UFC
Stefan Struve questions pre-UFC record of UFC on Fox 13 opponent Alistair Overeem
Sep 30, 2014 - 10:45:47 PM Stefan Struve questions pre-UFC record of UFC on Fox 13 opponent Alistair Overeem

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"The level of the competition in the UFC is just really high. I said that to my friends and to people who asked me before [Overeem] got into the UFC, [people] who said he's going to absolutely dominate and he's going to be champ for years, he's going to annihilate everybody. I told them, you just wait and see how high the level of the competition in the UFC is. You really underestimate that. He was beating everybody outside of the UFC, but if you go through his record, and also in K-1, if you really take a look at when he won and who he won against, then, you know, I'm actually not that impressed.

Who did he really win against in the period where people were saying he might be the number-one heavyweight in the world? Yeah, he beat Fabricio Werdum, but was that impressive? I didn't think so. Yeah, he won the K-1 [title], but he won the first round against a mediocre fighter, then he beat Gokhan Saki, who had a broken arm, then he beat Peter Aerts, who was spitting blood after his fight with Semmy Schilt. If you take a really good look at it, it's not all that impressive. He was winning in impressive fashion, but not against the best guys in the world, not in the UFC, where the best talent is and always has been."

-Stefan Struve questions the pre-UFC record of his UFC on Fox 13 opponent Alistair Overeem in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.

Penick's Analysis: Obviously Struve has a point, and it's one that's been made before. Overeem's rise to prominence came from his K-1 Grand Prix win and a bunch of wins against lesser competition at heavyweight, outside of a decision win over Fabricio Werdum in a weird, awkward, bad fight. That hasn't translated into much inside the Octagon, so having an opponent question everything that came before isn't all that surprising. That doesn't necessarily mean much come fight time, but it's a valid criticism for one of his opponents to have.

[Alistair Overeem art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]