Vadim Finkelstein: I respect Alistair Overeem as a fighter

M-1 Global boss Vadim Finkelstein reacted to Bas Boon's verbal outburst, and the accusations of calling the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem "a steroid cattle who has nothing to offer for Fedor". Finkelstein had a good choice of words for the Golden Glory Gym founder, also revealing that him and "The Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem are actually a good friends, and that he respects his abilities as a fighter.

"It's not the first time I hear about the "steroid bully" comments, and all I have to say is that it was completely blown out of proportion. I would like to apologize to Alistair Overeem if he was offended by these words. Me and Alistair are very good friends and know each other for many years, so I will be very upset if he believes that I actually said this in an official interview.

Alistair Overeem is a very talented individual. I believe that he has a very bright future in Mixed Martial Arts. I met him several times in Japan. Me and his brother Valentjin are a very good friends, they visited me several times in St. Petersburg.

I did say the "steroid bully" phrase, but it was directed to the fighters who cancel the shows due to a failed drug test. I was very disappointed with Josh Barnett testing positive before the Affliction: Trilogy event, because many people were affected by the situation.

As for Bas Boon's comments, I know that in Holland people call him "heck" (transl. from Dutch - crazy) or "boer" (transl. from Dutch - farmer), what you can translate to russian as a "crazy ruffian". No one in the American or Dutch press takes him seriously. I would not go down to his level. I actually think that he should write books for children, he would be a very successful writer."

Alistair Overeem will defend his title for the first time in three years agains Fedor's latest opponent, Brett "The Grim" Rogers. The fight is expected to take place at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery on May 15th. If the two managers will finally put their differences aside, Mixed Martial Arts fans would have an opportunity to see one of the most electrifying Heavyweight bouts of the recent time.

Originally posted on M-1 Global's MixFight.ru  | Photo: Daniel Monreal