Todd Duffee – December 31, 2010 – Dynamite 2010
Result – Overeem KO1
You figure three K-1 fights in one night would have earned Overeem a nice holiday break. Uh-uh. Instead, he accepted a New Year’s Eve bout against UFC vet Todd Duffee for the Dream heavyweight crown. He described his December to remember earlier this year before his Strikeforce win over Fabricio Werdum.
“We fought in the final 16 in October, came back home, took a week off to recover, then we went back to Japan in November to do a media tour, which was like 10 days,” said Overeem. “Then we went back home, before going to Thailand for a two-week training camp, then from Thailand to Japan for the K-1 finals, won three fights, and then there was a lot of media stuff afterward, a lot of television shows. Then a new opportunity came to fight for the Dream heavyweight title and we grabbed it with both hands. That was December 31. I was gone for six weeks, I came home with two belts, four fights, and a lot of new experience.”
Yeah, he won that fight with Duffee, needing only 19 seconds to do so.
Brock Lesnar – December 30, 2011 – UFC 141
Result – Overeem TKO1
The expectations were high for Overeem’s UFC debut against former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, not just from the fans, but from the man himself. “This is the biggest fight ever and I can only be excited,” he said. “Brock is a dream match, I think the fans will agree on that, and I never thought the fight would be possible because I was outside of the UFC, and now that I’m in the UFC, I’m just so excited.” Overeem didn’t stick around long, though, as he halted Lesnar in a little less than two and a half minutes. “The Reem” has arrived. (Watch on UFC FIGHT PASS)
