Strikeforce Sees an Old Star in Arlovski Fall and a New Star in Overeem Rise
by Dave Walsh on May 16, 2010 1:24 AM EDT
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In a way, I feel both vindicated and disappointed at the same time. The vindication comes at the hands of Alistair Overeem proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a top Heavyweight with his quick dispatching of Brett Rogers tonight in St. Louis. The win wasn't the explosive knockout like the one against Fujita or a sick guillotine like he is known for, but instead Alistair dominating on the stand up before tripping Rogers to the ground, who with the fear of God in his eyes backed up but was unable to escape Overeem who stayed on top of him for the next few minutes pounding on him until the ref peeled the Heavyweight Champ off of the challenger in the first round.
Alistair Overeem came under great scrutiny over the past few weeks from MMA websites who ran a smear campaign of sorts against him due to the possibility of him using PEDs. In a way, even if his test from this event comes back clean I don't expect that banter to ever really stop. Regardless, there have also been a slew of doubters who believed his stint in DREAM as a Heavyweight has simply been record-padding and that he was unworthy of being considered a top heavyweight. He effectively shattered that tonight but dominating the man that ringside journalists awarded an actual round against Fedor Emelianenko until Fedor knocked his head off; Brett Rogers.
To top this off, "Overeem" is trending on Twitter right now. Well, it looks like people in the US know his name now, huh?
The disappointment, well, it comes at the hands of Andrei Arlovski. Arlovski, once the world beater UFC Heavyweight Champion, has now reached the lowest point in his career. I remember talking with friends about Arlovski at the time, and asking who would beat him? We devised plans like running an opening challenge or a gauntlet of local tough guys, but then Tim Sylvia put an end to that. Now we see Arlovski facing his third loss in a row, this time being outmuscled by Antonio Silva.
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Overeem can be a huge star
He finishes every fight, he is a hulking mass of a man, and he’s basically Frank Mir behind the mic. Strikeforce is probably hoping he can beat Fedor and that they can use him as the new face of their organization.
Overeem looked very impressive. Its not just that he threw Rogers to the side far easier than any human should be able to, it was that he completely imposed his will on him. With all the talk that Rogers was going to bring the fight to him and wear him down, he didn’t. Not at all. Overeem stalked him and scared him. It was really really impressive.
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
I really am betting Fedor doesn't fight Overeem.
Fedor himself, nah, not afraid. His management? No way they sign that contract. He defeats Werdum and maybe fights Barnett and retires as “the best.”
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Twitter @HeadKickLegend
by Dave Walsh on May 16, 2010 2:06 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Honestly, that's fine with me
If Fedor wants to retire the best, that’s fine. But Strikeforce isn’t going to be able to market Fedor as the best pound for pound when they have an absolute beast as their champion that he won’t even fight.
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
I find if funny that the reigning SF champ is calling out a "non-champ" in his post fight interview.
Theoretically, Overeem is the top of the heap in SF due to having the strap, but it makes him look like a paper champ when he calls out a fighter who is still scheduled to fight someone else in the near future.
I agree to that I see M1 having some serious hesitation letting Fedor put his legacy on the line against Overeem. I can see them doing this Werdum fight and then someone other than Overeem prior to either retirement or moving to the UFC where they will be able to really cash in his legacy against possible losses for sizeable money after SF builds his US credibility.
dont put much thought into this “who is the champ and who isnt” logic. Everybody knows that Fedor is no.1 in the world,and AO is the man to challenge him. I think he has the best chance to beat him as well.
"Its not about the size of the dog in the fight...its about the size of the fight in the dog"
by SoulBrotherNo1 on May 16, 2010 8:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Too much hate for Alrovski
How is this the lowest point of his career? He went toe to toe with a great fighter in Big Foot. He won round 2 (according to 2 judges and many ppl watching). 3rd round was very close until Big Foot got the take down.
His chin was tested in the fight and he did not get KO’d or even rocked.
You must have been listening to the bias announcers. That was one of the worst commentaries on a fight I’ve heard. Round 2, for example, Arlovski lands a 1, 2 and Silva misses with a counter. The commentators say “Silva just missed with a counter”. The whole fight they were talking about Arlovski breaking down, how bad his stand up is, that he should take it to the ground, etc. Disgusting. Just as bad as their commentary on Shileds/Hendo fight.
Rewatch the fight and you’ll see it was a much closer fight than you think.
Close or not close, it’s still his 3rd straight loss. I’ll grant that he only looked “bad” in one of those loses, but he’s in danger of becoming a guy who just can’t seem to win.
If someone like Ben Rothwell had these 3 loses it wouldn’t be so bad, but Arlovski was very highly regarded at one time, and he seems to be slipping. If this is not the lowest point of his career, what was?
HeadKickLegend.com
by Fraser Coffeen on May 16, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh no, it was close.
I gave Andrei round 2 and he didn’t lose round 3 until the very end.
It is the lowest point of his career because it is, as said, the third loss in a row for a guy who should be a world beater. The loss to Fedor is forgivable, but the Rogers loss was just not being prepared.
Andrei is mentally at a weird point in his life, this is really bad for him.
He has always been one of my favorite fighters, so obviously this is all quite crummy.
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Twitter @HeadKickLegend
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought the commentators were crap! They busted on Arlovski and on Jacare, too, throughout both their fights.
"We don't need no water, let the Badr Hari burn!" - Michael Schiavello
by Jackie Maden on May 17, 2010 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree...
It’s all relative. Because he was one of the best, it’s hard to see him like this. But I hope his confidence goes up after this fight because it should. He’s on his comeback trail and it did not go his way but he hung in there.
I wish he would go back to some Sambo/Wrestling. He stuffed 90% of Silva’s take down attempts. His love of boxing/stand up has worked against him. It’s like he was a mixed martial artist before and now he’s favoring only one aspect. Quite the opposite of one dimensional fighters progressing to being mixed martial artists.
Very frustrating to be his fan but I will always be a fan. MMA fans are so fast to turn on fighters it blows my mind. PPL used to bow down to Fedor and now proceed to make fun of him at every turn just because he doesn’t fight in UFC.
I agree with you completely here, and just in case it wasn’t clear, I too count myself a huge Arlovski fan. Any negatives I say about him come from wanting him to be the awesome Pitbull once again.
Good call on the boxing too. It works well for him overall, but at times he gets a bit stuck in a rut.
HeadKickLegend.com
by Fraser Coffeen on May 16, 2010 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Arlovski's run of losses is particularly frustrating because...
on paper he has one of the most complete and dangerous skill sets in the HW division. Sort of like Gonaza in that regard.
He just needs to take a step down in competition and build back up before we can truthfully say if he is done or not. Let remember this fight was after a year of innactivity, if I remember correctly.
Very true
Scott Coker already said that Andrei would have to change his “lifestyle”…I am guessing here but I think he is still not a dedicated full time fighter, hungry, like he used to be. His video blogs are filled with 3 minutes of his clothing line commercials. He has custom necklaces, chains, cars, etc. I don’t blame him…he came to America from Belarus and got all this money but it sounds like he developed expensive habits. On the other side of the spectrum is Fedor, who still lives/trains in his small Russian city. Every person is different but that’s just one way to look at what’s possibly wrong with Andrei.
I’ve been frustrated with Andrei ever since Tim Sylva (freaking TIMMEY!!!) defeated him twice. But, I am his fan and plan on being one unless he does something crazy.
Best of luck Andrei!
P.S. – great idea for him to take on lesser competition. He’s always in there with the best fighters. Maybe Rogers rematch?
He should fight Buentello again
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
^ Great idea
Buentello is in the twilight of his career (not that he was ever a super good fighter) and Arlovski NEEDS a win BAD
Btw, has Arlovski ever gone for a takedown? EVER?
WTF @ "Dave Walsh"
Pressure from the suits? (There are no suits)
Another element to the potential star of Overeem is his “exotic nature”. He’s Dutch and has a weird skin tone. It’s sort of the same as the Fedor myth being fueld by his Russian nationality.
Inhale deep, like the words of my breath—I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
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