Props: MMAWeekly (via Watch Kalib Run)
Quoteworthy:
"I never said he wasn’t fighting in April. What I said was there will be a fight by the end of March or April in K-1, and actually, he did very well in K-1 and he’s got an extremely good contract. Commercial-wise, it’s better for him, and we agreed to this already on K-1, that we will do that fight. After that fight, he will fight in Strikeforce. Two, three times, whatever is available in May, June, July, we don’t care. Think about it, man, he’s broadcast in 150 countries (on K-1). Right now, he’s got more sponsors than he ever had before. In his own country, he had a crazy rating during the Grand Prix, but also on EuroSport and also in Thailand. And this is where the UFC isn’t even broadcast. UFC is not even broadcast in Europe. Nobody knows about the UFC. Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem are gods there. You’re talking about a continent with 280 million people. I understand Americans look at America as the number one country in the world, but we also have stadiums with 20,000 people and broadcast live on TV all over Europe and in a lot of different countries. Worldwide, (Alistair) gained a lot more popularity, financially he got a lot better off, and that doesn’t mean we’re not going to be obliged to our contract with Strikeforce. Yes, he’s going to fight in 2010, and it will not be mid, but it will be earlier in the year. In May, for sure, he will fight in America. It just depends on the date."
Bas Boon, manager for Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, touts the international appeal of his top fighter despite a recent defeat at the hands of Badr Hari in the K-1 WORLD GP 2009 FINAL back on Dec. 5. Still, "Demolition Man" hasn't lost an MMA match in nearly two years -- a win streak that actually began when he submitted Paul Buentello to capture the title back in 2007. The only problem is he hasn't even attempted to defend his title once since that time. Will he ever? And at what point does the new-look Strikeforce strip him of the title?