Alistair Overeem: Mainstream introduction of the Demolition Man

Alistair Overeem has been known overseas for years. He is the current Strikeforce and Dream Heavyweight Champion(Dream interim). He is also the winner of the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix. Those are some amazing credentials, but who is he? Many "new age" or American fans do not have a true knowledge about who he is and what he has accomplished in the sport. It is time for him to be formerly introduced to the mainstream MMA fan base.

Alistair made his combat sports debut in 1999 at the age of 19 in a pro kick boxing match, winning via decision. After that bout he pursued MMA and in his 1st eight fights he posted a 5-3 record. After the eight MMA bouts he competed back in kick boxing and lost the next bout, and didnt compete again until 2004 and decided to compete mainly in MMA and through 20 MMA bouts he posted a 16-3 record. Of the 16 wins 9 were by submission and 7 were via KO/TKO. In that period as well, since he was younger he wasn't fighting "big names", but the biggest name he fought and defeated was Red Devil fight club member Roman Zentsov, and he won via keylock in the 1st round.

In his 20th MMA bout he entered the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix, facing top 10 fighter Chuck Liddell. He started strong, but lost via KO in the first round. After that fight he won three fights in a row, and had posted a 4-1 record in Pride Fighting Championships. In that span he went back and had another kick boxing match and lost via KO. He didn't compete in kick boxing again until 3 years later in 2007.

Winning three fights in a row after the Chuck Liddell loss, he recieved his next big challenge to raise his stock in Pride by facing the very dangerous Antonio Rogerio Noguiera. In a hard fought bout Alistair lost via decision. Two months later Alistair entered the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. In the first round he defeated Vitor Belfort via guillotine choke, and that was the biggest win in his career up to date. In the second round, he fought a soon to be retired Pride/MMA legend Igor Vovchanchyn, and won that fight very quickly via guillotine choke. In the semi finals, he met very dangerous Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and lost via TKO. Shogun went on to win the tournament.

A few months before the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix started he won the ADCC European Trials(submission grappling). He won all three of his matches via guillotine choke. So going into the tournament he was proven to be a threat in all areas of the game.

After he was defeated by Shogun, he moved up to his natural weight of heavyweight and won two in a row, most notably defeating Sergei Kharitonov, which is his best career win to date. He then met Fabricio Werdum(whom he will fight again at the Strikeforce event in June) losing via Kimura in the 2nd round. After that fight he went on a 2-4 span losing to: Antonio Rogerio Noguiera, Ricardo Arona, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, and Sergei Kharitonov. All four of those men were ranked in the top ten in the time of the bouts.

He decided to return to kick boxing and from 2007(his return) to current, he has posted a 9-2 record(two losses were to Badr Hari, and Remy Bojansky) and he won the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix.

After the KO loss to Kharitonov he was offered a chance to face Paul Buentello for the inaugural Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship. Buentello had won four fights in a row going into that fight, with the toughest opponent being Tank Abbott. Overeem won the fight due to submission, knees to the body.

In Overeem's last 10 bouts, he is 9-0 1NC. In six of the fights the opponent was coming off of a loss, and only one of the opponents was a top 25 fighter(Brett Rogers, who was ranked 8th by most sites). Since the loss to Kharitonov, Overeem has looked outstanding, but his level of competition has dropped since his days in Pride.

Interesting stats on Overeem, he is 34-11 1NC in MMA. He is only 2-8 against top 10 fighters(rankings at time of fights). In the three years and five months since becoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion he has defended his belt once. Overeem has never really shined against "elite" talent. It has actually been his weakness. His striking is some of the best in MMA, but there are still many questions on where he truly should be ranked in the heavyweight division. Rankings are not based on what you "think" the fighter can do, it's based on what they "have" done.

With his bout with Fabricio Werdum coming closer, he has the opportunity to avenge that loss and prove that he is truly one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world. This whole tournament really will decide who Overeem is. He has all of the tools to be the number one fighter in the world, but will his mindset allow him to do that. In this tournament, he has the chance to possibly avenge two of his losses, win the Grand Prix and get the chance to fight Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, or Brock Lesnar.

The Demolition Man is one of the most lethal men in MMA, will 2011 be his year to finally prove it? We will know what to expect after June 18th.