shows and two of them are big and have title fights as the main event. That makes you wonder if they want a Grand Prix semi-final in between on Showtime. - For complete interview by Ariel Helwani, visit MMAFighting.com
Alistair Overeem's abrupt removal from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix on Monday has already resulted in much speculation as to why the promotion would replace, perhaps, the biggest star remaining in the tournament's bracket. While "The Reem" has refuted many of the existing rumors, such as contract negotiations, it appears he is now offering a theory of his own - conflicting interests.
Overeem's performance against Fabricio Werdum last month, albeit an unusual one, was enough to put him in line for a showdown with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the semifinals. Though not widely considered a favorite heading into the tournament, Silva's upset victory over Fedor Emelianenko made him an interesting opponent for the champ, who has not suffered defeat since 2007. Where the Dutchman goes from here is still uncertain, but in addition to the Strikeforce belt, he also currently holds titles for both K-1 and DREAM. So what do you think LowKick'ers? Where will Overeem surface next: Strikeforce, K-1, DREAM, or possibly even the UFC?
Comments
Business as usual.
That's what Zuffa are doing to SF... killing them off, bit by bit... Overeem will be in the UFC by the start of 2012.
I would like to think so but I don't know if he ever will unless the UFC lets him compete in K-1 also.
He should defend his K-1 belt. Badr Hari will be back this year so it would set up a great rematch if they both end up in the final.
As soon as Overeem's current deal is up, ZUFFA will attempt to sign him to an exclusive contract, as they do with all their fighters. That will force him to choose between K-1 and the UFC. Refusing to take this fight could have easily voided his current contract already.
The exclusivity concept is a tough pill to swallow for MMA fans, but these people are business-owners and they have to contract their employees accordingly. People sign contracts all the time when they start new jobs... I can't leave my desk now and go share information with a competitor. It's a business... if it wasn't, we'd never see it on TV.
He signed a contract to fight at a particular event on a certain date. If they wanted to change the date of the fight, that's on them, not Overeem. There's no way that his refusal to accept the change of date can legally end his contract.
yeah i would love to see reem vs badr again but i want to see reem fight in ufc more
man enough bashing on Zuffa idk whats wrong with some people here, he knew he had to fight why not train to fight, he a part time fighter? thats what he acting like saying he had plan to start training in august, seriously its his own fault and i take this as an excuse and not a very good you a PROFESSIONAL FIGHTER train train train train maybe not 100% at the gym but gotta keep improving not only when a fight is schedule...dont blame Zuffa blame this guy thats backing out of it like he didt know he eventually had to fight
Your joking right? So if the NFL said hey your season is going to start in July this year you have 1 month to train it wouldn't be a problem with contracts? He is a professional who probably had a contract and should be treated as a professional. Not a pee on you use fine print to swindle.
Do you go to the gym every day on vacation? Give the guy a break. Besides, training camps are timed so that fighters can come into the fight in peak condition, but not overtrained. Gyms today have it down to a science, and most will say that around 8 weeks is the ideal. Their decision to move up the GP a month cuts that to 4. Overeem was right to tell them to piss off.
zuffa is just ****ing him over. so silva gets more time to recover and train an reem has to fight a month earlier not at a 100% diamona-mma2 if youve ever had a mma fight youd know that when youve been given a big fight that means alot timing training an planning all come in to effect. its a mental sport. plus look at the size of him the bigger you are the longer the recovery time. that said if dana wises up n puts REEM in the UFC. wel b looking at the next HW champ until JBJ moves up.
yes you right it takes timing, so you mean since Bigfoot won he didt have enough time to train?... its been a while that he knew he would have to fight big foot why not go train even if its light train and get his BJJ skills up a bit and stay in shape KNOWING he would have to fight... no excuses he had time and this is a huge failure in his part he didt take his job seriously...look at GSP and what he says he a TRUE Martial Artist because his always train not just train for the 2 months before the fight and its not like he doest need the training atleast in his ground game..people forget that SF has a Deal with Showtime and part of that deal is TV time they both have to give and take and Showtime let Nick Diaz go even tho he had a contract with them both give and take...back to subject tho Overeem made the choice NOT to train it wast Zuffa
Ok man relax. It's a science now with these camps and peaking. They also have lives children etc. So if a contract says October you assume that means the fight is then. There is a whole support team of trainers that may have other schedules as well. Get a clue man. Go to a gym start training then talk crap. Other wise stick to WWE.
Oh and true martial artist (who are great people) get smashed in the cage by these machines and fight science products. Gone are the days of Royce Gracie and Keith hackne. If you even know who those people are.
stop trynna sound like you teaching me something, i do train, and watched the ufc since i was 11 back when they were in VHS tapes and i had to ride a bike to stores to find them...point is ok they set a date but why not train and stay fit...i dont get it he didt have to go get the camp and all that but its terrible to see him back out because something dumb like a switch of date when he knew he had to fight and he didt get ready...zuffa messt up accepting showtimes date but what other dates could they have gotten that wouldt had interrupted each other... its a case of not being prepare thats how i think about it its not like the fight is a week away coulda trained bjj i like i said and start training after the set date and coulda been ready...he had a great opportunity to show case his ability tho and now its gone and that will suck
If you look up things in the past, you will see that Showtime really is in charge of the SF events that take place on Showtime.
It's public knowledge that it really isnt Zuffa's decision on SF on Showtime scheduling, so it's kind of crazy that every one is blaming this on them. Especially Alistair. If the public can find out the truth then he damn sure knows it. He's just trying to displace some of the blame.
i wouldnt be so sure on K-1 or DREAM.
FEG need to stop stiffing fighters on their pay
He needed that extra month so that he could get his testosterone levels back down. Cmon you guys he claims to be the #1 figher in the world but wont man up and fight "Big Foot" 4 weeks early? Hell, I see Mir, Lesnar, Can, and Dos Sontos beating him based on how he looked in that fight...
Man I'm losing respect for the Reem - his excuses aren't adding up here. One minute he claims he has a foot injury, the next he blames lack of time to prepare for an opponent like Big Foot. He knew it was going to be Big Foot next so there is really no excuse there. I understand being a bit peeved about the date change for him, but as a professional fighter in a tournament that he claims to really want to compete in, he will have to cut the promotion some slack at times.
The foot injury makes no sense, because he keep saying that he will be fighting anyway. So if he isn't really injured then why is he going to be fighting anyway? And if he doesn't have enough time to prepare then why is he fighting anyway? Nothing adds up here.
+1
Was really looking forward to Big Foot vs Broken Foot
I don't blame overeem for declining. O well
Chuck Liddell would have done it ;)