Alistair Overeem’s return to America may best have been put by the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, appropriately stating that it was “one hell of a comeback.” His fight with Brett Rogers at “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” for the heavyweight title lasted just 3:40 with Rogers landing only one shot out of the handful that he threw. “The Demolition Man” lived up to his name with the technical knockout victory, but he did not waste time looking forward at his second title defense.
In the post-fight press conference, Overeem made it clear that he is disappointed in the fact that he and top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko have yet to meet and looks forward to a meeting with the highly ranked mixed martial artist soon. But Overeem is not just interested in fighting Emelianenko to prove he is the best heavyweight in the promotion. He is on a quest for a legendary status that he believes only comes through defeating the best fighters in the world.
If you want to become a legend, you have to fight a legend,” stated Overeem. “You have to beat a legend.”
Emelianenko is certainly a legend of the sport, and a victory for Overeem against the seemingly unbeatable, but aging Russian would be a large step towards becoming the legend he wishes to be. However, past history has shown that Emelianenko is not the easier fighter to book a date in the cage with. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker understands that all to well, but understands how badly the heavyweight champion wants to fight against Emelianenko.
“The situation with Fedor is that he’s fighting June 26,” stated Coker in the press conference. “Alistair has told me many times he would love to fight Fedor. He has called out Fedor in Japan when he fights in Japan all the time. He’s looking forward to taking the fight. That’s going to be something where we’ll have to sit down with him after the June 26 fight.”
A fight between Overeem and Emelianenko would rank as one of the biggest in the history of the heavyweight division and certainly take the top spot in terms of the greatest heavyweight fights in the California-based promotion. The problem is convincing Emelianenko and company to challenge Overeem for the title. Overeem and Coker are in, but the consent of Emelianenko and his management will be necessary to make this match up happen.