Alistair Overeem talks about retirement, and I think it's about time
I'm not a fan of Overeem and I am also not a hater. For me, he is one of those middle of the table guys that always flames out just when it starts to look like he is getting better. This has happened time and time again and I don't really see any way forward for the man.
Dana White will probably keep him on the roster as long as he keeps being mildly entertaining but for me Overeem is missing some very critical aspects of his game that all but insures that he will never be more than a mid-table heavyweight.
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Alistair is a big guy with an impressive physique that seems to change a bit every time he steps into the octagon. Of all the fighters in the UFC including the heavyweight division, he just has that "look" of someone that is to be feared. He looks like a strongman action figure.
He has some strengths in his fights, for one thing he is a pretty great boxer and kickboxer and when he does win his fights he normally does so by KO or TKO. He also has decent wrestling skills and because of his size he can normally take opponents down to the ground where sometimes he actually manages to do something while he is there - it is always some sort of ground and pound if it is anything at all.
However, he has two core weaknesses that I think will keep him from ever seeing any sort of real contention for being best in the world.
Virtually no Jiu Jitsu skill
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Now I wouldn't want to tell this to his face, but despite the fact that he (obviously) does train in Jiu Jitsu, he isn't terrible adept at it in either an offensive or defensive capacity. He hasn't had a submission finish in over a decade and he seems to have all but completely eliminated it from his arsenal. Basically, if the big man goes to the matt, he almost certainly has a ground and pound objective on his mind. If he isn't in top position though, you need to look out because unless he can scramble away or wait it out until the end of the round, this is almost always a very bad place for Overeem to find himself.
Now on the the biggest weakness for the Dutchman
Very weak chin
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The above image is a pretty unfair one to use because that shot from Ngannou would have put anyone to sleep. However, there have been series of shots that he has received from guys that weren't even that solid that have rattled the big man, and you can always tell when this is about to happen because his stagger back in a wobbly fashion while maybe throwing a wild haymaker in the process is the tell-tale sign that Overeem is about to go tumbling down.
The fact being that if Overeem gets even slightly rattled, he very rarely recovers from this an all of his opponents know this. If Overeem takes even a medium-strength hit his "tell" that it rattled him is evident and the people he is up against merely have to swarm and it almost seems as though Alistair has already gone into "shutdown mode" regardless of the strength or accuracy of the hits that follow.
Now because of the immense size and strength of literally everyone in the heavyweight division, it is fair to say that a clear unchecked shot from a guy whose arms probably weight as much as one of your legs, is going to take out anyone. It isn't so much the fact that he takes the hits because all heavyweights get rattled by a straight shot, it is the fact that Overeem doesn't seem to react to this situation very well and unless you have been involved in more martial arts than I have, this isn't really something you can train for. I mean, it's not like any gyms have intentional mild-concussion simulations.
So when Overeem started talking about retirement a few days ago I think that it probably isn't a bad idea for the guy. He is still a medium draw when it comes to cards, but when I see him in a fight with someone I have ever even heard of before, it's usually not a case of whether or not Alistair is going to lose, but how long it is going to take for that to happen.
He has had a lucrative career in UFC and is one of the longest-running fighters in the division. If he is getting reasonable payouts then I suppose he should stick around because as Mark Hunt has proven, there isn't much work outside of the UFC for retired fighters.
For now, there is a real drought of heavyweights not just in UFC, but globally speaking. Therefore, Dana White will likely keep Alistair around as a punching bag for at least a couple more years. I think that Overreem would probably prefer to go out on a high note though and not fade into obscurity with the likes of Roy Nelson.