With K-1 2010 Grand Prix Win Alistair Overeem Becomes the First Concurrent MMA and K-1 Champion


(Photo courtesy Golden Glory)

Alistair Overeem capped off a perfect 2010 by winning the Fields K-1 Grand Prix over the weekend, and in doing so the Strikeforce heavyweight champion made history by becoming the only fighter to hold the coveted kickboxing title and an MMA championship belt at the same time.

"The Reem," who won two bouts earlier this year to earn a berth in the final defeated a trio of opponents at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo Saturday to win the tournament. Following a quarter-final decision victory over Ernesto Hoost protegee Tyrone Spong, Overeem broke Gokhan Saki's arm in the semi-finals, forcing his Golden Glory teammate to quit in the first round and went on to knock out Peter Aerts in the final.

Aerts did "The Demolition Man" a favor by knocking perennial tournament favorite Semmy Schilt out of the tournament in the semi finals. According to sources close to Aerts, the Dutch fighter was pissing blood after the fight with Schilt and had to be cleared to fight in the final because a cut he sustained on his eyelid against Schilt was deep and wouldn't stop bleeding for some time after the match.

What's interesting is that Golden Glory anticipated that Overeem may have to face Saki at some point in the tournament, and as such, they would not allow the two fighters to spar together or train in the gym at the same time. During their bout, both trainer Cor Hemmers and manager Bas Boon excused themselves from cornering either fighter and told Overeem and Saki that it was up to them to settle things in the ring without them.

Does anyone else get goosebumps when reading this?

These guys are fighters. No excuses. No, "I'll never fight a teammate," BS; just two competitors doing what their jobs, friendship aside. Some MMA teams *cough....AKA...cough...Team Jackson...cough*... need to take a lesson in Budo from these guys.

If you missed the event, we got you covered with the videos (in order) after the jump.

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Source: http://www.cagepotato.com/k-1-grand-prix-win-alistair-overeem-becomes-first-concurrent

Jorge Santiago Evangelista Santos Rey Phillip Santos Bob Sapp Rumina Sato

Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck UFC 124 Video Highlight

Although welterweight king Georges St-Pierre valiantly tried to violently end Josh Koscheck’s night at UFC 124, the division’s G.O.A.T. was forced to settle for his third straight unanimous decision victory on Saturday night inside the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Prior to bumping his record to a dominant 22-2 mark in front of his [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/61658/georges-st-pierre-vs-josh-koscheck-ufc-124-video-highlight/

Sergei Kharitonov Min Soo Kim Dong Hyun Kim Kevin Knabjian John Kolosci

OTHER NEWS: Ontario government to begin accepting MMA event applications on January 1, 2011

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The next step for getting the UFC into Ontario, Canada, is now in place, as the Ontario government announced on Monday that they will begin accepting applications for MMA events beginning on January 1, 2011, according to Canada's National Post.

The Ontario government announced in August that they would begin regulating the sport, which had previously been banned in the province. With their infrastructure being put into place, they'll now be able to begin taking the applications, opening the door for the UFC to make their long awaited entrance into Toronto.

The organization is hoping to bring a major event in mid-2011, and with the right card could be looking to run at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. An event at that venue, home to Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays, would likely break the North American attendance record, currently held by Montreal's Bell Centre.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: It's likely that news of the UFC's first trip to Toronto will hit the internet early next month, as they're sure to secure a venue and a date as soon as they're able. They've been waiting to break into the Toronto market, and with regulation nearing a reality in the province it's now just a matter of time. If Georges St. Pierre bests Josh Koscheck a second time on Saturday night in Montreal, expect him to be a major, major part of whatever event the UFC brings to Toronto. Whether it's the expected bout with Jake Shields, or if GSP moves up to middleweight for the first time, it's almost a guaranteed headliner for the Toronto card.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Other_News_4/article_7742.shtml

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On the Road Again: Strikeforce Releases Veterans Joe Riggs and Joey Villasenor

The glorified ?recruitment drive? that strikeforce has been on ever since acquiring the bulk of the assets of the now-defunct EliteXC promotion and emerging as a major player on the global MMA scene? seems to have finally ran its course. After snatching up plenty of contracts and signing many fighters to deals, Strikeforce recently passed [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/09/on-the-road-again-strikeforce-releases-veterans-joe-riggs-and-joey-villasenor

Kazushi Gracie Hunter Sakuraba Hayato Sakurai Ivan Salaverry Sean Salmon Diego Sanchez

UFC 124 PREVIEW: Georges St. Pierre, Wayne Gretzky and the case of the most famous athlete out of Canada

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Canada has produced a lot of great athletes throughout its history, many of whom have found worldwide fame and recognition. But if you ask UFC President Dana White, there's a clear #1 when it comes to "most famous Canadian athlete": UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre.

St. Pierre was asked about White's stance on that subject during a pre-UFC 124 teleconference on Monday, and he's not ready to completely accept that label with "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky still in the mix.

"It's hard to say [if I'm the most popular athlete to come out of Canada]," St. Pierre said. "I think Wayne Gretzky would be more popular. But the thing is, hockey is not the most popular in every country. Maybe globally, because MMA is popular worldwide and hockey is not, but I don't know."

St. Pierre's case may continue to be made as he defends his title this Saturday in Montreal against Josh Koscheck. Then, should he get past Koscheck, he may find himself in a headlining bout on the UFC's first ever big stadium card at Toronto's Rogers Centre in April.

Penick's Analysis: I grew up a hockey player and hockey fan in Minnesota, so this is one of those spots where both names stand as legends. And it can be argued that Sidney Crosby deserves to be in the mix with GSP right now, especially off of a Stanley Cup victory and game winning goal for Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics. But that said, I think MMA is on its way to being more popular worldwide at this point. It's still a niche sport, but of the four major sports in the U.S., hockey, unfortunately, remains near the bottom in terms of popularity in this country. Of course, there is hockey around the world, but it's a cold climate sport for the most part, whereas MMA competition can be done anywhere. I don't know, this is something very hard to quantify, but in 2010 GSP is probably the top guy. The most famous ever? Impossible to tell right now.

[GSP art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7759.shtml

Eddy Rolon João Roque Kristian Rothaermel Ben Rothwell Chad Akebono Rowan

Alistair Overeem's Pre-Fight Interview K-1 World GP - Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem's Pre-Fight interview for FieLDS K-1 WORLD GP 2010 FINAL (2010 Dec,11 / Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, JAPAN) . http://www.k-1.co.jp/12?11?FieLDS K-1 WORLD GP 2010 FINAL????????????????????????????????????????

Source: http://mmalice.com/alistair-overeem/alistair-overeems-pre-fight-interview-k-1-world-gp-video_52953e1cb.html

Alex Schoenauer Ryan Schultz Pete Sell Andrei Semenov Ivan Serati

?UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2? Live Results and Coverage

?UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2? will be jumping off tonight inside the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The first preliminary bout is scheduled to start at approximately 7:20PM ET/4:20PM PT. Make sure to stay with 5thRound.com all night for our live coverage. UFC.com kicks off the “televised” portion of tonight?s festivities with a live [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/61420/ufc-124-st-pierre-vs-koscheck-2-live-results-and-coverage/

Nick Diaz  Tadhg Steamfist Dixon Joe Doerksen  Chris Dolman Edson Drago