Over two years after he first captured the title, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem will make his long-awaited return to the promotion against Brett “The Grim” Rogers on May 15th. While not yet signed, Overeem confirmed plans for the bout in an exclusive interview with MMAjunkie.com today.
The Dutch star has kept busy with fights in Europe and Japan and has not lost since he was first crowned Strikeforce champion on November 16, 2007. All but one of his 32 career victories have come by stoppage.
Overeem (32-11-0, 1 NC) spent most of his career competing in the light heavyweight division where he rose to prominence in the former Pride Fighting Championships. After a string of losses, he moved up in weight and has since enjoyed great success at the heavyweight level. Ever a source of controversy for his continuously increasing muscle mass, Overeem has taken a series of relative tune-up fights outside of Strikeforce and will face his first solid test in over 18 months when he returns to the United States.
Rogers (10-1-0) has never gone the distance in his career and all of his victories have come by knockout or submission due to strikes. The heavy-handed rising star picked up his biggest win to date when he knocked out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski last June, but suffered his first loss when he faced top-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko on the debut Strikeforce card on CBS in November. With contractual issues plaguing Emelianenko, Rogers will get the first shot at Overeem’s title.
Details remain largely unknown for the May 15th card, but it is reported that Strikeforce is targeting the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri for the event. Other planned bouts include a second heavyweight tilt between the newly-signed Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Emelianenko may still be a part of the event, but his participation currently remains unclear.
This article was updated on March 2nd to reflect that Overeem will be defending his title.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)