UFC
UFC 141: Alistair Overeem's former trainer thinks distractions in camp may affect his chances against Brock Lesnar
Dec 28, 2011 - 2:30:44 PM UFC 141: Alistair Overeem's former trainer thinks distractions in camp may affect his chances against Brock Lesnar

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Alistair Overeem rose to prominence in the heavyweight division over the last several years in large part to the advancements he made in his striking game while with Golden Glory in Holland. However, for his UFC 141 camp, he's bounced around from the U.S. and Holland after a contentious split with Golden Glory, and one of his former trainers, Martijn De Jong, believes it will have an effect on how this fight plays out.

"If Alistair had his old team surrounding him, he would have definitely won this fight, I would have predicted a second-round TKO," De Jong wrote in a post for Fighter's Only. "Now, it's a different story. I am not involved in his camp anymore. Me knowing him well, and with all the recent events happening, it is hard to predict."

Between the split from Golden Glory, uprooting his life to Las Vegas, returning to Holland to care for his ailing mother, and the issues with the Nevada State Athletic Commission in getting licensed, there's been a lot of distractions for Overeem. But De Jong says that's not all that's playing into it, either.

"Besides all that, Brock will be the crowds [favorite]," De Jong said. "All this mentioned above would be very hard for any fighter to prepare fully for a big fight like this, and Brock is a strong, huge and amazing wrestler who can take a punch. Of course Alistair has the edge striking standing up and Brock has the edge wrestling and on the ground.

"With all of Alistair's skills and experience - he was with Golden Glory for 12 years, after all - he still might be able to pull off the W but it's not gonna be easy. Fighting is mostly a mental game. The one who will have that in place will be the victor on December 30."

Penick's Analysis: Would it surprise anyone if a number of individuals at Golden Glory were pulling for Lesnar in this fight on Friday night? That would be their vindication that Overeem made a mistake in breaking away from them. There are a lot of things that could negatively impact how Overeem has prepared for this fight, and if he's not ready to deal with Lesnar's size, strength, and ground technique because of them, it's going to be on him. Still, it's interesting to see this type of take from someone that has been very close to Overeem in the past. Overeem absolutely can win this fight, but De Jong's not wrong about the many distractions he's had making it murkier to see him picking up the win.