Alistair Overeem
Top heavyweight contender signs with ASM
Alistair Overeem, the top contender for the UFC heavyweight title held by Junior dos Santos, has had an interesting last half-year or so. Now it has culminated in a change in management team.
Overeem, the Dutch fighter widely renowned as the best striker in mixed martial arts, has signed with Authentic Sports Management.
Overeem had a falling out with his previous management team, Golden Glory, and dropped it as his representation not long after he was released from Strikeforce, where he was heavyweight champion. His release came while he was in the middle of the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix tournament. But not long after, he split from Golden Glory, signed with the UFC and was booked for a top contenders fight against former champion Brock Lesnar.
He won that fight with a first-round TKO in December, despite needing to clear several pre-fight drug-testing hurdles with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and moved on to a May 26 heavyweight title fight against dos Santos. For that fight, he’ll prepare at his new training home with the “Blackzilians” in Deerfield Beach, Fla., which is run by Glenn Robinson.
“With Authentic Sports Management, I saw right away that Glenn Robinson has a system in place that allows the fighter to focus on training only, which is so important …,” Overeem said in a statement. “ASM has a team of experts to help you grow as an athlete … After meeting with ASM, I was convinced that they can make me the new UFC world champion.”
The “Blackzilians” team at Imperial Athletics, led by head coach Mike Van Arsdale, includes top UFC light heavyweight contender and former champion Rashad Evans; former Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields; former WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres; former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez; and UFC and Strikeforce standouts such as Melvin Guillard, Antonio Silva, Jorge Santiago, Matt Mitrione, Michael Johnson and JZ Cavalcante.