If the UFC plays smart in familiarizing Overeem with their die hard fans who are oblivious to other promotions and decide to give him a fight or two for him to earn a shot at the title, there is hardly anybody to match up against him at this time. At this current time only three of the top ten UFC Heavyweights have no bouts officially announced or even rumored. The first more able fighter at this time may be former champion Frank Mir who is coming off a two fight win streak that includes a Rnd3 KO over Mirko Cro Cop and a Unanimous Decision over TUF10 winner Roy Nelson, though he sustained serious injuries in his last bout and it is unknown when he can or will return to action. The second fighter is former champion Brock Lesnar who is coming off only his second defeat with a Rnd1 TKO loss to now champion Cain Velasquez. While expected to take on Junior dos Santos for #1 contendership Lesnar was stricken with diverticulitis for a second time and is still recovering from a much needed surgery that is expected to keep him out of action till around the end of this year or early 2012. The third name on the list is former Interim champion Shane Carwin who is coming off his second career loss in a two fight losing streak that includes losing to Brock Lesnar to unify the titles by Rnd2 Submission, and a Unanimous Decision loss to Junior dos Santos for #1 contendership where he subbed in for Lesnar after he was forced out. Carwin was dominated in a majority of the fight against dos Santos where he ended up with serious lacerations and damage to his face. With Mir being the only fighter close to being able to compete, and still no official word on Lesnar's recovery, there is only one open opponent for Overeem to take on. Excluding the fighters who are still considered out of action, there are some bouts coming up that can reshape the playing field in the UFC top ten rankings. The UFC 134 bout pitting multi-promotional champion and veteran Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against rising former football player Brendan Schaub is expected to set the winner up as either the #1 contender or one fight away from earning a shot at the title. The upcoming bout between heavy hitting French kickboxer Cheick Kongo and former NFL player Matt Mitrione could propel either winner up the top ten ranks with Kongo going 2-0-1 in his last three bouts including a recent come from behind Rnd1 KO over Pat Barry, and Mitrione riding an undefeated five fight win streak with all bouts in the UFC against tough competition with all but one of those wins coming by way of (T)KO. Should Mitrione defeat Kongo and in impressive fashion, he would be considered a true top fifteen or even a top ten undefeated fighter starting as a prospect and rising to become a contender.
With these possible match ups, Overeem has plenty of talent standing in his way with plenty of potential struggles. Should Overeem meet with former champion Frank Mir, it would be a true test pitting the most experienced UFC Heavyweight with dangerous Muay Thai and some of the most dangerous BJJ skills in the division against an elite kickboxer. Should Overeem meet former champion Brock Lesnar, it would set up a super-fight that die hard MMA fans had been asking for, pitting one of the strongest wrestlers the division has ever seen against a striker many feel would knock him out before he can get his hands on him. A match up with Carwin almost guarantees a stand up on affair when one of the heaviest handed fighters ever in the UFC Heavyweight division would take on a more technical striker in a K-1 champion. Should he fight the winner of Nogueira vs Schaub, that would be a perfect promotional match up either way. Pitting Overeem against a longtime veteran like Nogueira would set up a bout between two veterans of PrideFC. A match up with Schaub would be promoted as a dangerous striker and veteran taking on a true athlete with unstoppable potential. A great potential match up would be to pit Overeem against fellow European kickboxer Cheick Kongo. Should Overeem and Kongo meet in the Octagon, it would guarantee a heavy hitting kickboxing match where both towering Heavyweights have some of the most dangerous knockout power in MMA coming out of Europe. A bout with Kongo would be a true test with him taking on some of the best in the division and being on the verge of a title shot before. Should Overeem be matched up against Mitrione, it would be an interesting bout to see unfold. Coming into MMA with pure athleticism mixed with a heavy hitting kickboxing game as well as a strong chin, Mitrione is no push over even against a more experienced competitor in Overeem. While Overeem, his management, and his fans will demand an immediate title shot, there is plenty more promotion to come out of signing him if they were to have him prove himself. If Overeem thinks he is better than every Heavyweight in the UFC and the entire world, why not have him prove it against the top contenders in the promotion.
While there will be those fans, especially those following Overeem, who will demand that he be given an automatic shot at the UFC Heavyweight title should he be signed to the promotion, there will be many more who feel he has not really earned it. While going 10-0-0(1) since his Rnd1 KO loss to Sergei Kharitonov, Overeem has not fought opponents who warrant enough attention to attract attention from die hard UFC fans. The immediate exception that everybody will look at is his recent Unanimous Decision over Fabricio Werdum to avenge his Rnd2 Submission loss from five years ago back in PrideFC. While Werdum is considered a top fifteen or even top ten Heavyweight, Overeem's performance against him was considered lackluster. While it was made quite obvious that Werdum wanted to get the fight to the ground attempting to pull guard or simply drag Overeem down, Overeem made it clear that he refused to go to the ground at all. Even while considered the overall favorite and the more dangerous striker, Overeem threw few punches and was banking on a single punch to score a knockout that he never landed. Even with a K-1 championship background, Overeem was out-struck repeatedly by Werdum who everybody saw as just a grappler. Some would also look at his quick Rnd1 KO win over former UFC prospect Todd Duffee, but those who actually follow MMA and not just what happens in the UFC would know that Duffee took that fight on late notice not being fully prepared to take on an experienced opponent in Overeem who had a full training camp weeks prior to the bout for his K-1 bouts. Some would even look at Overeem's first and only title defense against Brett Rogers to make claim that he was the Strikeforce champ and deserves a shot on that fact alone. While Rogers was a successful title defense, and seeing that Rogers had also come close to stopping Fedor Emelianenko in Rnd1, he was nowhere near the level that a true contender should be at. Overeem's bout with Rogers was a poor match up that had to be made since Emelianenko and his management refused to fight him. With complaints that Overeem had held his title for more that two years without defending it once and no reasonable contenders to promote, Rogers was given the shot even though he was coming in off his first loss that was a Rnd2 TKO. With fans of Overeem claiming that he is the true #1 Heavyweight in the world and seeing that he was the Strikeforce Heavyweight champion until being recently cut from the promotion, it is understandable that he would be among the several contenders in the UFC if her were signed. With that, an immediate #1 contendership bout is understandable in his promotional debut, though setting him up being two fights away from a title shot is more reasonable to the more die hard fans.
With these possible match ups, Overeem has plenty of talent standing in his way with plenty of potential struggles. Should Overeem meet with former champion Frank Mir, it would be a true test pitting the most experienced UFC Heavyweight with dangerous Muay Thai and some of the most dangerous BJJ skills in the division against an elite kickboxer. Should Overeem meet former champion Brock Lesnar, it would set up a super-fight that die hard MMA fans had been asking for, pitting one of the strongest wrestlers the division has ever seen against a striker many feel would knock him out before he can get his hands on him. A match up with Carwin almost guarantees a stand up on affair when one of the heaviest handed fighters ever in the UFC Heavyweight division would take on a more technical striker in a K-1 champion. Should he fight the winner of Nogueira vs Schaub, that would be a perfect promotional match up either way. Pitting Overeem against a longtime veteran like Nogueira would set up a bout between two veterans of PrideFC. A match up with Schaub would be promoted as a dangerous striker and veteran taking on a true athlete with unstoppable potential. A great potential match up would be to pit Overeem against fellow European kickboxer Cheick Kongo. Should Overeem and Kongo meet in the Octagon, it would guarantee a heavy hitting kickboxing match where both towering Heavyweights have some of the most dangerous knockout power in MMA coming out of Europe. A bout with Kongo would be a true test with him taking on some of the best in the division and being on the verge of a title shot before. Should Overeem be matched up against Mitrione, it would be an interesting bout to see unfold. Coming into MMA with pure athleticism mixed with a heavy hitting kickboxing game as well as a strong chin, Mitrione is no push over even against a more experienced competitor in Overeem. While Overeem, his management, and his fans will demand an immediate title shot, there is plenty more promotion to come out of signing him if they were to have him prove himself. If Overeem thinks he is better than every Heavyweight in the UFC and the entire world, why not have him prove it against the top contenders in the promotion.
While there will be those fans, especially those following Overeem, who will demand that he be given an automatic shot at the UFC Heavyweight title should he be signed to the promotion, there will be many more who feel he has not really earned it. While going 10-0-0(1) since his Rnd1 KO loss to Sergei Kharitonov, Overeem has not fought opponents who warrant enough attention to attract attention from die hard UFC fans. The immediate exception that everybody will look at is his recent Unanimous Decision over Fabricio Werdum to avenge his Rnd2 Submission loss from five years ago back in PrideFC. While Werdum is considered a top fifteen or even top ten Heavyweight, Overeem's performance against him was considered lackluster. While it was made quite obvious that Werdum wanted to get the fight to the ground attempting to pull guard or simply drag Overeem down, Overeem made it clear that he refused to go to the ground at all. Even while considered the overall favorite and the more dangerous striker, Overeem threw few punches and was banking on a single punch to score a knockout that he never landed. Even with a K-1 championship background, Overeem was out-struck repeatedly by Werdum who everybody saw as just a grappler. Some would also look at his quick Rnd1 KO win over former UFC prospect Todd Duffee, but those who actually follow MMA and not just what happens in the UFC would know that Duffee took that fight on late notice not being fully prepared to take on an experienced opponent in Overeem who had a full training camp weeks prior to the bout for his K-1 bouts. Some would even look at Overeem's first and only title defense against Brett Rogers to make claim that he was the Strikeforce champ and deserves a shot on that fact alone. While Rogers was a successful title defense, and seeing that Rogers had also come close to stopping Fedor Emelianenko in Rnd1, he was nowhere near the level that a true contender should be at. Overeem's bout with Rogers was a poor match up that had to be made since Emelianenko and his management refused to fight him. With complaints that Overeem had held his title for more that two years without defending it once and no reasonable contenders to promote, Rogers was given the shot even though he was coming in off his first loss that was a Rnd2 TKO. With fans of Overeem claiming that he is the true #1 Heavyweight in the world and seeing that he was the Strikeforce Heavyweight champion until being recently cut from the promotion, it is understandable that he would be among the several contenders in the UFC if her were signed. With that, an immediate #1 contendership bout is understandable in his promotional debut, though setting him up being two fights away from a title shot is more reasonable to the more die hard fans.
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