Valentijn "The Python" Overeem Signs Deal With Strikeforce

In 2010 Valentijn “The Python” Overeem will officially begin his pursuit of his brother and Golden Glory teammate Alistair Overeem ’s championship belt, as reports have surfaced that Scott Coker has signed the Amersfoort, Netherlands native to a deal that will make unofficially make the Overeem clan the first family of Strikeforce.

As experienced as nearly anyone in the sport, the 240-pound heavyweight has notched nearly 30 professional victories, unfortunately for the older Overeem, he has also recorded 25 losses. Although his wins-losses record is inconsistent at best, there are few fighters in the world that have such a high rate of finishing their opponents or being finished themselves. In 53 bouts Overeem has only gone to the judges twice.

Despite not being widely known in the world of mixed martial arts, Overeem has competed in over 50 bouts on nearly every continent over the course of the last 15 years, fighting some of the best in the world under the Pride Fighting Championships, RINGS, K-1 Hero’s, Sengoku, and Pancrase banners.

Even though Overeem holds submission victories over a young Renato Sobral and a relatively youthful Randy Couture , “The Python” has struggled against top competition; dropping contests to Gary Goodridge , Antonio Rodrigo Noguira (twice), Assuerio Silva , Igor Vovchanchyn , and Gilbert Yvel (twice).

Although Overeem certainly intends to make waves in the shallow Strikeforce heavyweight division with his heavy hands and strong submission skills, many analysts are sceptical as to how much of an impact the 33 year old mixed martial artist will actually make. At this point in his career it appears that Overeem has a suspect chance of success; with only four wins in his last 11 bouts and a propensity to lose to upper-level competition, Overeem may be in trouble if he plans on showing fellow contenders Fedor Emelianenko , Brett Rogers , and Fabricio Werdum that he belongs in the thick of Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. If Overeem manages to stick around in his brother’s division, it will likely be because of his surname and ability to put on exciting, high-paced bouts, rather than any displays of dominance over top heavyweights.