UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem wants out of his management contract, and he's taking his concerns to court.
According to a report issued today on popular gossip website TMZ.com, Overeem filed suit today in Los Angeles Superior Court against Golden Glory.
Overeem alleges Golden Glory misled him to sign a bad contract – he ceded 35 percent of his pre-tax earnings for management in the deal – and owes him more than $151,000 in back pay. He is asking for a court order to break the contract, the report said.
A stateside rep for Overeem confirmed the lawsuit today to MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). Golden Glory head Bas Boon could not be reached for comment.
Overeem, a former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and K-1 Grand Prix champion who in September signed with the UFC, is suing for unspecified damages. He is a month away from his octagon debut at UFC 141, where he headlines opposite former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar in a five-round non-title bout.
This past month, Overeem announced his split from Golden Glory and confirmed that he had joined the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. He also revealed that he had uncovered his management's alleged misdealings while examining the contract Boon negotiated with the UFC.
"Because Bas wasn't there, I hired a lawyer to go through the contract with me, step by step," Overeem said. "What me and the lawyer found out was that there were details in the contract, which were to my disadvantage and were an advantage to Golden Glory, which were also not explained to me by Golden Glory and particularly by Bas because I had daily contact with him over the phone and over email.
"I think it's the management's duty to explain stuff to the fighter... (and) to negotiate to explain things to me, and clarify things for me, and they were not doing their job. Not only that, it was such a big disadvantage that it also caused a breach in trust. I like to work with people I can trust."
In July, Overeem was cut from his Strikeforce contract in the midst of his participation in the promotion's heavyweight grand prix. UFC president Dana White cited Golden Glory's insistence on routing fighter payments through their company as the reason the fighter was released from the Zuffa-owned company.
Boon later later told MMAjunkie.com he had no issues paying fighters directly. He did, however, threaten legal possible legal action if Overeem did not fulfill the terms of the contract he negotiated.
