Alistair Overeem's greatest UFC hits

#2 Debuting in style against Brock Lesnar (2011)

Brock Lesnar wilted under Overeem's striking power at UFC 141

When Overeem was released by StrikeForce – owned at that stage by the UFC’s parent company Zuffa – there were some fears that the Dutchman wouldn’t make it to the Octagon at all. Those fears were quelled in late 2011 when it was announced that ‘The Reem’ had signed with the world’s biggest MMA promotion and would be fighting former Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of the year’s final show.

To say the fight garnered a lot of hype would be an understatement; not only was this a clash of two of the world’s best big men, but it was also a fight that looked like something out of a movie. Lesnar came in as huge and muscular as he’d ever been before, while Overeem – in his full ‘Ubereem’ stage at that point – basically looked like a Greek god. This was indeed a clash of the titans.

And in the end, it was ‘The Reem’ who came out on top – and he made it look relatively easy. Staying on the outside and looking to avoid Lesnar’s takedown, the former StrikeForce champion picked at the former UFC champ with some early strikes before stepping inside to deliver some knees to the body – Lesnar’s apparent weak point after suffering from diverticulitis.

The effect was almost instant – the Dutchman’s strikes had Lesnar doubling over in pain, and once that had happened, the fight was only going one way. Overeem continued to attack the midsection before landing a vicious left kick to the liver, which caused Lesnar to freeze up before collapsing to the ground.

Some follow-up shots sealed the deal, and Overeem had won his UFC debut in style – closing out the era of Lesnar and cementing himself as the new scariest man in the division.