Overeem Dropped From Strikeforce After Refusing to Continue in Tournament

After only fighting three times in the promotion over almost four years, reigning Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem's contract with Strikeforce has been terminated with only one fight left on his contract. This news comes after Overeem was eliminated from the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix for refusing to compete on the date assigned by Showtime for the semifinals in the tournament. Conflicting stories came from both parties after Overeem went on the The MMA Hour and stated that he was told originally that the actual date for the event would be in October, and also stated that he would need the extra month to prepare. Overeem also stated that he was "threatened" by Zuffa, the new owners of Strikeforce, with contract termination if he refused to compete on the assigned date to continue in the tournament. Following his refusal to compete on September 10, news broke that Overeem was pulled from the tournament and would be replaced in his semifinal bout by alternate Daniel Cormier, which was followed by much speculation on whether this meant he had also been released or whether this meant he was renegotiating with Zuffa to fight in the UFC. While speculation continued, news later broke that Overeem was scheduled to compete in October in an MMA bout for United Glory in Moscow, Russia. All speculation has ended now with official news that he is now completely dropped from Strikeforce and Zuffa.

Leading up to his appearance on The MMA Hour, Overeem had expressed an interest in competing in professional boxing specifically to fight the Klitschko brothers, the elite Heavyweight boxers in the world. This lead to fans speculating that Overeem was trying to find some kind of leverage so Zuffa would maybe offer him the same deal they did to now former Strikeforce Welterweight champ Nick Diaz. To keep Diaz from competing in professional boxing as was allowed on his Showtime contract, Zuffa renegotiated a contract with him that eliminated the provision that allowed him to compete in professional boxing and allowed him to compete in the UFC. Since Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, it has been no secret that Overeem and others wanted to fight in the UFC, and with Diaz getting what he and hist management wanted it set off demands and requests from other champions to get the same deal. With that chance now gone from Overeem's reach, it appears that he will never get what he wished for. The amazing part of this situation is how fans and analysts are already claiming that this means MMA fans will never see who the real #1 Heavyweight in the world is.

Overeem became the first and so far only Strikeforce Heavyweight champion after coming off a knockout loss to Sergei Kharitonov. After winning the title, Overeem went 6-1 for more than two years fighting outside of Strikeforce and before finally returning to defend his title against a fighter who was coming off a knockout loss. With Strikeforce unable figure out who would fight for the title next, Overeem competed in and won the K-1 World Grand Prix, which was followed by him winning the Dream Interim Heavyweight title. Solving the the problem of how to get a contender in the Heavyweight division, Strikeforce began their first Heavyweight Grand Prix where the winner of the tournament would fight for the title. While many were confused about why Overeem was included in the tournament, he competed in the second half of the quarterfinals avenging his loss to Fabricio Werdum in a lack luster performance that proved none of his capabilities. After his performance against Werdum, many critics felt that alone had taken away much of the tournament's hype. With Overeem now out of the tournament and no longer champion, the winner of the competition will become the first ever Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix champion and the new Heavyweight champion in the promotion. With his ejection from Strikeforce and Zuffa, that pretty much eliminates Overeem's relevancy in the eyes of casual MMA fans.

Options:

The only other major MMA promotions that would garner any real attention would be the leading Japanese promotion Dream and rising American based promotion Bellator Fighting Championship. With Dream only shown in the United States on HDNet, a channel that is available on certain networks, the exposure would not be at its highest compared to competing in the UFC or Strikeforce. To maintain relevance in the important American market, BellatorFC is really the only other option. With BellatorFC already having a deal being televised on MTV2, and an expected deal with SpikeTV after their deal with the UFC expires, they would be the best chance of exposure for Overeem with the highest possible pay rate outside of Zuffa. An added bonus to signing with BellatorFC would also be that their fighter contracts almost always allow provisions that permit their fighters the chance to compete elsewhere with reigning Middleweight champion Hector Lombard being the lead example. With K-1 recently being sold, Overeem may not be able to rely on a kickboxing career for money since that is one of the most recognized kickboxing promotions in the world. After stating that he was interested in venturing into professional boxing, Overeem would be a high paid catch for a boxing promoter to sell with an extensive resume in combat sports. Whether he can stand up against elite boxers like the Klitschko brothers is doubted by many analysts however. While there is no word from representatives of Zuffa, the UFC, or Strikeforce that claims he is banned from the company, Overeem's statement saying that he felt disrespected by the company may show that resigning with them in the future could bring difficult negotiations. Will being forced out of Zuffa hurt or even end the MMA career of Overeem?