To those riding the Alistair Overeem hype train, are you still on board?
Surely, a few "faithful" fans tiptoed off the bandwagon after watching his lackluster performance on Saturday night in his Strikeforce Grand Prix quarterfinals bout with Fabricio Werdum.
The highly anticipated bout turned out to be a back and forth slop fest that invalidated Josh Barnett's claims that the best heavyweight in the world would come out of the Strikeforce tournament.
It was still a major victory for Overeem, who avenged a May 2006 loss and picked up his first win over a ranked heavyweight. The win vaults "The Demolition Man" up the heavyweight ranks, but it won't be as high as some presumed.
Before the fight against Werdum, Overeem was pretty much the uncrowned king of the heavyweight division. He hadn't defeated a ranked heavyweight, but the added size and incredible winning streak propelled the faith in most fans.
Despite victories over Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva and Overeem, Werdum came into the bout as a huge underdog. The majority of the media were calling for Overeem to walk through Werdum and pick up the first-round knockout.
Instead, fans were grounded by the slow battle between two cardio-depraved heavyweights. For those that have watched Overeem compete over the years, the bout against Werdum had a few sprinkles of déjà vu.
Overeem's gas tank only held up a little over a round, and we started to see him fade as he has many times in the past.
He should definitely get props for hanging tough and earning the decision. The Overeem of the past would've looked for a way out.
Werdum's performance was just plain awkward. He actually looked like the more efficient striker in the standup exchanges, but instead of working his strikes and capitalizing on a fading Overeem, the majority of his time was spent on his back smiling and pleading for Overeem to haplessly jump in his guard.
Plenty of fans have put Overeem on a pedestal as the best striker in the heavyweight division, but he was almost bested in the exchanges by a submission specialist. Werdum's hands are definitely underrated, but he isn't necessarily considered a world class striker.
What about guys like Junior dos Santos?
It only took Dos Santos a little over a minute to sing Werdum his lullaby at UFC 90. Overeem showed major defensive holes in his ability to block punches and effectively counter. Power is an incredible equalizer, but it can also work against you if you can't land that fight-ending shot.
Overeem's win puts him behind Cain Velasquez and Dos Santos in the heavyweight rankings. Die-hard Overeem fans will likely disagree, but the entire heavyweight division runs through Dos Santos and Velasquez, who have both consistently fought the tougher opposition.
Where does Overeem go from here?
He's going to have a major task on his hands in dealing with "Bigfoot" Silva in the semifinals. Silva is another elite level striker that will capitalize on any lingering holes in Overeem's standup.
It would be nice to see Overeem pump out a jab or utilize smaller strikes to setup bigger ones. He tends to wear himself out by only throwing power punches.
Regardless of his performance, Overeem 2.0 still has the potential to do big things in the sport.
If you're still on the bandwagon, you may want to buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
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