Since the end of 2008, Overeem has been much more focused on his K-1 career, with few MMA bouts of note in recent years. But even in these smaller fights, we see him adapting the K-1 techniques to best serve and improve his MMA game.
In K-1, Overeem's best strike was undoubtedly his big knee. This brutal shot led to the spectacular highlight reel KO of top 10 opponent Ewerton Teixeira in 2009 and Dzevad Poturak in 2010. Overeem delivers this knee from the clinch, with either one or both hands securing his opponent's head. He has successfully brought this knee into his MMA game, most effectively using it to KO the notoriously heavy chinned Kazuyuki Fujita at Dynamite!! 2009. But Overeem has also made adjustments to this strike to make it even more dangerous in MMA.
In K-1, when Reem grabs you in the clinch, you know the knee is coming. In MMA he has more options, and he utilizes those options. Overeem has always had a very strong standing guillotine. One of the ways he secures this choke is by initiating a clinch, bringing his opponent's head down, and then transitioning to the guillotine. By adding this option, Overeem keeps his MMA opponents guessing in the clinch - are they looking to defend the knee or the guillotine, knowing that either one could end the fight?
Alistair also has a third option from the clinch, which is a takedown. Against Brett Rogers we saw Overeem's preferred takedown method, which is to control his opponent's upper body, then wrench the opponent off balance and down to the mat. This technique too has its root in kickboxing, as it is a variation on a style of throw used in Muay Thai, known as a Muay Thai dump. Again, Overeem has adapted the throw to benefit MMA, as in Muay Thai the dump scores, but does not lead to any fighting on the ground. Overeem uses the throw to get his opponent down and set up either ground and pound or submissions. These three options make the clinch of Alistair Overeem a very dangerous place.
The time in K-1 has not only given Overeem new weapons, it has changed his stand-up style. Compare the stand-up of Light Heavyweight Alistair Overeem to today's version and you will see marked differences. He now has a much taller stance that focuses on stand-up. He keeps his hands in tighter for defense. He is more deliberate with his strikes, setting up and choosing each strike and making sure it connects in order to maximize the damage. Finally, between his size and his technique, he has greatly increased the power in all his strikes, and can now really hurt opponents with each punch and kick.
The one question mark in his stand-up game remains his chin. During his Pride days, Overeem's chin was a bit suspect, causing him a number of loses. At Heavyweight, that chin has not really been tested yet. I'm not sure if Fabricio Werdum will be the man to test it, but it's just a matter of time before someone does.
By bringing in these elements from his K-1 career and using them to augment his already solid MMA game, Alistair Overeem has the chance to become one of the sport's very best Heavyweights. On Saturday, he takes a large step towards that goal as he faces Werdum - a man who has made a career out of similarly bringing his superb submission grappling skill into MMA. It's a tough challenge for the K-1 champion, but if he keeps the fight standing, look forward to a display of some of the finest MMA striking in the game today.
SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum