Alistair Cees Overeem was born on May 17, 1980. He is a Dutch professional heavyweight MMA and kickboxer who is currently participating in the Glory heavyweight class. He was the first fighter to hold world titles in both MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, and K-1 World Grand Prix Champion.
| Name | Alistair Cees Overeem |
| D.O.B | May 17, 1980 |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Weight | 116 kg |
| Occupation | Mixed Martial Artist, Kick Boxer |
| Professional Debut | 1999 |
| Wife | Zelina Bexander |
| Nicknames | The Demolition Man |
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Overeem was born in Hounslow, England, to a Jamaican father and a Dutch mother, and his ancestors include Dutch King William III. His parents split when he was six years old, and he relocated to the Netherlands with his mother and elder brother. Overeem began training in martial arts as a kid alongside his elder brother Valentijn in order to defend himself from bullying.
Following in his brother’s footsteps, he opted to pursue a competitive sports career, initially in Judo and then in Track & Field and Basketball. He followed Valentijn into Chris Dolman’s Martial Arts gym at the age of 15 to become a professional fighter. Alistair disliked the sport at first since he was constantly beaten by more experienced pupils, but he changed his attitude after meeting Bas Rutten and Joop Kasteel, after which he totally committed himself to train.
At the age of 19, Overeem fought his first professional MMA bout, defeating Ricardo Fyeet by submission on October 24, 1999, at It’s Showtime, the inaugural event of the eponymous company. Overeem made his Pride Fighting Championships debut on July 20, 2002, defeating Yusuke Imamura by TKO in 44 seconds after going 10-3 in Fighting Network Rings, M-1, It’s Showtime and 2 Hot 2 Handle.
Overeem won two more fights in Pride before competing in the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination 2003 and lost in the quarterfinals to future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. Overeem bounced back to defeat Tomohiko Hashimoto in 36 seconds at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003. Overeem defeated Hiromitsu Kanehara by TKO in the second round at Pride 28 on October 31, 2004. Overeem lost his next bout to Antônio Rogério Nogueira of the Brazilian Top Team.
Overeem competed in the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination 2005, defeating UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort via submission in the first round. Overeem advanced to the quarterfinals of Pride Critical Countdown 2005, where he defeated Igor Vovchanchyn through submission in less than two minutes. Overeem was defeated in the semifinals by eventual winner Mauricio Rua.
Overeem faced Russian Top Team favorite Sergei Kharitonov in February 2006. Overeem emerged victorious, dislocating Kharitonov’s shoulder in the process. Overeem’s victory against Kharitonov earned him a berth in the PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination Absolute. He faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Fabricio Werdum and was defeated in the second round by kimura.
Overeem traveled to San Jose, California, on June 9, 2006, to defeat Vitor Belfort by decision at Strikeforce: Revenge.
Overeem returned to PRIDE a month later for a highly anticipated showdown with Antônio Rogério Nogueira. Overeem started the bout with his neck severely wrapped. After dominating the first round and a half with his striking, Overeem was knocked down by a punch, and Nogueira responded with a barrage of punches. Overeem’s corner threw in the towel, fearful that he might be more wounded.
Overeem was defeated by Ricardo Arona in the Pride Final Conflict Absolute. Overeem was the victim of a leg kick that caused a minor nerve lesion, leading him to lose feeling in his foot and leg. Overeem tapped out to prevent additional injuries since he was unable to mount much offence or defend against Arona.
He later lost another KO to Mauricio Rua at Pride 33 but bounced back in June 2007 with a submission victory over Michael Knaap at the K-1 Grand Prix in Amsterdam (despite K-1 being a kickboxing promotion, the bout was fought under MMA rules).
Alistair faces Sergei Kharitonov again in the Hero’s 10: Middleweight Tournament Final on September 17, 2007. Overeem displayed good mobility from the start of the first round, but he was knocked out just before the conclusion.
On November 16, 2007, Overeem submitted Paul Buentello for the vacant Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship through knee strikes. Overeem defeated Lee Tae-Hyun by KO in the first round at DREAM 4 on June 15, 2008. Overeem beat K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Mark Hunt by submission in the opening round of Dream 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final Round on July 21, 2008.
His next bout was against Mirko Cro Cop on September 23, 2008, at Dream 6. After Overeem delivered repeated knees to Cro Cop’s groin, the fight was halted midway through the first round and called a no-contest.
Overeem was expected to face Brett Rogers in his first championship defense on June 6 at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. However, a hand injury thwarted the fight’s intentions. Overeem acquired a hand infection after a nightclub incident in early May 2009, according to Golden Glory boss Bas Boon. According to Boon, Alistair and his brother Valentijn, both heavyweights, were involved in an altercation that resulted in the hospitalization of five security personnel and nearly lost Alistair his hand.
Overeem was supposed to defend his Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship against Fabricio Werdum in a rematch at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, however, he had to withdraw due to a hand injury, most likely caused by his nightclub altercation. Alistair used a standing guillotine choke to defeat Tony Sylvester at Golden Glory’s 10-year anniversary celebration. Only eight days later, he utilized the same choke to defeat James Thompson at Dream 12.
Overeem was supposed to meet Andrei Arlovski at Dynamite!! 2009, but FEG chose Kazuyuki Fujita instead to comply with the DREAM vs. Sengoku theme. Overeem swiftly outmatched his opponent and knocked him over with a knee to the head. Overeem then faced Brett Rogers to defend his Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship on May 15, 2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. He won the bout through first-round TKO.
On December 31, 2010, Overeem faced Todd Duffee at Dynamite!! 2010. He knocked out Duffee 19 seconds into the first round to win the interim DREAM Heavyweight Championship. Overeem, along with Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, Brett Rogers, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Antônio Silva, and Fedor Emelianenko, was named to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in early 2011. On June 18, 2011, a rematch with Fabricio Werdum took place at Strikeforce: Dallas as part of an eight-man heavyweight competition. Overeem won a unanimous decision over Werdum.
Overeem was dropped from the promotion’s 2011 Heavyweight Grand Prix on July 17, 2011. Overeem went on to say that the September date was too soon for him to return and that he needed time to relax and recuperate following his quarterfinal decision triumph over Fabricio Werdum on June 18. Overeem was replaced by Daniel Cormier, an unbeaten up-and-comer. Following that, it was revealed on July 29th that Overeem had been freed from the Strikeforce organization as Zuffa invoked their right to cancel the one remaining bout on his contract.
Alistair Overeem made his UFC debut against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. Overeem overwhelmed Lesnar and finished him in the first round with a body kick and punches to earn a championship fight against Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Overeem was later removed from the bout after failing the NSAC drug test.
He fought Antonio Silva again at UFC 156 and was knocked out in the third round. Overeem then faced Travis Browne at UFC Fight Night 26, where he was originally on top but was defeated by TKO. Overeem returned to the win column in his next bout, defeating Frank Mir by a unanimous decision at UFC 167. Alistair was defeated by Ben Rothwell in the first round through TKO (punches).
Overeem recovered from his setback and went on a four-fight winning streak to earn a championship chance against Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Overeem downed Miocic early in the fight but was unable to finish him and was KO’ed in the last minute of the first round. Alistair subsequently beat Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum before facing Francis Ngannou, who KO’ed him in 92 seconds with an epic uppercut at UFC 218.
Alister maintained his tendency of mixed success, going 4-3 in his past seven UFC fights, his most recent being a second-round TKO defeat to Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov.
Kickboxing
Mixed martial arts
Submission grappling
| 67 matches | 47 wins | 19 losses |
| By knockout | 25 | 15 |
| By submission | 17 | 1 |
| By decision | 5 | 3 |
| No contests | 1 | |
