Alistair Overeem: Nine Out Of Ten Times I Beat Ben Rothwell Easy
After arriving in the UFC amidst a massive amount of hype in late 2011, former Strikeforce and DREAM champion Alistair Overeem has floundered in the UFC, losing three out of his five bouts in the octagon with each defeat coming by knockout.
However, if you ask “The Demolition Man,” he doesn’t seem all that concerned. Despite his recent loss, a first round TKO to “Big” Ben Rothwell in the co-main event of September 5’s UFC Fight Night 50, Overeem quickly signed on to fight returning Stefan Struve in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 13.
According to Overeem, his loss to Rothwell was a bit of fluke; a bout that should not have not been stopped. Overeem recently spoke up to Submission Radio to give his point of view, focusing on how little damage he actually took:
“I was not knocked out, and it was like, even though I did lose, and I still believe nine out of 10 times I beat Ben Rothwell. Even though I did lose the fight, I didn’t have any damage, so what is the reason to not fight? Considering what I’m doing with my sparring partners, I know how dominant I am, I know what I’m doing to them, I know my cardio was excellent, I was in one of the best shapes ever.”
He was picking Rothwell apart with his thunderous Muay Thai, reportedly breaking his arm with a kick. He believes the fight would have been different if Rothwell was forced to fight for even a few more minutes:
“I thought he was hurt was enough that he would not punch with it and probably if the fight would have continued a couple more minutes, or even in the break, pain would have set in and would definitely have its effect on him.”
Yet it took only one huge right hand for Rothwell to end the fight. That fact has Overeem on the lookout for a rematch:
That being said, I would love a rematch with Ben. I still believe nine out of ten times I beat him easy. No sweat. You know, getting caught is part of the game. It’s the x-factor that exists. I’ve been fortunate to never really have been caught before like this, and yeah I’ve had like 75 fights by now. So considering that, bad luck happened. You know, in the sport you need a bit of luck on your side and Ben had it in our last fight. The luck was on his side.”
Overeem blames bad luck for his loss to Rothwell, but it appears that he’s had an overwhelming amount of “bad luck” in his UFC losses to Rothwell, Travis Browne, and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, fights where he was definitely winning up until the point that he was knocked out.
He’ll look to get back on track against Struve, another fighter who is looking to rebound from a loss. “The Skyscraper” has been out of action since getting knocked out by Mark Hunt at UFC on Fuel TV 8, and he saw his planned return at July 5’s UFC 175 postponed when he passed out backstage.
Despite his recent difficulties, Overeem knows where Struve’s strengths lie. Not surprisingly, he thinks he holds the upper hand in all-around skill, but once again chose to focus on the luck factor::
“Well he’s a tall guy. He’s definitely going to be using his reach, he’s got his submission game. Overall I think I’m better. I think I’m better in stand up, I think I’ve got better wrestling and I think I’ve got better ground.
But you know, that ‘X-factor’ remains, and yeah you know you need to have the luck of the a little bit on your side.
I do believe that you can force the luck with a lot of hard work. So I’m actually looking forward to getting in there again and closing the year with a win.”
With his seemingly relied-upon excuse of luck for his lackluster record in the octagon, Overeem has another chance to prove himself on the grand stage of the UFC.
Will he finally begin to live up to his potential as one of the best pure strikers in the world, or will he leave Dana White and his employers feeling more “Reemed” than they already are?
