# Steve Cofield: "Overeem Should Be Stripped Of His Belt"



## snakerattle79 (Feb 6, 2008)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/ca...rce-reach-its-breaking-point-w?urn=mma,186790

Why have championship belts if your fighters never defend them? Cung Le hasn't fought since March of 2008. Alistair Overeem has taken it to ridiculous levels. The Strikeforce heavyweight champ hasn't defended the strap since he won it back in November of 2007 against Paul Buentello.

It's gotten to the point where Strikeforce heavyweights aren't asking for an Overeem fight. The fight means zippo. The most desired fight is now against champ-in-waiting Fedor Emelianenko.

Overeem canceled his August 15 fight against Fabricio Werdum because of a mysterious hand injury. Now he's booked for what looks like a K-1 fight next month against Peter Aerts and then another appearance in December. When the heck will he fight in the U.S. again for Strikeforce? Frankly, we're starting to think he's avoiding fighting in the United States. We hate to do it, but there's was a lot of PED chatter surrounding Overeem when he was at the April Strikeforce event. He defiantly denied the steroid allegations with Ariel Helwani. The picture shows Overeem growing from a 205-pounder to huge 254-pounder in three years.

Who knows what the reason is? It's clear Overeem doesn't respect the title or Strikeforce. It's time to strip him and hold a heavyweight tournament. Make it an eight-man tourney with Fedor as the No. 1 seed. If Overeem wants in, he's welcome to. It'd be a great way to build up the heavyweight roster and further promote Fedor's name in the U.S.


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## SpoKen (Apr 28, 2007)

I love me some Overeem, but I completely agree. If anyone deserves the title right now it's Brett Rogers. Brett vs Fedor should be a title fight for sure.


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## Darkwraith (Jun 4, 2008)

Total agreement. I like to see overeem fight buuuut...come on..this is ridiculous.


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## vandalian (Oct 14, 2006)

Strikeforce's titles are a joke in general. Cung Le became champ in March 2008, before going to make terrible movies. When will he be back?

Who knows _when _ we'll see the lightweight title unified. I know injuries are a factor, but Strikeforce didn't need to wait _almost a year_ for Thomson to defend his belt for the first time.

People rip on UFC for running the show, but what's the alternative? This is what happens when you let the inmates run the asylum.

Pretty tough to build a fanbase this way.


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

I like Overreem, but him being the champion of strikeforce is kind of a joke anyway. There are at least three other guys in that org that are hands down better and have more impressive records and wins. Just make the rogers/fedor fight for the title and add some legitimacy to the title race.


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## Davisty69 (May 24, 2007)

Agreed. Two years is simply ridiculous.

I also think this crap about his hand is just that, CRAP. He is fighting in K-1 around the same time, leading me to believe that he is simply lying. 

Plus, I am one of those that believes he is on the juice.


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## AceofSpades187 (Apr 18, 2009)

Davisty69 said:


> Agreed. Two years is simply ridiculous.
> 
> I also think this crap about his hand is just that, CRAP. He is fighting in K-1 around the same time, leading me to believe that he is simply lying.
> 
> Plus, I am one of those that believes he is on the juice.


wow eh thats a big difference over the years:serious01:


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## Davisty69 (May 24, 2007)

Seriously. I'm normally not one to call roids out on someone and usually give the benefit of the doubt. 

However, IMO, the evidence is staring me right in the face. It just doesn't seem logical for a guy to put on the much muscle mass. Especially a guy that is doing more than just body building all year, namely mma training. 

It also reminds me of this comparison


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## AceofSpades187 (Apr 18, 2009)

with all the evidence ur supplying i would have to agree with u that there might b some jucing goin on hopefully thow he isnt we dont need a josh barrent type situration again


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## Davisty69 (May 24, 2007)

Yeah, it isnt concrete by any means, so take it for what it is worth.


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## jennathebenda (Jul 24, 2009)

When do you think Gegard is going to Defend the belt next? Strikeforce titles are a joke.


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## Davisty69 (May 24, 2007)

jennathebenda said:


> When do you think Gegard is going to Defend the belt next? Strikeforce titles are a joke.


I found this, which makes me believe that he wants to fight often, even in between title defense opportunities.



> "I think [Scott Coker, president of Strikeforce] will do a good job of finding opponents. There are some good fighters in Strikeforce, and they need maybe one or two wins to get the top contender spot. I can also fight at catchweights. I can keep myself busy until it's time to defend the belt."


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## jasvll (Mar 28, 2007)

In Overeem's defense on the PEDs, he was going through the normal male growth phase in that time frame. His brother Valentin is built the same way. Of course, his brother could be the one giving him the juice.


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## BrutalKO (Oct 5, 2006)

...Overeem has very good striking skills and good submissions but he has a small head & Jaw. If a big guy like Rogers connected flush, Overeem would be knocked out cold for 20 minutes...


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## xeberus (Apr 23, 2007)

Davisty69 said:


> Agreed. Two years is simply ridiculous.
> 
> I also think this crap about his hand is just that, CRAP. He is fighting in K-1 around the same time, leading me to believe that he is simply lying.
> 
> Plus, I am one of those that believes he is on the juice.


jesus christ >>

ill have what he's having :thumbsup:


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## TheMicrowave (Sep 4, 2009)

If he doesn't defend within a certain amount of time ... he should be stripped. Also, if the fans cried out where it mattered about this "title" situation... they'd be forced to do something. All the other organizations are waaaaay too inactive. I definately prefer "Dream". I wish it was more often, I love their fighters. The best in the world, they are "TRUE" artists.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Interim Title*

Like I have been saying before, the title between Fedor and Rogers in November should be an Interim Title Fight! Also Strikeforce is still growing so they aren't going to be that good at things! Third, if they have earned the respect of Dana White then I think Strikeforce is doing something good! Last, Mousasi WANTS to defend his belt ASAP!


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

On another note, he wont neccesarily be fighting in k1 in december. There is a good chance that aerts will kick the shit out of him this month, wouldnt that put him out of the final eight? They might still give him a superfight or something, but i dont see any chance of him getting past aerts. His kickboxing is overrated because he caught badr hari sleeping.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Not Good at K-1*

That I will admit. Overeem has an even K-1 record but one thing you have to remember is that Aerts is starting to get old!


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## TheMicrowave (Sep 4, 2009)

He needs to be tested "randomly" just like Sherk. I mean, how obvious can you be?


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Testing*

You know it is possible that he could've bulked up naturally. And even if he was taking roids, they only stay in your system for so long. He could just stop taking them a while before he would be randomly tested and he would pass!


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## TheMicrowave (Sep 4, 2009)

Well, they oughtta keep doing it. They COULD catch him if they wanted to. And it IS NOT possible he bulked up the natural way in that short period of time. TOTALLY impossible! Read about it. See how much muscle mass can be gained in a years period. It's not possible to gain all that muscle in a few years. It's genetically absurd. If ANYONE gets caught they should be expelled indefinately. That's my opinion on the penalty. But it isn't a matter of opinion whether he's on the juice or not. HE IS!


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## sttywilliam (Oct 7, 2009)

It's been 2 years. Strip him.


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## FredFish1 (Apr 22, 2007)

I'd just make Rogers vs Fedor for the belt. If overeem cares enough, give him the first title shot immediatly because of his previous status. Somehow I still don't think he'll come back. I don't even count Overeem as a strikeforce fighter anymore. Yeah his contracts there, but he's not...

Also at UFC 75, Overeem was there, looking jacked up. Dana even grabbed him and said "look at the size of this guy!" It was also reported on several reputable sites that Overeem and his manager were in talks with the UFC. At the time that was easily the best career move for him. I wonder why that never came to fruition? 

I used to be a huge overeem fan, and generally I reserve judgement. But in my opinion the evidence is just stacking against him. I wish more foreign organizations were forced to do mandatory or at least surprise testing. I mean Barnett was caught, many fans had him as a legitimate top 5 HW. Who else could be juicing, it has huge ramifications for the sport, but the individual aswel. I acredit a dream fight and an organizations collapse to Barnett.. that's pathetic.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Interim Title*

I think this should be an Interim Title match and then the winner could face Overeem after the new year!


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## Smiley Face (Oct 5, 2009)

Davisty69 said:


> Agreed. Two years is simply ridiculous.
> 
> I also think this crap about his hand is just that, CRAP. He is fighting in K-1 around the same time, leading me to believe that he is simply lying.
> 
> Plus, I am one of those that believes he is on the juice.


WOW that's a lot of steak and chicken he's eaten over the years. 

2 years? Strip him of the f*cking belt.


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## Grizzly909 (Jul 20, 2009)

:-) said:


> WOW that's a lot of steak and chicken he's eaten over the years.
> 
> 2 years? Strip him of the f*cking belt.


thats insane its impossible to gain such mass in such short time. The guys roiding no doubt. Take his belt and make fedor vs rogers for the championship


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## ZeroPRIDE (Apr 12, 2006)

so 5 years is a short time? there are shakes that have godly amounts of protein in them...


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/10/10/5-oz-exclusive-with-alistair-overeem-i-expect-to-be-fighting-solely-in-the-u-s-throughout-2010/

"5 Oz. Exclusive with Alistair Overeem: ‘I expect to be fighting solely in the U.S. throughout 2010′35
Although it has become painfully obvious that current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has no intentions of defending his title anytime before the end of 2010, “The Demolition Man” recently went on record with FiveOuncesofPain.com, stating that we can expect to see a lot of him stateside beginning at the start of the new year.

After competing in kickboxing for the bulk of 2009 while putting his MMA career on hold, Overeem has recently been tabbed to face off with Tony Sylvester in his first mixed martial arts rules bout of the year. The two will face off at Golden Glory’s tenth anniversary event in Holland on October 17, and Overeem is further expected to participate in DREAM 12, just eight days later in Japan.

So now, the question on everybodies mind is, “Does Alistair have any intention of defending his Strikeforce championship in the near future?”.

There have even been fellow Strikeforce heavyweights such as Fabricio Werdum that have gone on record stating their beliefs that a substance known as “Gummy Berry Juice” could be the underlying reason for Overeem’s seeming unwillingness to make the trip stateside to put his belt on the line.

FiveOuncesofPain recently had the opportunity to catch up with Overeem to ask him the very question that is begging to be asked.

FiveOuncesofPain: Do you have a problem with fighting on American soil, and when can we expect your return to Strikeforce?

Alistair Overeem: No, I love to fight. I expect to be fighting solely in the U.S. throughout 2010.

Of course when quoted as saying that he expected to be fighting solely in the United States through the course of 2010, another question could be derived from the response:

FiveOuncesofPain.com: So is there any possibility that we may end up seeing you in the UFC anytime soon?

Alistair Overeem: I don’t have a crystal ball, so it’s possible. At the moment I’m happy with my contract with Strikeforce."

Hope this turns out to be true.


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