Five Reasons why Alistair Overeem deserves a place on LowKick.com Community Pound for Pound rankings
Posted on November 7, 2010, 07:16 AM by Daniel CassidySince the beginning of the LowKick ranking system, people have argued over who should be where, and no list has caused more controversy that the pound for pound top 10. While out of the 10 places, mot users can agree on at least 7 fighters that deserve to be there, there is one fighter people feel doesn't deserve his place: The Dutch Demolition Machine, Alistair Overeem. Currently, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion is ranked 10th, behind the likes of GSP, Anderson Silva, Shogun Rua, even Frankie Edgar. It's also worth noting that he is ranked above the former number 3, BJ Penn. Overeem is a fighter who deserves on this list. Currently on the form of his life, he hasn't lost a fight in his past 9, and looks near unstoppable. While some of you might not agree, I felt the need to argue on one of my favourite fighter's behalf, Five reasons why "Megareem" should be in everyone's pound for pound list.
1: Training:
As a teenager, it would be difficult to find a better teacher that "El Guapo", Bas Rutten. From when he was taken to his first MMA class by his brother, Overeem quickly took to it like a duck to water, becoming great friends with his teacher and mentor, Bas Rutten. Since his then, Overeem is now a member of the hugely respected Dutch Kickboxing gym, Team Golden Glory. Since joining, Overeem has become a totally different fighter. His striking has improved leaps and bounds, and his grappling is exceptional. He also has excellent takedown defence. The improvements in his game are especially evident in his mental planning, in how he deals with each opponent. We need only look at his utter destruction of Brett Rogers as evidence.
2. Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion:
Under the Strikeforce banner, Overeem holds a perfect 3-0 record as a Heavyweight. From his unanimous decision win over Vitor Belfort, that saw him completely outwork, out strike and out grapple the former UFC Champ, to his win over Paul Buenetello (hardly a top prospect, but The Reem did exactly what was expected) that saw him force The Headhunter to tap due to knees to the body, and finally his annihilation of Brett Rogers, that saw him man handle the title challenger, and gave him only his second ever loss. The Strikeforce Heavyweight Champ will hold onto that belt for a long time. With Strikeforce also housing Fedor Emilianenko, Antonio Silva, and now Josh Barnett, i find it difficult to imagine any of the three troubling with Overeem, or even being able to handle him.
3. K-1 Accomplishments:
It is often said that the best MMA strikers go to K-1, and Overeem is a living proof. Currently in possession of a highly respectable kickboxing record of 7-4 (which includes 5 Knockout wins), he has also came excruciatingly close to winning the K-1 tournament back in 2009. His wins in K-1 read like a who's who of kickboxing, defeating the likes of Badr Hari, Dzevad Poturak, Peter Aerts and Ewerton Teixeira in devastating fashion. This year, Overeem is one of the favourites to win the K-1 2010 WGP. In his bout against Ben Edwards, he made the Australian look like in amatuer, putting him on the mat three times before the ref stepped in. Overeem will face Tyronne Spong for a place in the semi's, on December 11th in Japan.
4. Physique:
Since struggling cutting weight as a LightHeavyweight in his PRIDE, Overeem made the move permanently to Heavyweight back in 2006. It took Overeem over 6 months to succesfully bulk up, weighing in at around 230-240 for several fights, before finding his home at 265. Overeem's weight gain was achieved by a eatiung horse meat steaks 7 times a day (Horse meat is well known in the body building trade as being a perfect food source to use for bulking up). Now that Overeem has finally found an ideal weight, The Champ looks unstoppable. Not only this, but through an extensive workout plan, he is as strong as anyone in his weight class (check "The Reem toss" against Brett Rogers). Overeem's size also brings with it an extra level of power in his strikes, finishing four of his last 9 opponents via strikes.
5: MMA Veteran:
Since making his MMA debut way back in 1999, at just 19 years old, Overeem has ammassed a highly respectable pro record of 33-11(1). He holds notable wins over veterans such as Vitor Belfort (x2), Igor Vovchanchyn, Sergei Kharitonov, Paul Beunetello and Mark Hunt. As well as this, he is the first and only Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. He is a legend in Japan, from his PRIDE days to his DREAM fights. He also ended up in a bout rendered "no contest" (due to repeated, but accidental crotch strikes) against Mirko Cro Cop. Overeem was completely dominating the Croatian Sensation, taking him down and will and cutting him open. As the Strikeforce Champ, Overeem is expected to face either Fedor Emilianenko or Fabricio Werdum, and a bout with either would cement his status as a top Heavyweight. Fedor's stand up would be no match for the K-1 vet, while Overeem is not the same fighter who lost by kimura to Werdum in his PRIDE days. I have no doubt Megareem would pick Fabricio apart on the feet. It is worth noting also, that despite competing in MMA for 11 years, he is still only 30 years of age, and has not yet reached hi peak.
My intention when I started this article was to hopefully see Alistair Overeem move up in the P4P rankings, as he deserves it. It's also worht noting that he has only went to decision on 4 occasions in 46 fights, a feet no one else in the top ten can better.
So next time you are compiling your rankings, consider Overeem in the grand scale of things, cuz he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Comments
if you want to find out more just a warning be careful typing "golden glory" into google
Hahaha! That's hilarious and I won't do it.
im not a fan of articles telling you who you should add to your pound for pound rankings....especially someone whos a heavyweight and hasnt fought legit fighters yet.
hasnt beat legit fighters yet****
Don´t read it then, really simple...
Its an opinion based article... Obviously, thanks to the greatness that is LowKick, u put whomever you please on your list friend : )
@ pound4pound i never said i read it smart one, after all the article title says it all. Stop assuming things, and you fail at being a smartass. Better cut weight and go back to dumbass
anton stop girpping overaided nuts
1.you are an idiot
2.Dan Cassidy wrote this article, not anton
1. british mma is a joke
2 therefore whateever you say is pointless
Everytime you type you reconfirm my opinion of you OMR
the originality of that comment is astounding..........
dude nobody mentioned brittish mma, which is in a pretty decent state to be fair
OMR if u seriously consider us a joke , come fight me. I will make u humble
it's mma rankings, not K-1,so why is K-1 accomplishment should be consider, without that, he's a pretty middle level HW.
So in a MMA fight who has overeem beat in the last 3 years who was a top 10 HW.
Lol a lot of the top Ufc hw are wrestlers they could all easily take reem down and smash on him
I think Overeem is prolly top 5 HW's because he has the best striking in all of MMA, his ground game is solid and he has alot of experience but as for p4p it's hard to make that argument just yet maybe once he beats Fedor or Werdum it'll be easier to consider him top ten p4p
But have we seen a top striker fight Overeem?
Striking is a pretty significant part of MMA. Thats a reason why winning one of the worlds toughest stand up competitions in the world is relevant to ranking in MMA.
its part of the "Mixed" part
Almost every fight he lost in real MMA at LHW was being beaten on the ground. If a true wreslter takes him down, hes done. Same skills he had at LHW but he couldnt make it at LHW. He moved up and we all know HW division is much different.
As you point out hes not losing many fights standing up. I think that might have something to do with his striking ability and thats exactly why his K1 accomplishments are relevant
I don't think it's going to work Dan..... nice piece though.
cheers mate :p
I stand corrected. Your words are powerful friend haha.
so your 5 reasons Reem should be higher on my p4p list is because his
1. training (train as hard as you want you still can suck it should be a reason to judge someones p4p rankings),
2. strike force champ (whoopty doo)
3. K-1 which has nothing to do with "MMA" p4p rankings (James Toney should be in consideration if this is the case)
4. physique (this aint a body building contest)
5. because hes a vet? (just because they have been in the game for awhile we should consider that a extra credit for p4p debate) Ha...Ha...Ha
and the rest of you claim hes the best because of what he COULD do to other HW
Ok so let me understand this. He should be p4p because: he trains hard like everyone else, because he's a SF HW champion which has only been defended once in 3 years, because he's a k1 guy which means nothing when you're on your ass, because he's big (ok..), and because he's had many fights and lost most of the biggest ones, plz Dan severn has a lot of fights
I'm not saying he shouldn't be a top ranked HW but p4p is a pretty premature statement at the competition he's facing right now
I agree....your points make sense, Overeem's p4p ranking depends on him beating either Werdum or Fedor until then he shouldn't be on there
It's ridiculous how much that statement got weaked. He definitely looks the part but has shown nothing.
1. he hasnt beat any top guys in god knows how long.
2. defended title once in 3 years against a bum
3.physique doesnt mean much in mma, look at fedor...
lack of big wins in MMA he does NOT belong there based on talent alone...I am a huge fan of the Reem and would love to have him on my Top 10 but simply cannot!
Someone being real right here. Huge fan and still can't put him up there.
I don't have any heavyweights other than Fedor in my p4p list and I am waiting to see if his last fight was a one off or not or else he will be givin the boot too. I havent seen any heavy other than fedor(which might be fedor in the past now) having more skills than the 135, 145, 155, 170, 185 top contenders or champs. They just can't do what the best can do in the lighter divisions. Cain may turn out to be a contender one day but I can't place him there yet.
Say what you want. I've been paying attention to him his last few fights and he lookd absolutely devestating everytime he fights. He nearly KO'd cro crop a few years ago before cro crop decided to stop it after a groin shot. He dominated chuck liddel in his prime when overeem was 22 years old before chuck thumbed him in his eye then threw an overhand right. The guy is a beast, if Diana White let his fighters compete in K1 Overeem would be the UFC heavyweight champ right now.
i wonder how you would feel after someone lands huge knees to your balls multiple times
so whats your point? You think Cro Crop would have won?
Well we'll never know now will we
cro cop is not a good mma fighter
LMFAO fight fan that statement right there made you look so uncredible.
I look better than Marcello Garcia when I grapple white belts...lol
6months to bulk up woohoo it takes 5 years to bulk up with legal supplements and training to come as big he went on that time
Are you his personal trainer? If he did take something so what? He is not a US citizen, go look up netherlands drug laws. Or maybee you can't accept that fact that the corrupt Nevada State athletic comission isn't the ruling body of the fight world.
So because where he lives roids are legal it makes his taking them a legitimate way to bulk up and supplement training? You're a joke.
yeah so its right to move netherlands and use steroids and then fight everywhere else... oh sorry its illegal to use steroids even in netherlands and use it for compete. and you are the most stupid guy i know if you think he doesnt use his jaw width about 5inches in 6 months yes yes horse beef yes yes
im not a fan of overeem but i like his fights
Steroids arnt legal in the netherlands
It was horse meat :P
yeah but overeem says in one of his blogs about 10 times horse beef makes strong me :D
Allistair is a bit of a pecular case in terms of p4p because he fought at 205, had moderate success, but probably belonged at heavyweight that hole time. Since being at heavyweight he really hasn't accomplished much in MMA. He went 1-1 against Kharatonov and beat Buenatello and Rogers, so just based on what he has actually done, Its hard for me to put him there. I don't know how much "potential" plays into p4p ranking, but I do think he could run through the UFC and SF heavyweight division right now.
Yeah, Overeem is great. The only thing in the article that I take issue with is the assertion that Fedor and Barnet couldn't handle Overeem. I think Fedor could submit OR KO Reem and Barnet could toss him around. Overeem could potentially beat either of them as well but it is by no means assured. Also. he better not go to the ground with Werdum.
He should be fighting MMA
for SF or Dream or somebody
even M-1
instead of trying to run 2 careers at the same time
If he somehow wins the K-1 this time aorund
(will this thing ever wrap p this decade?)
I hope he will focus on MMA and get on with setting the pace.
His MMA past wins are hard to use to measure
where he fits in
but just off the Rogers throw-around& the Edwards fight
I have to put him in the top 5 Heavies pretty easily.
I agree a win over Fedor would be monumental
a win over Werdum would be slightly impressive but less spectacular.
But if he blows off SF and jumps to UFC
the ksy could be the limit for him
if he keeps winning
This is the problem with the rise of UFC. other orgs a few years back had fighters come and go without the hate DW puts on a fighter if they choose to fight elsewhere. there was no pressure to be tied to a single organisation until DW started demanding he own the fighters and their ability to compete where and when they want.
GREAT article man. ubereem is a effing monster and he brought my intrest to the K-1 tournament. People often forget how good alistair overeem is, in my opinon with 1 more win over a top HW he will be number 1 in the world. and he can EASILY gain that win
What do you mean 1 more top heavyweight? That implies he beat a top heavyweight in MMA to begin with. I'm sorry, but no matter the hype, Brett Rogers was never a top heavyweight.
Overeem does need to be tested more against top MMA HW's, but I am glad he is doing K1. I can't wait to see his contest against Tyrone. That will be an awesome fight. tyrone is undersize but a wrecking machine none the less.
i forgot i said brett rogers? lol...
the fact of the matter is as much as you hate to admit it. overeem has the strength of guys like brock and the talent of guys like fedor. he was geneticly engineered to be the best HW ever and he will be. try to wrap your head around how good he is before you type your words. and yes if he fought fedor he would win. 9 times outta 10.
I call nonsense on this Stiks. Brett Rogers gave Fedor a very tough fight and destroyed Arlovski who underestimated Brett. Just because Alistair Overeem make his fight with Rogers look easy doesn't mean that Rogers is a can. In fact, I would lay down bets that Rogers beats most of the UFC heavy weights (perhaps minus the Cain and Shane Carwin who have strong wrestling mixed into a solid overall game).
PHYSIQUE???
SERIOUSLY???
This is MMA, not bodybuilding. Is that really the best you could do???
You could say athleticism, cardio, power, speed or explosiveness, but you're talking about physique. You wanna talk about physique? We're supposed to be talking about MMA and you're talking about physique? This is MMA and you wanna talk about physique man? You're talking about physique and this isn't bodybuilding. We're talking about a top 10 pound for pound list and you're in here talking about physique. You wanna talk about physique???
LOL.. so right. Physique has nothing to do with fighting...
Technique and heart takes you to the top..
Overoid is a joke.. his K-1 stats are horrible too..
P4P he is no where near top 10...
He's certainly not a joke, and he has some great K1 wins so I don't know what you're talking about with that. If you look at his skills, he the best heavyweight mma striker in the world and has great ground skills. The only question as to his skills is his wrestling. He's definitely close to the top 10 P4P, and it's easy to make the case that he's in it.
The guy is awesome theres no doubt about it, but in mma the only top opponents he has beaten in their prime are Belfort and Karitonov. He has 2 losses to lil Nog, loss to Arona, Shogun, Sergei Karotonov, Werdum, Liddell. These guys are sick, no shame in getting beaten by em, but his last 9 wins have come to guys who are either old or not that great, he has beaten Rogers Fujita Thompson, Tony Sylvester, a very weak version of hunt, Lee Tae-Hyun, hes beat kharitonov but the last time they met overeem lost. Overeem is hella talented, but in mma he hasn't beaten enough tough comp to be considered anywhere close to pound for pound top ten. he needs a at least 3,4, or five real top heavyweights before u even put him here, all the other divisions are deeper right now...
kinda reminds me of semi shiltz in (some) ways likes to do alot of damage but not so keen on taking a punches
Overeem vs Werdum HAS to happen, its perfect to have the current champion be challenged by someone who beat him before. Great motivation for both fighters. Honestly that match up would be bigger for me then Cain vs Brock was since I knew the outcome before hand. It felt more like a formality, Brock handing his fake UFC belt to Cain, Cain throwing it away and picking up the real belt and becoming the first TRUE UFC HW Champion in a VERY long time (as it was held by a LHW before Brock).
Time will confirm Overeem's impact on the MMA world, its too soon for me to make an accurate assessment.
Based on relative competition he may not deserve top ranking but my money is on Alistair Overeem and the well round skills, power and experience he has. Unlike Fedor, I see Alistair joining the UFC once he has cleaned up the opposition outside it some more. With regard to K1, I hope he wins this year's K1 GP because then he can then more easily move forward to doing what he has to do to realize his tremendous potential of being the first truly Undisputed MMA Heavy Weight Champion of the World!
All On Board the Reem War Wagon!!!
he would rip cain a new one. Send him riding a donkey back to juarez...o wait cain is american...
Funny to see how these so called HW Champs are ducking Overeem. Fedor ducked CroCop for many years. Doing now the same with Overeem. Don't misunderstand me. Fedor is a legend. But who was his last legitamate HW oppenent after CroCop in 2005?
I think the scariest thing about Overeem is the experience he has and he is only 30 years old. When he fought Chuck Liddell he was only 22.