Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Strikeforce Fighters

10. Alistair Overeem

It's crazy to imagine now, given Overeem's longevity in combat sports, but before his second Strikeforce fight in 2007, many considered the Dutchman a washed-up, irrelevant fighter. After winning a decision over a similarly struggling Vitor Belfort in Strikeforce in 2006, Overeem had lost four of his next five, all via devastating, brutal knockouts, being bludgeoned by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Mauricio Rua for a second time, and Sergei Kharitonov. Great names, but ones who were consistently shellacking Overeem. Overeem was actually an underdog for his sophomore Strikeforce outing against former UFC title challenger Paul Buentello for the vacant heavyweight title, and weighed in at a mere 224 pounds. However, Overeem delivered a through whipping of his own, hammering Buentello with monster knees to the body, prompting a stoppage halfway through the second round. After considerable success in Japan as part of Dream in MMA and K-1 for kickboxing, Overeem returned three years later to Strikeforce in 2010 as a very different man. This was the heavyweight Overeem we all know and love, with outstanding, powerful striking at range, and the deadliest clinch striking and ground-and-pound the division has ever seen, to go along with deceptively good takedowns. The only way to beat Overeem was to hope his chin or focus would fail him that night. Overeem faced Brett Rogers upon his return. Rogers might not seem like much now, but he was coming off a respectable showing against Fedor Emelianenko in his last fight and had also beaten Andrei Arlovski by knockout in just 22 seconds. Moreover, Rogers was a massive 6-foot-5 and had to cut weight to make 265 pounds. Overeem, however, was no longer 224 but 253 pounds, with a body resembling a comic book superhero. Overeem tossed the humongous Rogers around like a rag doll, throwing him to the ground with a flick of the wrist, and demolishing him with ground-and-pound a little less than four minutes into the contest. His last appearance in Strikeforce was his most impressive, facing future UFC heavyweight champion and legend Fabricio Werdum, and winning via unanimous decision, with two cageside judges giving the Dutchman every round. It was only three fights, but they signified a massive turnaround in Overeem's career, and were all impressive triumphs.

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