Fighters often go through physical changes when they are no longer active. However, very few fighters make drastic changes to their physique in the middle of their fighting career. But, there are a few exceptions such as the late Anthony “Rumble” Johnson who moved to heavyweight from welterweight. It looks like former Pride and UFC fighter Alistair Overeem has joined the list as well.
In some recent pictures, Overeem could be seen in a drastically different shape than what the fans have gotten used to seeing him in.
UFC fans would remember Alistair Overeem being one of the most physically imposing fighters to enter the Octagon. During his run in the Dana White-led promotion, Overeem always edged past 245lbs during his weigh-ins on a regular basis. However, more than the weight itself, Overeem was more memorable for his Greek God-like physique. Often, he seemed to be carved out of stone.
Alistair Overeem is looking slim!
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) June 19, 2023
The Dutch legend met up with RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara last weekend. He’s currently serving a suspension but is rumored to return for the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix in December, with $500,000 on the line. pic.twitter.com/BFX39fFOZH
But, recently, some viral pictures showed Alistair Overeem with an incredibly lean physique. Recently, the former Pride Pride Grand Prix participant had a meeting with RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara at an event. While Alistair Overeem is still towering over Sakakibara, he was noticeably leaner than before. However, it has churned some very interesting reactions from the fans online.
Here are some fan reactions on the matter
Overeem just became Weltereem. That’s a serious weight loss .. 😳 @Alistairovereem pic.twitter.com/ArgCMtFso3
— Ross Edmonds (@RosssEdmonds) June 19, 2023
Holy shit, he only has biceps left
— Michał Chmiel (@Ropniak77) June 19, 2023
He was definitely juiced tf up 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️😅
— V!¢€ 🗜️ £awd 🙏 (@JonD_Great) June 19, 2023
He looks unrecognizable.
— Adi (@noker86) June 19, 2023
Bro he just isn’t on steroids that’s why he’s so small
— CheckMMAte (@03xbeezy) June 19, 2023
Needs more horse meat pic.twitter.com/5upauU5k6z
— | JP |🇳🇱 (@VisscherJp) June 19, 2023
Happy he finally got off the steroids ☺
— J train (@L37014149) June 20, 2023
Alistair Overeem joined UFC in December 2011 and TKO’ed Brock Lesnar to kick off his journey in style. In his 20-fight UFC run, Overeem had a record of 12-8. After his release from the UFC in February 2021, Overeem made his kickboxing return to fight a fellow legend, Badr Hari in August 2022. But the bout was ruled a no-contest. While Overeem never got his hands on a UFC title, he did win the Strikeforce heavyweight title in November 2007.
Joe Rogan dubbed Alistair Overeem “Ubereem” for his muscular physique
Joe Rogan has been involved with the UFC since 1997. Rogan is a lifelong MMA fan and has been following the sport for a long time now. But, very few fighters have impressed Rogan with their physique more than Alistair Overeem. Ahead of Overeem’s UFC debut against Brock Lesnar, Rogan favored Alistair to win the contest and called him “the best standup fighter in the heavyweight division” at the time.
But, Rogan was also very honest about his thoughts on how Alistair Overeem built his physique. During an interview with the Flagrant podcast, Rogan added, “You want to see how good Alistair Overeem is? Pull up Alistair Overeem vs Brock Lesnar. This was back (when) they were doing a smell test back then for steroids. That’s all they did… Everybody passed. It’s so ridiculous when you look at Brock Lesnar and (Overeem) standing right next to (him).”
He continued, “Look at the two of them. How the f**k did he pass anything? They used to call him Ubereem back then because he wasn’t like a real person. He was like a comic book superhero. His physique was perfect and his kickboxing skills world class dude.”
Rogan also mentioned that when there was no strict drug testing policy before, like there is now, Overeem was the fighter to watch out for. To prove Rogan’s point, the “Demolition Man” certainly has a history of testing positive for banned substances. In 2012, Overeem failed a drug test ahead of UFC 146. The latest instance of it was in 2022 when he was reportedly busted for testing positive for banned substances after the kickboxing bout against Badr Hari.