Will the Demolition Man smash his way through the competition come December 5?

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If you've been reading Head Kick Legend for a while, and have been following since the K-1 LEGEND days or possibly even Total MMA, you know I am a giant fan of Alistair Overeem. Something about a big, tough dude with a great skillset in grappling and kickboxing who likes to hit things with a mallet is just awesome. Overeem made a giant splash on the K-1 world ending Badr Hari's bad year with a rather embarrassing nap. Since then, Overeem has earned himself a prime spot in the World Grand Prix and squares off against Ewerton Teixeira.

HDNet's Michael Schiavello continues his primer for fans on what to expect come World Grand Prix time, this time looking at the Demolition Man.

What makes Overeem such a dangerous competitor is size and aggression. Add to that mix his impressive striking skill set (unlike a Bob Sapp who is strong and aggressive, Overeem actually throws crisp hand combinations and not maniacal swinging haymakers, and has very good use of knees to the body on the inside) and you have a brutal monster who comes to hunt down and hurt opponents. His aggressive, walk-through style is a throwback to the golden days of K-1 when the likes of Mike Bernardo, Sam Greco, Mirko Cro Cop and a young Ray Sefo would titillate audiences with their electrifying knockout style that opted for balls-to-the-wall aggression (mixed with technique) over defensive preservation. 

With trainers Cor Hemmers and Ramon Dekker by his side, Overeem has two of the world's finest honing his striking skills in the gym and directing traffic in his corner. 

Though many fans believe Teixeira will be easy pickings for Overeem in the quarter-final stage, I think the Brazilian poses some very serious problems. Teixeira is an incredibly durable and thick-bodied man who is conditioned for enormous punishment to the body from his Kyokushin days (in Kyokushin you cannot punch to the head, only to the body). He is also a crisp counter fighter particularly with a trigger-happy right hand that will play havoc on Overeem's walk-through style – a style Teixeira's leg kicks should slow down. 

In a draw of gripping quarter-final match-ups this is possibly the hardest one to call. On recent form fortune favors Overeem's bullying style. But Teixeira is the type of fighter who makes every opponent look average. Will he be the first in K-1 to make Overeem look anything but an uber wrecking machine?

Earlier this month I laid some groundwork for the Teixeira/Overeem bout here. The conclusion we came to is Ewerton is a fighter in the same vein as a Keith Jardine; he provides an different sort of challenge, but get him out of his pocket and you can easily dismantle him.