Many people have scrutinised the UFC's policy of not allowing their fighters to fight in other organisations, viewing it as Zuffa simply trying to exercise a stranglehold over the sport of mixed martial arts. However, following his success in winning the inaugural Strikeforce heavyweight championship, Overeem went for almost three years before fighting again for the organisation, in the meantime however he fought in a number of different kickboxing matches, but more than this, he fought in a number of mma fights for different organisations also. Now let's put this into perspective - setting aside the politics of Zuffa and her rivals. If the IBF boxing champion decided to carry on without defending his belt for almost three years, all the while he has been trying his hand at mma, and fighting every WBO contender who has challenged him, the boxing community would be in uproar about the legitimacy of his reign, and would demand that he be stripped of his title.
Something that can't be ignored too was his seeming reluctance to challenge genuine contenders; when the
fans were crying out for him to fight Fedor - the seven year kingpin and talisman of mma, Overeem tactfully sidestepped the challenge. When the fans then proclaimed that he should move to the UFC, he used his kickboxing interests as an excuse, and yet in the kickboxing world he has done his utmost to avoid a rubber match with the devastating Badr Hari. His answer to his critics was to travel to Japan on a quest for cheap belts, defeating the likes of Todd Duffee. In recent weeks he launched a Diaz style marketing campaign that he wanted to try boxing, and against the Klitschko brothers no less - that fight would be disastrous to say the least.
But one must ask why Strikeforce were seemingly so happy to allow this debacle to continue. Why didn't they demand that he defend his belt or face the prospect of having it stripped from him? To the best of my knowledge Overeem doesn't command the kind of revenues or fan admiration that should allow him to call the shots. What disappointed me most about the saga, and I think many would agree, is that when the heavyweight tournament was announced, Strikeforce were quick to rule out the heavyweight strap as the ultimate prize.
Some people have speculated as to why Overeem fought so infrequently in Strikeforce with many pointing to the relaxed drug testing in Japan. Personally, I don't want to get involved in speculative mud slinging. I do believe though, that on more than one occasion Overeem shirked the responsibility of any self respecting champion.
To the best of our knowledge, it was Dana White who demanded that Overeem be cut, and it's easy to see why; booked in for only his third fight for the promotion in as many years (with still no prospect of a title defence until at least this time next year - nearly four years after he won the belt!) he withdrew, not only costing the promotion money and making fools of the promoters, but also leaving the the heavyweight tournament that they had worked so hard to develop, in disarray. Overeem cited an injury(ies) as the reason for his withdrawal, but the type and number of these injuries has changed every time his management have been questioned. However, he agreed to fight for a rival organisation only a few weeks after the Strikeforce event was due to take place. Maybe it was the introduction of fighter insurance, maybe it was an increase in discretionary bonuses, but something made Overeem think that he could push his luck with Zuffa, and it ultimately backfired.
I for one am delighted by this revelation - Strikeforce will be left with a genuine pecking order in their heavyweight division following the tournament, and will likely now crown a legitimate champion at the end of the tournament. In the meantime Overeem can rule supreme in the MMA minor leagues of Japan, and put all of his effort into dodging Badr Hari...
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