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Tag: alistair overeem

  • Alistair Overeem Issues Strong Warning To Rico Verhoeven About One Fighter He Should Never Face in MMA – ‘Stay Away From That’

    Alistair Overeem doesn’t believe a potential clash between Rico Verhoeven and Francis Ngannou would be competitive — and he’s urging the kickboxing star to stay far away from that matchup.

    Speaking during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former UFC title challenger explained why Verhoeven’s skillset wouldn’t translate well into mixed martial arts against someone like Ngannou.

    “I think against Francis, he would not stand much of a chance,” Overeem said. “Just basically because he’s missing the wrestling and the submissions. He’s just not training that.”

    Overeem emphasized that the gap isn’t something that can be closed quickly, no matter how elite Verhoeven’s striking may be.

    “It takes years to develop that, and it shouldn’t be underestimated,” he continued. “You’re just not gonna catch up with those years of experience just like that in a training camp.”

    While Verhoeven has dominated kickboxing for years, Overeem believes stepping into the cage against a well-rounded heavyweight like Ngannou would be a completely different challenge.

    “Francis Ngannou is totally a no-go area,” Overeem added. “Stay away from that. Francis is clever. He’s just going to win the fight — and it would not even be a difficult fight.”

    Instead of pursuing MMA, Verhoeven has opted to test himself in boxing, where he is set to face Oleksandr Usyk at the “Glory in Giza” event in Egypt. The bout represents a massive opportunity for the longtime kickboxing champion to elevate his profile on a global stage.

    “The Predator”, meanwhile, has already shown his ability to transition between sports, recently returning to MMA competition on MVP’s debut event after a stint in boxing.

  • Alistair Overeem: UFC Heavyweight Division in Decline, Jones Fumble About Fighter Pay

    Alistair Overeem: UFC Heavyweight Division in Decline, Jones Fumble About Fighter Pay

    Alistair Overeem hasn’t been shy about his views on the state of the UFC heavyweight division. In a recent chat with leading MMA journalist Kyle Dimond for Bloody Elbow, the former title challenger offered a frank assessment of where the weight class stands today.

    “It’s no secret that there is a decline, unfortunately,” Overeem said. “The top guys will remain the top guys, but it’s not as colorful as it once used to be. Used to be you’d have 15 to 20 top-name heavyweights. That’s now not the case. It kind of slowly declined.”

    The Tides of Combat Sports

    Overeem sees the heavyweight dip as part of a broader cycle he’s witnessed before — one that saw kickboxing and K-1 go through similar lulls before MMA surged, and which boxing is now emerging from. He pointed to the geographic concentration of the sport’s golden era as part of the explanation.

    “Before we saw a similar decline in K-1, in kickboxing. And that kind of happened to MMA now as well. Boxing made a revival,” he said. “The golden era of MMA — Fedor, Big Nog, Vitor Belfort, Sakuraba — and then later into the UFC: Franklin, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones. This originated from different promotions and different countries pushing the sport. There’s also not much coming from Japan these days, and at the height in the 90s and early 2000s there were a lot of fighters coming from there.”

    On Jon Jones and the UFC

    Overeem was measured on the Jon Jones situation, declining to take sides but offering his read on why the standoff between Jones and the promotion has dragged on. The UFC recently announced Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 — a fight that came together after Jon Jones confirmed he had been in talks for the White House card before negotiations broke down.

    “It’s between him and the UFC,” Overeem said. “John will have his reasons and the UFC will have their reasons. I think ultimately it’s just fighter pay — they offered him something with the Tom Aspinall fight and they didn’t want to give the same offer with Pereira or something like this. Between Jon and the UFC, there’ll be a lot of details we don’t even know about. So it’s difficult to have an opinion on that.”

    Pereira vs. Gane and the Weight Math

    On the upcoming interim title fight itself, Overeem sees it as a favorable stylistic setup for Pereira — more so than Jones would have been.

    “For Pereira the Gane fight is more beneficial. Gane is more of a striker than a wrestler and submission artist than Jones is. Jones is extremely well-rounded on the ground. I think it’s going to be a great fight and more favorable to Pereira.”

    He also spoke to Pereira’s dramatic weight journey, calling it remarkable. “Alex will be like 109, 110 kg and Gane will be 115, 116 — it will not be that much different. Alex Pereira is a big guy. It’s amazing what he’s been doing with his weight going up — he was middleweight at one point. Crazy.”

    Ngannou’s Situation

    Overeem also weighed in on Francis Ngannou, who has since signed to fight Philipe Lins on May 16. At the time of the interview, Ngannou was linked to a Renan Ferreira bout, and Overeem was skeptical.

    “It’s unfortunate we’re not going to see him versus Jon Jones. Politics play [a role]. He’s going to now fight [Renan] Ferreira. Seems like a light heavyweight — might be a tough night for him.”

  • Alistair Overeem Favors Jon Jones To Beat Tom Aspinall But Names 50-50 Matchup For Him: ‘That Was The Fight To Make…’

    The fractured state of the UFC’s heavyweight title picture has been a topic of discussion this week as Tom Aspinall’s fight against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 draws near.

    The Brit is set to become only the third fighter in UFC history to defend an interim title when he steps into the Octagon in Manchester, England, on July 27, following in the footsteps of Antônio “Minotauro” Rodrigo Nogueira and Renan Barão.

    Aspinall fought for the interim belt on 17 days’ notice last November, knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Jon Jones was originally set to face Stipe Miocic in the main event of that pay-per-view but a torn pectoral tendon and emergency surgery put paid to those plans.

    In the months following UFC 295, Aspinall campaigned hard for a unification bout with Jon Jones, but it seems both “Bones” and UFC CEO Dana White remain committed to the original plan of Jones fighting Miocic later this year.

    Overeem Says Jones Likely To Beat Aspinall In Potential Fight

    Former UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem believes that Aspinall should be the one getting the title shot when Jones finally returns to competitive action, as 42-year old Miocic hasn’t fought since a loss to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021.

    “He should (be fighting Jon Jones),” Overeem said during an appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast this week. “Stipe hasn’t fought for many years now. But it was a little bit vague how that went, right?”

    When asked who he thinks would win a possible fight between Aspinall and Jones, Overeem leaned toward the former light heavyweight champion. However, he also suggested the UFC may have missed a trick by not making another fight that was rumored before Jones picked up his injury.

    “Who is gonna win? I think Jon. But Francis (Ngannou) and Jon would have been very exciting. I know that there was some (talks about making the fight). And they both wanted it, but the timing…and now Francis is gone. That was the fight to make, right?

    “Stipe’s not fought in a long time. What is he doing in the meantime, right, because when you have a fight there’s a camp, there’s development. And when you’re not doing that, you’re doing other stuff. Ok, maybe he has a high focus, high dedication to training…but you’re not fighting. And Jon is fighting…not that much, but he is fighting.”