Non-Jury Trial Set for March 27 in Alistair Overeem's Alleged Assault Case

[Swinny]

Non-jury trial set for March 27 in Alistair Overeem's alleged assault case
by Steven Marrocco on Mar 14, 2012 at 6:15 pm ET

A Nevada judge will rule on a misdemeanor battery charge brought against Alistair Overeem following an incident in a Las Vegas nightclub over New Year's weekend.

A representative for the Nevada District Attorney's office told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Overeem's non-jury trial is set for March 27 in Las Vegas. Non-jury trials are the state's standard for misdemeanor charges.

If convicted, Overeem faces up to six months in prison and a maximum $1,000 fine. Las Vegas defense attorney David Chesnoff will defend the fighter in court.

According to the "Las Vegas Review-Journal," Overeem was cited by Las Vegas police on Jan. 2 when he allegedly pushed or shoved a woman in the face, "causing her to stagger back." Overeem wasn't technically arrested and instead was summoned to court on Feb. 21, when his trial date was set.

Overeem (36-11 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned a No. 1 contender spot three days earlier when he defeated former champ Brock Lesnar by TKO at UFC 141. He is now expected to fight champ Junior Dos Santos (14-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) for the heavyweight title at UFC 146, which takes place May 26 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

A former champ in Strikeforce, Overeem was signed by the UFC this past September. With his win over Lesnar, he extended his current win streak to 11 fights.

Overeem could be in Las Vegas for a press conference announcing UFC 146 but will not be in attendance at the trial, a source close to his camp said today.

 

[Hoss]

If this trial sees Overeem facing federal punishment of any sort, I have to assume it's going to put a damper on his title shot. Not to say that it won't happen if he gets something as little as a fine, but it definitely isn't going to make Dana giddy to advertise the bout. Hopefully he can escape any charges and put on a show with Dos Santos and continue to make a name for himself.

 

[Swinny]

If this trial sees Overeem facing federal punishment of any sort, I have to assume it's going to put a damper on his title shot. Not to say that it won't happen if he gets something as little as a fine, but it definitely isn't going to make Dana giddy to advertise the bout. Hopefully he can escape any charges and put on a show with Dos Santos and continue to make a name for himself.

I don't think he'll get anything at all for it, judging by everything I've heard this was all blown way out of proportion.

 

[Hoss]

I'm pretty optimistic that things will go his way.