UFC 141: Alistair Overeem Ready for UFC Spotlight after a Crazy 2011

A crazy year is about to conclude for Alistair Overeem, fresh face to the UFC and the man who will oppose Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 141. The former DREAM, K-1 and Strikeforce champion will make his UFC debut against a former champion. Many believe Overeem has something to prove after a harrowing year of his own.

2011 was eventful for Overeem for a number of reasons. After winning the K-1 Grand Prix and DREAM heavyweight titles only a few weeks apart in December 2010, Overeem ended up not being paid by K-1 before DREAM fell into financial ruin itself.

Shortly thereafter, Strikeforce was sold to Zuffa. While participating in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Overeem was released seemingly out of the blue. He ended up on the outs with his management, dropped them, got re-signed by Zuffa to a UFC contract and agreed to fight Lesnar instead of waiting for a guaranteed title shot.

After accepting the Lesnar fight, Overeem found himself in the midst of a legal battle with his former managers, and also got word that his mother was sick back in Europe. Having just changed camps and moving from Holland to Las Vegas, he had to return home to tend to her—just in time to miss a drug test and subsequently almost go unlicensed for the fight.

To say the least, it’s been quite a run for the man they call "The Reem."

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride," Overeem said during a media call that Bleacher Report MMA sat in on. "It started maybe a year-and-a-half ago, after the Brett Rogers fight. I was in Japan to do media, it was a crazy time. Every day doing television shows, all the media attention,” recalls Overeem.

“Come back for the Strikeforce GP,  injury before [fighting Fabricio] Werdum, after, then back and to the UFC. I can only thank my team, they’ve been a rock. They’ve taken away all the headaches, my thanks and gratitude goes out to them.”

For all the hurdles, and all he’s thankful for, Overeem says he’s more focused than ever and is ready for the biggest stage in MMA.

“The UFC is huge, but the thing for me is that the bigger the fight is and the more people that come to watch, the better I perform. I’m feeling good mentally and physically, I’m sharp. I’m sparring with wrestling guys, I’m ready.”

In Lesnar, he’ll face a man who can match him physically, but is grossly different stylistically. While Overeem will look to win exchanges standing, Lesnar is likely to utilize his superior wrestling to be successful. It could be as simple as who gets the fight where they want it to be first. Overeem says he’s ready for a fight that will go anywhere.

“People tend to look at the last couple of years—even then I had a couple of submissions—but I’m an all-around fighter. My striking got better because of K-1, and I prefer a knockout over a submission. I can’t talk about [my training], but I’m a well-rounded fighter.”

Regardless of where the fight ends up, its Overeem’s focus to become the UFC heavyweight champion and capture a centrepiece for a mantle that’s already quite full.

“The UFC title is missing from my collection. That title is missing. That’s the only thing that’s left to achieve.”

He’ll get the chance to move towards filling that void on December 30.

Matthew Ryder is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand from a UFC 141 media call.