This headline puts quite a spin on the truth of the situation which is that Overeem declined an offer to fight in the next part of the tournament. He's not getting a bye to the finals like he does in K1. He was very lucky to get the W for letting Werdum punch him in the jaw for three rounds. If he wants to be considered the best heavyweight in Strikeforce he needs to win that show badly.
How come they accomidated Barnett for so long but they can't wait an extra month for their HW Champ to heal properly? This smell of Zuffa in the worst way. I thought Dana was staying out of Strikeforce and letting Coker handle this anyway? Dana is a lying ****.
I love the smell of people jumping to conclusions in the morning. The fact's are that Showtime wanted the tournament semi-finals to go ahead on September 10th. There is likely no October date for Strikeforce. As always Showtime were in charge and therefore Overeem was given the choice - fight on the 10th or be replaced. The delay in April was done by Coker before the Zuffa buyout, so the double standards charge can't really be leveled at Zuffa. Given that Coker also struggled to get Overeem to agree to dates this is very much business as usual. Indeed the rumour doing the rounds is that Oveereem had one fight left on his contract (!!!) and was trying to play hardball but Zuffa told him to go **** himself.
Unless you're on the UFC payroll "fans" WILL come to their own conclusion. No one is stupid here so i don't understand why you always side with the UFC unwaveringly. Overeem is the SF champ and the UFC should respect that. They do not because they have a monopoly on this sport. The fact that this too'ing and fro'ing is occurring is further testament to the UFC WWE drama mentality that is creeping into this sport and the hardball the UFC is willing to play. Dana despised the GP. And since the buyout it's turned into a farce BECAUSE the UFC acquired SF. Overeem has fought in a plethora of promotions. He HAS options. He's been doing this for well over a decade. The UFC thinks that every fighter want's to fight for them. That's obviously not the case hence why guys like Manhoef Overeem and Fedor never signed with them because they have their own interests which conflicted with the UFC's exclusive contract's. Overeem is more than capable of fighting in other promo's because his contract allows that. Expect to see him back in the K-1 or possibly DREAM. But a UFC stint -unless Dana comes correct- right now is not looking like a given at all.
What has Dana done to turn it into a farce? Coker delayed the second set of quarter-finals and its Overeem that's turned down the September 10th that Showtime insisted on. Do you really think Coker would be in a better position to resist Showtime if they insisted on the grand prix continuing on a certain date?
sweet i think it is because overeem was on his cycle period but yea sergei kharitonov or josh barnett will win.
I think you hit the nail right on the head. Why would he commit career suicide and test positive? Bail-out now while there is still a little shine left on his status. It would have to take a lot for a fighter to alienate the top organization in the world. Who spurns the NFL for the CFL (Raghib Ismail is the poster boy of why this is a terrible idea).
Overeem is heading over to the UFC IMO. White has lost his boy Brock so he needs a Big Name who better than the current K-1 Champion and Strikeforce Champion. My prediction is Reem gives up the belt the Tourny winner will be crowned the new Strikeforce Champ and Overeem will fight Cain or JDS over The Superbowl weekend (he might have a tune up fight before hand though).
i doubt that overeem will get killed by jds or cain. Plus overeem will have a tough task taking on any experienced heavyweight in the UFC, what would be good is cheick kongo vs alistair overeem.
You people are acting like Overeem pussied out. He was very happy to take the fight in October and still intends to fight in October. He just felt that a September date didn't give him enough time to train and recover. I'm dissapointed like everyone else but I don't think anyone is to blame. Overeems reasons are very valid but at the same time, is Dana expected to reschedule the GP a month later just for Overeem?
