# Alistair Overeem start training at Mike's Gym with Badr Hari, Gokhan Saki!



## kickstar (Nov 12, 2009)

> Just confirmed UFC fighter Alistair Overeem joins the famous Mike’s gym in Holland to prepare his next fight. No lack of sparring partners, as there heavyweights like Gokhan Saki, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Ismael Londt around.


http://www.tapnapsnap.com/alistair-overeem-joins-mikes-gym-in-holland/


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## Crester (Apr 5, 2009)

Wow... so everybody really is leaving the Blackzilians. I've never seen such a fail of a gym before.


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## khoveraki (Jun 28, 2009)

Gokhan Saki is the man. The way he beat Ghita down was amazing.



Back on topic, stupid move for Overeem. The last thing he needs is to be playing around in a kickboxing gym all day. I'm not sure what'd fix his problems though. He's like the Brandon Vera of HW.


Except that when Vera was at HW he was wrecking face... so he's like the Brandon Vera at LHW of HW... yeah.


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## Hammerlock2.0 (Jun 17, 2009)

If training with these guys can make him keep his hands near his chin then I'm all for it. He probably didn't get hit a lot during his time with the Blackzillians so he thought dropping his hands would work just fine.


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## Crester (Apr 5, 2009)

Hammerlock2.0 said:


> If training with these guys can make him keep his hands near his chin then I'm all for it. He probably didn't get hit a lot during his time with the Blackzillians so he thought dropping his hands would work just fine.


^^^ This


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## Canadian Psycho (Apr 22, 2007)

khoveraki said:


> Gokhan Saki is the man. The way he beat Ghita down was amazing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well...

Overeem with hands up = beats Bigfoot

Overeem with hands down = KTFO

Overeem didn't lose because Bigfoot exposed some hole in his game. He lost because he's a pompous arse. These fighters aren't going to give him the option of keeping his hands down. That in itself will be an improvement.


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## Hexabob69 (Nov 8, 2008)

Canadian Psycho said:


> Well...
> 
> Overeem with hands up = beats Bigfoot
> 
> ...


Well said... I tried repping you for that statement but I need to spread the love more it seems... He really was arrogant that fight he pretty much knocked himself out.


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## OHKO (Jul 11, 2010)

Overeem and Hari in the same gym?


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

I don't know if it matters whether Overeem's hands are up or down.

He's used to blocking strikes with bigger boxing gloves. Werdum consistently punched around & through his guard even when his hands were up.

Every mma fighter from a dutch kickboxing background is terrible at blocking & evading strikes. 

Martin Kampmann, Overeem, Stefan Struve. Whoever else I'm forgetting. Even when their hands are up, they're getting knocked out. 

Overeem isn't the exception, he fits in perfectly with that group.


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## Dtwizzy2k5 (Jul 7, 2008)

Good move, although I wonder about the quality of MMA fighters and more specifically wrestlers in that gym. I would love nothing more than to see Overeem reach his full potential at heavyweight.


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## jonnyg4508 (Jan 30, 2010)

He was once considered the best striker in MMA. Then he was considered the best at HW. Then he was considered up there. Now he is running off training with elite kickboxers again all of a sudden.

Safe to say he and his fans thought he was a better striker than he really was, based mostly around the fact that he won K-1 by drawing a good hand and fighting beat up fighters. Oh, and puffy gloves to protect his face and love forward to bully his opponents.


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## osmium (Mar 6, 2007)

OHKO said:


> Overeem and Hari in the same gym?


Well Badr got his revenge and they don't compete in the same sport anymore so I doubt it will be an issue.


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## BrutalKO (Oct 5, 2006)

...Yeah goodbye Blackzilians. I vowed not to change my cheesy avatar pic of Reem getting plowed by Chuck until he redeems himself with a clean test and most of all...One of the world's top strikers now has his back to the wall by not following basic rule #1..." _Keep ya hands up dude_..."

* "We fight in the cage. He talk a lotta shit outside the cage and I say hey--I'm going to make you respect me brother"...Antonio Silva after dropping Reem like a trash bag.*:laugh:


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## Toxic (Mar 1, 2007)

khoveraki said:


> Gokhan Saki is the man. The way he beat Ghita down was amazing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Brandon Vera I would argue that he is more like the Martin Kampmann the guy just had to find away to lose, hell my opponents only chance is if he lands a big bomb so I better put my hands down and give him that opportunity. Kampmann's looking at him and questioning his gameplan against Bigfoot.


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

Trix said:


> I don't know if it matters whether Overeem's hands are up or down.
> 
> He's used to blocking strikes with bigger boxing gloves. Werdum consistently punched around & through his guard even when his hands were up.


It does. Of course, hands up won't protect him 100%, but against Silva and most of the HWs it would help him a lot. Werdum punched through his guard, because Werdum used a pretty technical boxing approach with lots of jabs and straights (yet he still couldn't KO Overeem), but most other HWs use rather overhand rights and heavy swinging punches from the outside. Against those, Overeem's rather wide guard protects pretty good.


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## osmium (Mar 6, 2007)

Voiceless said:


> It does. Of course, hands up won't protect him 100%, but against Silva and most of the HWs it would help him a lot. Werdum punched through his guard, because Werdum used a pretty technical boxing approach with lots of jabs and straights (yet he still couldn't KO Overeem), but most other HWs use rather overhand rights and heavy swinging punches from the outside. Against those, Overeem's rather wide guard protects pretty good.


The power of straight punches is more technique based as well which made Werdums punches not do shit to Overeem. It was a good strategy for that fight but if a Werdum had a really good jab Overeem would have gotten busted up badly fighting that way.


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

Voiceless said:


> It does. Of course, hands up won't protect him 100%, but against Silva and most of the HWs it would help him a lot. Werdum punched through his guard, because Werdum used a pretty technical boxing approach with lots of jabs and straights (yet he still couldn't KO Overeem), but most other HWs use rather overhand rights and heavy swinging punches from the outside. Against those, Overeem's rather wide guard protects pretty good.


Reem is like Manny Pacquiao, even if his hands are up his defense isn't the best. 

Saying Overeem wouldn't be KO'ed if he kept his hands up is sort of like saying Pacquiao wasn't hit by this overhand right because his hands were up, he thus "blocked" it.


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

Trix said:


> Reem is like Manny Pacquiao, even if his hands are up his defense isn't the best.
> 
> Saying Overeem wouldn't be KO'ed if he kept his hands up is sort of like saying Pacquiao wasn't hit by this overhand right because his hands were up, he thus "blocked" it.


If you look closely, right before the overhand right gets through Pacquiao pulls his hand down 3-4 inches, thus he doesn't block the coming punch.

Did I say having his hands up would make Overeem invincible¿ No. I literally just said "_it would help him a lot_". Acting like it wouldn't make a difference whether he had his hands up or not is ridiculous.


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

Voiceless said:


> If you look closely, right before the overhand right gets through Pacquiao pulls his hand down 3-4 inches, thus he doesn't block the coming punch.
> 
> Did I say having his hands up would make Overeem invincible¿ No. I literally just said "_it would help him a lot_". Acting like it wouldn't make a difference whether he had his hands up or not is ridiculous.


In his career, Overeem was KO'ed twice as much as Stefan Struve.

Stefan Struve's hands were *up* against Mark Hunt. Did it make a big difference in the outcome?

Werdum's boxing wasn't much more than average when he fought Overeem. He still found plenty of holes in Overeem's defense. 

For someone like Overeem whose defense mostly relies on keeping distance and movement, the second he tires and stands flat footed in front of someone like Bigfoot is pretty much the second he gets knocked out. Whether or not his hands are up doesn't really matter.


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

Trix said:


>


Overeem's hands are *up* watch as he amazingly blocks the shot!


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

Oh, fighters get KOed even though they had their hands up, so it makes no difference at all and coaches all over the world apparently just waste their time trying their fighters to keep the hands up... well yeah...

Fighters get taken down even though they train TDD, so it also makes no difference. Better skip that training then.

And fighers get submitted even though they train (counter)grappling. Obviously it makes no difference.

Better fighters go back to mindless brawling. At least they could use that wasted training time to chill at the pool. :thumbsup:


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## osmium (Mar 6, 2007)

Trix said:


> In his career, Overeem was KO'ed twice as much as Stefan Struve.
> 
> Stefan Struve's hands were *up* against Mark Hunt. Did it make a big difference in the outcome?
> 
> ...


Werdum didn't really land much of anything decent in that entire fight. His jab was terrible and did nothing and his rear hand strikes were inaccurate, had no power, and almost never landed clean. He didn't find the holes Overeem said to him "I'll let you throw straights only since you suck ass at doing that and can't hurt me with them." and that is what happened. Overeem took away the only punches crap boxers can get power on with his high guard and traded a bunch of nothing straights for strikes that did actual damage. It was a good strategy against that opponent it wouldn't have worked against Bigfoot who can throw a straight and a cross and isn't terrified of getting hit back.


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

KO'ed with hands down.










KO'ed with hands up.










Not seeing a big difference.


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## Ape City (May 27, 2007)

Great move for Overeem. I think getting back to what started his success (other than the massive muscle gain) was the focus on striking. Dropping his hands in the Bigfoot was just ridiculous and showed a lack of discipline that Overeem has demonstrated in K-1.



OHKO said:


> Overeem and Hari in the same gym?


First thing I thought. They have knocked each other out before...will it happen again? Badr is notoriously short tempered, and that is putting it lightly.



Trix said:


> KO'ed with hands up.
> 
> 
> Not seeing a big difference.


Other than the 10 years between the fights, right? No one gets better in 10 years.


It is pretty ridiculous that you are trying to argue following a fundamental technique (keeping your hands up) would not have helped Overeem. Maybe he would have blocked the shot, maybe not, but his hands were down way, way too much over the course of the entire fight, and that gave Bigfoot a lot more chances.


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## khoveraki (Jun 28, 2009)

This isn't boxing. You can't just "have your hands up." I hate hate hate when kickboxing instructors at MMA gyms constantly demand that.


This is MMA. Hands down makes it easier to not get taken down instantly, Overeem used it well against Lesnar. But, in typical Overeem fashion, he underestimated Bigfoot or overestimated himself and got knocked out as a result.


Reem doesn't need to train exclusively with kickboxers. It won't make his recovery and heart any better. He needs a sports psychologist and a real MMA gym.


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## Canadian Psycho (Apr 22, 2007)

There's fighting with your hands down. And then there's fighting with your hands down and leading with your chin, which Overeem did to an absurd degree. He won't do the same working with elite level strikers who will lay him out every time he tries to pull some dodgy, arrogant BS. Whereas the Blackzillians probably foster an egotistical atmosphere. 

It's a good move for Overeem. People can act like he's some scrub, but he has multiple MMA wins and was on his way to beating Silva until arrogance cost him. Overeem cost himself that fight, and it's plain as day to anyone who doesn't have a hate-on for the man. I'm not even a big fan of Overeem. But a lack of skill didn't lose him the fight. His ego did.


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## mo25 (Feb 7, 2011)

*Alistair Overeem Joins Mike’s Gym in Holland*

Can't believe this isn't being discussed here:

http://www.tapnapsnap.com/alistair-overeem-joins-mikes-gym-in-holland/








Just confirmed UFC fighter Alistair Overeem joins the famous Mike’s gym in Holland to prepare his next fight. No lack of sparring partners, as there heavyweights like Gokhan Saki, *Badr Hari*, Melvin Manhoef and Ismael Londt around.


Badr and Alistair are going to KILL each other at the gym. I'm really excited to his Alistair after this camp and how he will look.

I guess the Blackzillians was a nice dream to be had. Too bad it didn't end up working out. I'm guessing the entire team will be dismantled by the end of the year.


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## OHKO (Jul 11, 2010)

http://www.mmaforum.com/ufc/125954-...training-mikes-gym-badr-hari-gokhan-saki.html


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## Rauno (Nov 20, 2009)

Yeah, it's being discussed here.


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## mo25 (Feb 7, 2011)

Sorry didn't see the thread.


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## Guy Incognito (Apr 3, 2010)

Crester said:


> Wow... so everybody really is leaving the Blackzilians. I've never seen such a fail of a gym before.


He's training there only because he is visiting his daughter.


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## BOOM (Sep 23, 2012)

Incredibly over-hyped fighter that only got anywhere by juicing it up because he was never good enough to begin with, can't wait until he gets KTFO again.


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## Rauno (Nov 20, 2009)

BOOM said:


> Incredibly over-hyped fighter that only got anywhere by juicing it up because he was never good enough to begin with, can't wait until he gets KTFO again.


That's just wrong.


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## BOOM (Sep 23, 2012)

Rauno said:


> That's just wrong.


Not really, he got beat up on the regular at LHW. Then he juiced it up to move from a weight class he was horrible at and beat up a few run of the mill HW's and fighters who were past their prime, people claimed he was the best in the world without him ever fighting the best in the world. Now that he's off the juice because he got caught cheating he lost to Bigfoot who is an average fighter at best.

He'll very likely lose against the next decent HW he fights in the UFC in my opinion. There's nothing uber about him, it was all hype.


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## jonnyg4508 (Jan 30, 2010)

BOOM said:


> Not really, he got beat up on the regular at LHW. Then he juiced it up to move from a weight class he was horrible at and beat up a few run of the mill HW's and fighters who were past their prime, people claimed he was the best in the world without him ever fighting the best in the world. Now that he's off the juice because he got caught cheating he lost to Bigfoot who is an average fighter at best.
> 
> He'll very likely lose against the next decent HW he fights in the UFC in my opinion. There's nothing uber about him, it was all hype.


I actually pretty much agree with this. I was always skeptical on Overeem's true standing in the HW division. And really other than Werdum, in a terrible fight where nothing much happened....he hasn't beat a single good HW ever. 

He doesn't totally suck or anything. He has skills, although exaggerated a bit. But the fact that people called him the best HW in the world after he beat up on Brett Rogers was laughable.


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

BOOM said:


> Now that he's off the juice because he got caught cheating he lost to Bigfoot who is an average fighter at best.


Overeem probably was overrated and obviously not the best HW in the world, but he didn't lose to Silva, because he was off the juice. He was tooling Silva until his ubercockyness let him to get caught.


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## BOOM (Sep 23, 2012)

Voiceless said:


> Overeem probably was overrated and obviously not the best HW in the world, but he didn't lose to Silva, because he was off the juice. He was tooling Silva until his ubercockyness let him to get caught.


Reem lost to Bigfoot because he isn't a good fighter. Saying he lost the fight because he was cocky is nothing but an excuse to hide his real weaknesses. Reem gassed out, wasn't strong enough to finish an average fighter and then was KTFO by that same average fighter.

Easily would have lost to Lesnar as well if Lesnar wasn't a beat up old man at the time of their fight. No question.


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

BOOM said:


> Reem lost to Bigfoot because he isn't a good fighter. Saying he lost the fight because he was cocky is nothing but an excuse to hide his real weaknesses. Reem gassed out, wasn't strong enough to finish an average fighter and then was KTFO by that same average fighter.
> 
> Easily would have lost to Lesnar as well *if Lesnar wasn't a beat up old man at the time of their fight*. No question.


Yeah, talking about excuses :sarcastic09:


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## BOOM (Sep 23, 2012)

Voiceless said:


> Yeah, talking about excuses :sarcastic09:


Lesnar was out of prime and was also coming off a major surgery which nearly ended his career going into that fight, basically a shadow of his former self. I'd say that's pretty easy pickings for a younger juiced up Reem.

Brock finally got the message that his health would keep him from fighting at his best and promptly retired after that fight coincidentally.

A prime and healthy Lesnar would smash Reem (even juiced up) all day long. 


Excuses? Come again.


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## LikeABoss88 (Feb 3, 2013)

You can't deny Overeem's stand up, clinch, ground skills. I just question his heart and training. I think he IS one of the best HW's in the world if his mind is right. I think he thought that he was going to go in there and bully Bigfoot around, or, that Bigfoot was going to play it safe and he would just land a good strike and TKo him. Bigfoot brought it to him though. Hopefully Overeem learned a valuable lesson. Never underestimate any real fighter in the UFC.

If he is training with Badr Hari, maybe Hari can show him a thing or two about dedication. That's pretty crazy though, arguably the two best strikers in the world training together. That's like Velasquez and Cormier wrestling around together. If I was a fighter and I had the money, I'd train with those guys in a heartbeat.


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