Alistair Overeem was one of the sport’s hottest commodities when he returned to mixed martial arts full time after a successful kickboxing career. He knows what it feels like to have all eyes aimed at him, with fans celebrating every victory and critics savoring each defeat.
This weekend, he will be facing a dangerous fighter who was once in his shoes and with a similar blueprint. Sergey Pavlovich has 12 wins without a loss, with nine of those victories coming by way of KO or TKO. As they prepare for their UFC Fight Night 141 encounter, take a look at these things you probably don’t know about Overeem.
In a YouTube interview years back, Overeem was asked by a fan which among his opponents hit him the hardest, and his answer was Sergei Kharitonov, citing the Russian’s dreaded uppercut. For his heavyweight debut in February 2006, Overeem met the former Russian Top Team standout for the first time. He won by TKO in the first round of this Pride 31 encounter, dislocating Kharitonov’s shoulder along the way. They met again in September of the following year at the Hero’s 10 middleweight tournament finals, and this time, Overeem was knocked out, also in the opening round.
2. He’s a hardcore carnivore.
Meat from cow, horse, fish -- you name it, Overeem will devour it. He eats six to eight times a day and is also fond of nuts, yogurt, quark and potatoes, among others. In between chow moments, he finds time to train, sleep and spend time with his family.
3. He’s spent time behind the mic.
Overeem has done some commentator duty and was pretty good at it. Perhaps most notable was when he served as a special guest commentator at Glory: Collision, which featured the highly-anticipated encounter between Rico Verhoeven and Badr Hari, a guy he has fought twice. He was joined in the commentary booth by Todd Grisham and "Bazooka" Joe Valtellini.
4. He is one of the most accurate strikers in the UFC.
A 72.5 percent striking accuracy places him second in the list of the most accurate strikers inside the Octagon, just next to Tatiana Suarez. He is most accurate with his leg kicks. In all his fights in the UFC, he has amassed 188 strikes to the head, 165 to the body and 67 to the legs. His professional MMA record shows in impressive 21 wins by KO or TKO.
5. He was ADCC European Trials winner.
Back in 2005, Overeem entered the ADCC European Trials and submitted four opponents to top the 98.9kg weight division. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt clearly has some decent ground game to add to his world-class striking. In professional MMA, he has tallied 17 submission victories. His most notable submission victims include Vitor Belfort, Mark Hunt, Igor Vovchanchyn and Gary Goodridge.