It appears that Alistair
Overeem is stepping away from combat sports for good.
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The mixed martial arts and kickboxing star announced his retirement
during a recent interview with Lovin Dubai, where he also discussed
his diet and the drastic changes to his physique that came to light
when a
photo of him alongside Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara surfaced
on social media.
“This actually ties into what I want to do, because I actually just
decided to stop fighting,” Overeem said (transcription via
Bloody Elbow). “This is not my thing anymore.”
“It’s been 25 years, right? We’re going to do other cool stuff
now.”
Overeem was known for his hulking physique during much of his
combat sports career, but after working with a nutritionist, the
Dutchman has changed his diet significantly.
“I’ve been doing a lot of new things for health,” Overeem said.
“This is my next chapter, promoting health.
かねはら整骨院にアリスターオーフレイムが治療にきたよ🎵
昔の戦友が会いに来てくれるってありがたいよね😃https://t.co/veEjhiCJCb pic.twitter.com/SOYaI0mo6S— 金原弘光 (@kane8ra)
June 21, 2023
“I became a vegetarian also. I got no desire to eat meat anymore.
Meat is not good for you. It negatively affects you. Yes, it tastes
delicious. Even now I could still eat meat, but I just choose not
to.”
Overeem last fought under the Glory Kickboxing banner in October,
defeating Badr Hari at
Glory Collision 4. That bout was overturned to a no contest when
“The Demolition Man”
tested positive for an unknown banned substance. Overeem was
also suspended for one year.
Prior to signing with Glory, Overeem compiled a 12-8 mark with the
UFC from 2011 to 2021. He came up short in a bid for heavyweight
gold at UFC 203, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to
Stipe
Miocic in September 2016. During his Octagon tenure he earned
notable victories over the likes of Sergei
Pavlovich, Fabricio
Werdum, Mark Hunt,
Andrei
Arlovski, Junior dos
Santos, Roy Nelson,
Frank
Mir and Brock
Lesnar.
The 43-year-old Dutchman compiled a 47-19 record during an MMA
career that began in 1999. He captured titles in Strikeforce and
Dream and also competed for Pride Fighting Championships. Notable
wins outside the UFC included Vitor
Belfort, Igor
Vovchanchyn, Sergei
Kharitonov and Todd Duffee,
among others. Overeem was also a K-1 kickboxing champion and the
first athlete to hold titles in MMA and K-1 at the same time.