Four years after he was originally supposed to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, Alistair Overeem finally appears to be in position to do so.
Overeem (41-14) recorded a spectacular TKO finish against former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski on Sunday in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Referee Marc Goddard called the fight with 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the second round, after Overeem stunned Arlovski with a front kick to the jaw and then dropped him with a vicious left hook.
It is Overeem's fourth consecutive win and strengthens his case for a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. Current champion Fabricio Werdum is scheduled to defend the title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 198 next week in Curitiba, Brazil. Overeem said he'd like to face the winner of that bout at a scheduled event on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
"We're going to get that belt in November," said Overeem, who was raised in Holland. "Nov. 12, Madison Square Garden. Werdum, Stipe -- may the best man win. But I'm going to take on the winner and beat that winner. And then next year, 2017, we'll be defending the belt in Amsterdam."
If Overeem, 35, does receive a title shot, it would bring to an end a long path to the title that began in 2011 when he knocked out Brock Lesnar in his UFC debut. Overeem was supposed to fight Junior dos Santos for the title the following year, but was forced out of the event after he failed a random drug test in Nevada. He went on to suffer three losses in his next four fights to drop out of title contention.
He has had nothing but strong performances ever since, however. A former champion in Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1, Overeem has finished three opponents during this current winning streak. He also holds a prior win over Werdum, whom he defeated via unanimous decision in a Strikeforce bout in 2011.
Sunday's bout matched Overeem up against a member of his current team, Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Overeem joined the team in 2014 and has sparred alongside Arlovski in the past. Arlovski has been with Jackson-Wink since 2011. Coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn cornered Arlovski on Sunday but all parties have said Overeem intends to return to the camp moving forward.
It was a relatively smooth win for Overeem, although he injured his toe during the initial kick that began the final sequence. Arlovski (25-12) opened up aggressively in the opening minute of the fight and had Overeem cornered along the fence, but most of his flurry was blocked. He allowed Overeem to take him down later in the round, which led to effective Overeem ground-and-pound from the top position.
According to Fightmetric, Overeem out-landed Arlovski in total strikes 33 to 18. Coming into the weekend, ESPN.com ranked Overeem and Arlovski the Nos. 4 and 6 heavyweights in the world.
Sunday marked the UFC's first-ever trip to Netherlands.
Struve quickly takes down Silva
Heavyweight Stefan Struve (27-8) recorded one of the best moments of his UFC career, knocking out Antonio Silva (19-9-1) with a right hand and follow-up elbows just 16 seconds in. Struve connected with the straight right as Silva came forward and looked to tie up in a clinch. Silva fell awkwardly backward and then latched onto a single leg attempt. With his back to the fence, Struve postured over Silva's limp frame and dropped elbows to the side of his head until referee Leon Roberts stopped the fight. It is the third-fastest finish in UFC heavyweight history and Struve's first knockout win since 2012.
Nelson wins over Tumenov by submission
Welterweight Gunnar Nelson (15-2) looked terrific in a second-round submission over Albert Tumenov (17-3). Nelson, who trains out of Mjolnir and SBG Ireland alongside Conor McGregor, went back and forth with the dangerous Tumenov on the feet and took him down in each round, eventually securing the rear-naked choke at the 3:15 mark of the round. The victory improves Nelson's UFC mark to 6-2. Prior to Sunday, he had gone 1-2 in his past three bouts, dropping fights to Rick Story and Demian Maia.
Kowalkiewicz finishes strong against Clark
Female strawweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz (9-0) moved to 2-0 inside the Octagon with a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) over Heather Jo Clark (7-5). Kowalkiewicz, of Poland, absorbed a few big right hands from Clark early but found her range in the second and third rounds. Clark showed determination in coming forward, but Kowalkiewicz made her pay for her aggression, hurting her with punches in the final minute. Kowalkiewicz out-landed Clark, who trains out of Las Vegas, 55 to 40.