Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem might just be one of the most highly anticipated heavyweight battles in UFC history.
While there's no championship title on the line, this is one of the fights that fans have been begging for over the last few years. There's a title shot (and a whole lot of bragging rights) on the line and that, along with the main event spot on the year's final UFC card, should be more than enough motivation for these two to put on a great show.
Add in the fact that Lesnar and Overeem are two enormous beasts with an astonishing amount of power and you have yourself a very exciting heavyweight tilt. Picking a winner might be tough.
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog. Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.
He then gained prominence in , where he was a three-time Champion, becoming the youngest Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. After leaving in 2004, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut. Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match.[15] He was stripped of the title in July 2006, although he held the physical belt until June 2007.
Lesnar started a career in mixed martial arts and won his first fight in June 2007. He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007. He lost his UFC debut against Frank Mir. He captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008, then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion. After being sidelined from fighting in late 2009 due to diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defeat the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Lesnar lost the Heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. He was once again stricken with a bout of diverticulitis in May 2011 and had surgery to try to cope with the ailment. In August 2011, Lesnar stated that he is ready to return to fighting in the UFC.
Alistair Cees Overeem (born on May 17, 1980) is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat sports to hold a world title in both MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time. As of November 2010, Overeem is ranked as the #3 best heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world by Sherdog, #3 by MMAWeekly, #3 by Yahoo! Sports and #2 by FightMagazine.com.
Overeem was born on May 17, 1980 in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. to a Jamaican father and Dutch mother. His parents divorced when he was six years old. His mother, Clair, then moved Alistair and his brother Valentijn to the Netherlands, where Alistair has lived ever since.
As a child, Overeem competed in sports like judo, athletics and basketball. At 15 years of age, his brother Valentijn took him to Chris Dolman's gym to learn how to defend himself. At first he didn't like to train, but after training with Bas Rutten, Joop Kasteel and others, he eventually learned to enjoy it.
Overeem had his first MMA professional fight at 19 years old, defeating Ricardo Fyeet by guillotine choke submission on October 24, 1999 at It's Showtime, the first event of the eponymously named promotion.
After posting a 10-3 record in promotions such as RINGS, Overeem debuted in Pride Fighting Championships on July 20, 2002, defeating Yusuke Imamura by TKO in just 44 seconds.
Overeem would win two more fights in Pride before entering the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination 2003 and losing to future UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in the quarterfinal match. Overeem rebounded to defeat Tomohiko Hashimoto at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 in 36 seconds. On October 31, 2004 he fought Hiromitsu Kanehara, defeating him by TKO part-way through the first round at Pride 28. He lost his next fight against Brazilian Top Team fighter Antnio Rogrio Nogueira.
In 2005, Overeem entered the Pride Middle Weight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination 2005 where he defeated former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort by submission in the opening round. Overeem would move on to fight Igor Vovchanchyn in the quarterfinals at Pride Critical Countdown 2005 taking under two minutes to win by submission. Overeem lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Mauricio Rua.
In February 2006, Overeem fought Russian Top Team favorite Sergei Kharitonov. Overeem won the fight, dislocating Kharitonov's shoulder in the process. With his win over Kharitonov, Overeem secured a spot in the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination Absolute. He fought Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum, losing via kimura in the second round.
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