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Home , Alistair Overeem, Andre Berto, Fedor Emelianenko

The Ultimate Acquisition of

Was it only a matter of time or was this well planned ahead? A month or two ago, it sure looked like Alistair Overeem was going to forego his chances of crossing-over to the UFC and instead take his talent elsewhere (perhaps back to Japan). Well, as of Tuesday, news rapidly surfaced across the web citing that the former Strikeforce Heavyweight champ did indeed sign with UFC. And in what would be deemed a super fight for the ‘Reem, the long waited debut will take place in , against none other than the colorful , who is also eager to get back in the cage.

Assuming that all goes as planned, this is merely icing on the cake to what the organization was able to achieve in recently signing a multi-million dollar deal with Fox. Top guys and JD Santos are slated to collide in its debut for Cain’s strap on November 12th, scheduled on the same evening as vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III pay-per-view.

Going back to Overeem though, this is a bit of a Fedoresque scenario where this Yetti/Sasquatch type mythical monster not so familiar in the states have finally signed with the big boys. Overeem, although not as influential nor accomplished as in the world of Mix Martial Arts, hasn’t tasted defeat in nearly 4 years. Despite the eleven losses on his forty-seven fight ledger, ‘Ubereem’ has risen in size and evolved as a top threat to the heavyweight division. In addition, his success in K-1 was monumental, which could easily attribute to many experts’ claim in acknowledging that the Dutch sensation is the best striker in the heavyweight division.

And unlike the recently humbled Emelianenko, Overeem is still relatively young and appears to be at the top of his game. Talk about a guy who bounced back from devastating losses, this guy has done it like no other.

Of course, everything remains to be seen when he actually steps inside the Octagon come December, but it’s not like the guy hasn’t fought in the states. After all, he is the inaugural Strikeforce heavyweight champion and has been with the promotion soon after its inception. And if anyone’s discarding the man’s star power and marketability, just look how much or little interest is left in the currently ongoing Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, which by the way, is on Showtime this Saturday. As I’ve phrased in my previous column on Overeem, I think he’s a year or two late on becoming the biggest star in MMA.

From a financial standpoint, I’m not exactly sure if this was the best viable option. The current state of MMA in Japan, where Overeem had his success, is unclear. I’m not even sure when the next K-1 Grand Prix is supposed to take place. This in reality was a wise career move with greater incentives that also comes with greater risks. Overeem is a guy of many monikers, belts, and talents. He’s a bit of an enigma in the game of MMA, merely due to not having fought in the UFC. And many before him have failed. Just ask and Yoshihiro Akiyama for instance. But perhaps Overeem is of a different breed.

Where and how this journey ends is unknown, but it’s going to be worth watching while it lasts.

BERTO STILL BERTO, BUT MORE EXCITING

Andre Berto, whose fate was unknown after suffering his first loss a professional earlier this year against Victor Ortiz, was again setup for another easy payday against the European who was thought to have brought nothing more than a belt strap that many expected him to just hand over. Someone forgot to tell Dejan Zavec, who came with intentions of making his U.S. soil debut a success. From the first round, Berto came out guns blazing, but Zavec refused to wilt and dished back whenever he could. Many shots were fired and many if not most found their mark. What we got was an actual fight. Fortunately for Berto, Zavec suffered cuts on both eyes and was virtually forced to quit in his corner after the fifth stanza. Just like that, Berto wins his second world title.

Although it wasn’t an impressive performance from a technical standpoint, Berto showed no signs of regression or doubts since the loss to Ortiz. While many have criticized the Haitian for his rather easier career path to now two separate title reigns, he simply doesn’t get enough credit for producing excitement he’s demonstrated in competitive fights. He brings a lot of heat and intensity to the ring and is offensive minded. Even after getting decked by Ortiz in the first round, he didn’t shy away from a brawl and against Zavec, he re-emphasized his character as a fighter who simply comes to fight. I’m not sure if Berto can rectify his defensive holes and tendencies that could cost him dearly against better fighters, but take it for what it’s worth. He’s one of the more exciting fighters above the 140 pound division. If Tim Bradley ever gets resume his career, it’s a fight against Berto at 147, not , I’d like to see.

NATURAL ENEMIES IN AC

It’s your typical Ali/Frazier/Foreman scenario. Guy A beats guy B, guy C beats guy A, but guy B beats Guy C. This weekend in Atlantic City, NJ, former super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon has his chance to add himself to a forming rivalry. Back in 08′, I was at ringside when De Leon was trounced in less than ar ound against then top contender/prospect Juan Manuel Lopez. It was a rather shocking outcome considering De Leon’s usual toughness and endurance and I guess I was in the minority who thought his experience was going to prevail. He’s racked up a decent series of wins since before dropping a controversial decision to slickster . Now he looks to be served as another ‘name’ opponent for rising sensation and unified featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. A few months back in Puerto Rico, rugged veteran and former Gamboa victim, Orlando Salido derailed the potential mega-fight between Gamboa and Lopez, when he dropped and eventually toppled Lopez in a stunning upset. De Leon is also a veteran in the game and packs a very hard , but this is probably the first time he’s ever been this big of an underdog heading into a fight. I think this is an opportunity for Gamboa to shine in sheer dominance over his less dimensional foe, but a single right hand from the Mexican’s southpaw stance could surely change things a bit. Also on HBO this Saturday is the WBC heavyweight title bout between Vitali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek. Not much to say here, but I’d be mightily disappointed if this fight wasn’t at least one hundred percent better than that hogwash of a ‘unification’ bout between Vitali’s brother Wladimir and David Haye. The semi-finals are set for the Strikeforce Grand Prix this weekend as takes on and Antonio Silva takes on replacement in , OH. I know I’ve lost my interest since Overeem dropped out of this tourney, but I still think Barnett is a character with enough left in the tank to re-add his presence to the game. I certainly think he wasted a lot of time and potential in the past few years, but at least he’s back and back with vengeance. Either way, my picks for Saturday are Barnett via submission, Cormier on points in an upset. Feel free to email me at [email protected] or any feed back or comments.