Alistair Overeem: 5 Defining Moments

The date was Oct. 24, 1999. “Fight Club” was enjoying its second week in theaters; Santana’s “Smooth” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list; and a 19-year-old Dutchman entered the professional MMA arena for the first time in Haarlem, Netherlands. His name was Alistair Overeem. Over the next 16-plus years, Overeem established himself as a dominant force in mixed martial arts with world-class kickboxing skills and an underrated submission game, first at 205 pounds and then as a heavyweight. The 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix winner had a 14-fight run in Pride Fighting Championships, captured titles in Dream and Strikeforce and cemented his reputation as one of the sport’s premier finishers. Of his 41 career victories, 37 have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission, a staggering 31 of them inside one round. Overeem arrived in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2011 and, despite some high-profile hiccups, has posted a respectable 6-3 record in the Octagon. A current four-fight winning streak made him the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight championship, a title for which he will challenge reigning champion Stipe Miocic in the UFC 203 (current odds) headliner on Saturday in Cleveland.In a career full of defining moments, here are five that stand out:1. Retiring Lesnar It took less than half a round with Overeem for Brock Lesnar to lose all taste for battle. “The Demolition Man” softened Lesnar with knees to the gut and finished him with a brutal liver kick in the UFC 141 main event on Dec. 30, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, forcing the stoppage 2:26 into round one. “Today was all about bad intentions. First or second round — I promised,” Overeem said. “Nice little K-1 body kick. I trained the takedown defense a lot. Brock is an excellent wrestler, so I had to step up my game.” Lesnar attempted one single-leg takedown and was turned away by the hulking Dutchman, who showed no regard for the former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar’s skills. He walked through Lesnar’s punches, bullied his way into the clinch and fired off the crushing knees for which he has become feared. Lesnar slowly wilted. Unable to get the fight the ground, Lesnar ate one last kick to the abdomen and crumpled at the base of the cage. There, Overeem swarmed with punches until referee Mario Yamasaki intervened on the onetime UFC champion’s behalf. Afterward, Lesnar — who seven months earlier had roughly a foot of his colon removed following a second bout with diverticulitis — announced his retirement from …

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