UFC on Fox: Would Booking Alistair Overeem be a Mistake?

[WrestlingSmarks News]

For the past 16 hours, speculation has been running rampant on who or what is the major announcement. To make everyone even more crazy, Dana White dropped the hint that the conference call is regarding the first Fox card. By doing that he ensured for the rest of the evening, people would be discussing what could possibly be a big enough matchup for Fox. A name that has constantly come up is Alistair Overeem. We know that he and his management have met with the kind folks at Zuffa. We know that Zuffa has wanted Overeem in the UFC for the past couple of years. And we know that currently, these talks are to bring Overeem to the UFC and not to resign with Strikeforce.

A question that needs to be asked and one that no one wants to discuss is: is putting Alistair Overeem on Fox a mistake? Overeem, for all of his talents, has one big win in MMA since capturing the Strikeforce heavyweight title in 2007. The match was a stinker. In what could have and should have been his big debut for fans, his fight with Fabricio Werdum was awful. Neither fighter wanted to commit and it showed in the fan reception and ratings. Jonathan Snowden of MMA Nation discusses the Overeem dilemma:

Alistair Overeem vs. Frank Mir: Rumors are flying that the UFC has reached terms with Overeem, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. But while the Dutch fighter has great potential as a draw, he's a virtual unknown outside of hardcore circles. Would the promotion really want to risk their reputation by throwing out a fighter America doesn't know and hasn't embraced?

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Jon brings up a fantastic point when he says that no one outside of the internet community really knows about Overeem. What many of us consider a great main event, commercially it could flop. This is a major concern as the first show has to draw big numbers to ensure the relationship between Fox and Zuffa doesn't sour from the word go. In his weekly Mail Bag, Kevin Iole discusses two possibilities:

If there is any way that Brock Lesnar can be healthy enough to fight on Nov. 12, the UFC has to use him in its network TV debut on Fox. The first show out of the box has to be big for the UFC on the network, but most of its top fighters are committed to other bouts. A Lesnar-Frank Mir bout would be perfect for the main event in the UFC’s debut on Fox. If Lesnar isn’t sufficiently recovered from his diverticulitis in time to fight, there is no obvious big-name star who will be ready.

Good news to hear that the UFC is working on a deal with Golden Glory to sign Alistair Overeem to a contract. Overeem would make entertaining matches with several of the top UFC heavyweights.

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Ignoring the fact that the money is greater for PPV than for Fox broadcasts, the UFC wouldn't throw away what could be their biggest trilogy fight for free tv. There are also major rumors that Lesnar's health hasn't been improving and he's being told he needs to retire. But at least Iole is thinking about match ups that target the casual fan.

My opinion is that booking Overeem on Fox would be great if the UFC wanted to say "Thank you" to the hardcore fan base that has kept the sport alive through the good and bad times. They aren't in the "thank you" business and booking an unknown Overeem is a massive risk. I'd love to hear the Overeem announcement today, it would make me giddy. But if we're looking at Fox as the long term cable partner of the UFC and therefore the sport of MMA, we can't be expecting Overeem vs Mir as the main event.