With victories in four of his last five UFC appearances, Alistair
Overeem is still going strong.
Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Dutchman acknowledges that he is
nearing the end of his mixed martial arts career. Overeem laid out
a tentative timeframe for retirement in a post on social media
Tuesday.
“I’m still improving: even at 40 I think you can clearly see that
in my fights,” Overeem wrote. “I’m still on a learning curve. But I
have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights, then
I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the
mission is completed.”
I’m still improving: even at 40 I think you
can clearly see that in my fights. I’m still on a learning curve.
But I have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights,
then I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the
mission is completed
#onefinalrun pic.twitter.com/gxQrZrrhhc— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem)
November 24, 2020
Overeem would be on a five-bout winning streak were it not for a
last-second stoppage loss to Jairzinho
Rozenstruik at UFC on ESPN 7 last December. Had the fight made
it to the final horn, “The Demolition Man” would have won a
decision. Still, the Elevation Fight Team representative boasts
finishes of Sergei
Pavlovich, Alexey
Oleynik, Walt Harris
and Augusto
Sakai during his current run.
Overeem, who lost to Stipe Mioic in a heavyweight championship bout
at UFC 203 in September 2016, will attempt to get closer to another
title shot when he squares off against Alexander
Volkov in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night event on Feb.
6.