Alistair Overeem says he’s going on “one more title run” at age 40

By Adam Martin - July 1, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem says he’s going on “one more title run” after knocking out Walt Harris in his last fight at UFC on ESPN 8.

Alistair Overeem, UFC St. Petersburg, Walt Harris

At age 40, Overeem proved he’s still at the top of his game with the spectacular victory over Harris back in May. One of the greatest heavyweights of all time, Overeem has won three of his last four fights via knockout, with other recent stoppage victories over Aleksei Oleinik and Sergey Pavlovich. His lone loss in his last four outings came via KO to Jairzinho Rozenstruik with just four seconds left in the fifth round of a fight that he was dominating.

Taking to social media on Wednesday, Overeem said that he plans on making one more run for the heavyweight belt. Check out what he wrote on Twitter.

One more title run..

Overeem (46-18, 1 NC) is the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and is one of the best fighters to ever compete in the UFC heavyweight division. After making his debut in the Octagon in 2011 with a TKO win over Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, Overeem has racked up a 11-7 record with other notable wins over Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos, and Frank Mir.

Of course, the biggest problem for Overeem during his UFC run has been his chin, as he’s been KOed in all seven of his losses. In addition to the KO loss to Rozenstruik, Overeem was also finished in devastating fashion by Curtis Blaydes, Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, Ben Rothwell, Travis Browne, and Antonio Silva. The loss to Miocic came at UFC 203 in what was his only chance to date at fighting for the UFC heavyweight title. Despite 11 wins in the UFC’s heaviest weight class over elite opponents, Overeem has yet to taste championship gold.

Taking a look at the UFC rankings, Overeem is currently ranked No. 7 in the world. The division is currently in a holding pattern as Miocic and Daniel Cormier settle their rivalry with a trilogy match at UFC 252 in August, with Ngannou and Blaydes next in line for the belt. There’s certainly a chance that Overeem could rematch Rozenstruik in his next fight, considering both men are currently without opponents. The possibility also exists of a Ngannou rematch, though considering how lopsided their first fight was perhaps the UFC will shy away from booking that one.

Do you think Alistair Overeem can win the UFC heavyweight title?