Is The Dream Over for The Reem

 

Is The Dream Over for The Reem

 

Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem

One of the hardest parts about 2020, outside of the whole global pandemic thing, was watching some of the greatest martial artists in the history of the sport fight under the UFC promotion for the last time. Of these legends, names like Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, and Anderson Silva all made their final walk for the UFC in 2020, and if early 2021 is indicative of anything it seems as if it will be a year that sees more heartbreaking retirements from guys that have aged out of their athletic prime. Specifically, one of the biggest names I think we could see officially leave the sport this year is The Demolition Man himself, Alistair Overeem, particularly because of his performance on February 6, 2021 against Alexander Volkov.

Alistair Overeem taking a punch from Alexander Volkov (February 6, 2021).

Before we go any further, it’s important to note that the bout between Overeem and Volkov might be an isolated piece of work, meaning that it might have just been a bad night for Overeem or Volkov could have preformed better than usual, however given the current trajectory of their respective careers it seems unlikely. Additionally, Volkov’s long limbs and fighting style may have caused problems for Overeem that other fighters in the heavyweight division may not, but Overeem’s inability to slip shots or get any momentum going offensively was frightening for a 40-year-old with a goal of extending his career and hopefully earning a championship before he calls it quits. Sadly, for Overeem, it doesn’t seem like that title shot is going to come any day soon because unlike other wily veterans who have reinvented themselves to remain at the top of their division, beating the best of the best in their weight classes, guys like Glover Teixeira, Overeem is a dying star slowly running out of gas.

Overeem lands a big left hand against Brock Lesner during his first fight in the UFC (2011).

The biggest reason that Overeem’s performance against Volkov is so detrimental to him achieving his goal of becoming the heavyweight champion of the world is because there aren’t a lot of good matchups that present themselves for him to reinsert himself into the title picture. Looking at Overeem’s career over the past few years, his most significant wins have come against Augusto Sakai (September, 2020), Walt Harris (March, 2020), Aleksei Oleinik (August, 2019) and Sergei Pavlovich (November, 2018), guys who are currently ranked 9, 10, 11 and 14^th respectively in the heavyweight division. Although these are some of the toughest men on the planet and I mean no disrespect by these comments, Overeem’s recent resumé is not incredibly impressive in a way that would warrant a title shot, particularly because these wins weren’t strung together and there were scattered losses in between. 

Overeem gets his hand raised after defeating Walt Harris (April 2020).

Speaking on his losses, the contests Overeem ended up unsuccessful in are more damning to his title shot than his lack of an impressive resumé because over his lengthy career the general body of work speaks for itself. However, given the current standings in the division, Overeem was ranked number 5 and just lost to number 6 in Volkov pretty emphatically, so even best-case scenario he drops to number 7 or 8 and potentially worse given the performance itself. Outside of Volkov, Overeem has been gotten over on by just about every other major contender in the division. In an almost inverse relationship to his recent wins, Overeem has lost to almost every fighter in the top 5 of the division including Jairzinho Rozenstruik via KO/TKO, Curtis Blaydes via TKO, Francis Ngannou via vicious first round KO that left Overeem limp, and last, but certainly not least Stipe Miocic who also knocked him out in the first round back in 2016. So, while Overeem may be interested in continuing to fight the best of the weight class, I think he’ll have a difficult time finding a rematch with any of these guys who all also have their sights set on the belt.

Francis Ngannou delivering his viral knockout shot on Alistair Overeem (2017).

Moreover, looking at the timeline of when the heavyweight belt will be contested, Miocic V. Ngannou II is currently scheduled for March 27, 2021 and will be the next time that the belt is up for grabs. After that, UFC commissioner Dana White has said that Jon Jones, the newest addition to the weight class, will walk straight into the next title fight. The reason I bring this to your attention is because even if Overeem is somehow still a name in contention for a title shot, his opportunity wouldn’t come this year and probably would barely come in the first quarter of 2022. This is significant to note because Overeem is currently 40 years old and will turn 41 in May of 2021, so, despite being unlikely, if Overeem were to get the next shot at the title after Jones he would be almost 42 years old making him the oldest to ever contend for a title since Randy Couture set the record at 45, further pointing to the conclusion that Overeem’s dreams of gold should be dead at this point.

Randy Couture defending his Heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar aged 45 (2008).

Regardless, if Overeem does decide to keep going his options will be limited, but not nonexistent. First, the only fighter in the top 5 of the division that he has not fought yet is Derrick Lewis. The Black Beast is currently scheduled to fight Curtis Blaydes in a main event on February 20, 2021, and if he wins I think he moves himself out of the realm of possibility for Overeem, however, if he loses, Overeem Vs. Lewis might be Alistair’s last shot to put himself back in the title picture. The issue that might arise in this fight is what Alexander Volkov wants to next because he could lobby for his rematch with either Blaydes or Lewis, and moreover any of these three could set their sights on Ngannou, Rozenstruik, Miocic, or Jones depending on what happens to the belt. Outside of Derrick Lewis, Overeem could embrace somewhat of a gatekeeper role where he fights the young up and comers in the division, giving them the opportunity to prove their worth to the promotion, similar to what Junior Dos Santos has been doing recently in taking fights against guys like Ciryl Gane. Likewise, Overeem could fight Gane, although this seems unlikely with rumors pointing to Gane being the backup for the Miocic/Ngannou title fight as well as being on the rise in the weight class; on the other hand, Overeem could also fight Dos Santos in a battle of heavyweight legends.

Overeem sporting the gruesome injury he received fighting Jairzinho Rozenstriuk (2019)

So, as a whole, is it impossible of Alistair Overeem to work himself back into title contention and potentially accomplish his goal? No. However, given his recent performance against Volkov, it is clear that he will have some ground to make up before it is a realistic possibility again. But, Father Time seems to be working against him because with age Overeem has lost power and the ability stamina wise to produce high output performances. Additionally, in his most recent losses The Demolition Man was demolished taking some dangerous shots and receiving some severe injuries. All in all, while it may hurt to say, the same way it did for guys like Anderson Silva, it seems The Dream for Reem is over.