Overeem does exactly what I thought he would do in Fight Night

I have been saying for a while that Overeem is not a great heavyweight. He is a punching bag for better fighters to make their way to the top and even though he was on a 5 win streak, these fights were not against top flight opponents. The last time he faced an opponent that most people have even heard of was when he fought Curtis Blaydes and of course, he got KO'd.

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So when he was going into this fight against Volkov, who himself is not a true contender for the belt either in my opinion, my prediction was that Overeem was going to get rattled early, fail to recover, and then eventually succumb to punches.... because that is what he always does against a good opponent.

It was in the very first round when Volkov connected with a pretty solid straight jab and that was all it took for Overeem to hit the canvas and I thought it was going to be all over from that point forward but he magically managed to make it back to his feet and finish the round, but he was also covering hard with gloves really close to his head, running away, and not really getting any chances for any sort of offense. He looked scared and rarely left an opening to create any sort of offense of his own.

Even though he was covering pretty well into round 2, it was evident that he was rattled and was not going to recover. This is a recurring issue with the man and I think it just a permanent part of who he is as a fighter now.

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I'm not trying to say that Alistair was NEVER good, there was a time that he was a real contender and routinely took people out that were also good fighters. He had victories over Brock Lesnar, Roy Nelson, Mark Hunt, Junior Dos Santos, and Bigfoot Silva. However, all of these fights were between 2013 and 2017. It was after a devestating loss to current number 1 ranked Ngannou that I feel that Overeem was knocked into next week, and his already weak chin has been too weak ever since.

Yes he has won 5 of his last 6 fights (before tonight's fight) and yes, most of these guys were ranked in the top 10. The problem is that in the heavyweight division there is a very stark contrast in ability between the top 5 guys, and the bottom 5 guys. I sometimes feel as though the bottom 5 are in the rankings simply because there really aren't very many heavyweight fighters in the UFC at all.

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This would have KO'd anyone in the world, and Alistair hasn't been the same ever since

Alistair went into this fight ranked 1 place higher than Volkov but to suggest that Overeem had control of this fight at any point of it at all would be a lie. He was just outclassed in every sort of way and when Volkov would come at him he covered up and even cowered in a way that has just become all too predictable with Overeem.

You can tell exactly when the fight is over when Alistair is involved because the guy simply cannot recover from a hard strike. This happened about 3 and a half minutes in the first round and I knew at that point that it was only a matter of time before the big man was done.

In the 2nd round he came out at the start looking defeated, covering up and running away and putting very little in the way of offense out there. When he would throw a strike it was a wild haymaker that was easily blocked.


One of my last posts was about how Overeem should probably retire and I actually do feel bad for the guy because he does seem like he is probably one of the nicest fighters in all of the UFC, but being nice doesn't win fights now does it?



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How about the Edgar fight that took place just before this one... wow

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That was damn nasty!! Super timing by Sandhagen though, and that knee went uuuup ☝️

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This was me watching Overeem fight this morning:

Overeem was going to get rattled early, fail to recover, and then eventually succumb to punches

First, you were right all along, I once again expected more from him, and Volkov (I forgot how badass his tattoo is) was much crisper with his stand up and the Reem looked so sluggish, is it fucking CTE or what?

This happened about 3 and a half minutes in the first round and I knew at that point that it was only a matter of time before the big man was done.

As frustrating as it is to see "Eco Reem" doing pick-a-boo behind the Jab, we (I) almost forgot how strong Volkov is, we forget because he is so lanky, but Overeem was all bloodied up beginning of the second round, and it was already the beginning of the end.

One of my last posts was about how Overeem should probably retire and I actually do feel bad for the guy because he does seem like he is probably one of the nicest fighters in all of the UFC, but being nice doesn't win fights now does it?

Yep, I think he is done, I was really expecting him to hang his gloves but continuing is now delusional. Please Reem, don't go to Bellator, You earned enough money to ride off to the sunset after an amazing career.

And how about that knee from hell by Sandhagen? Did not see this one coming wow!!! I kinda skimmed through the rest of the card, anything else I missed in the prelims?

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Sandhagen

That knee was vicious, and would have ended anyone. I was just sad to see it happen to Edgar, who is one of the fighters that I respect the most based both on time in the octagon and overall ability - I honestly would have liked to see more of a fight than this but well, I knee to the temple will put a quick end to any fight.

The rest of the card was actually pretty decent but for the most part it played out like you would expect.

Overeem needs to retire but Dana will likely pressure him to stay in order for him to be a punching bag for up and comers because White needs a mid-card guy to give credibility to new guys looking to get to the top.

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I finally caught up with the rest of the card, even the prelims. Quite decent... Are you ready for this weekend?

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