UFC 141's Alistair Overeem says new camp is on track at Xtreme Couture
Alistair Overeem has spent the bulk of his MMA career training on home soil in the Netherlands.
Now he's switched things up in advance of what's arguably the biggest fight of his career when he meets Brock Lesnar in the main event of December's UFC 141 event. Instead of training with the fighters of his longtime team Golden Glory, he's in Las Vegas training with Xtreme Couture.
"I'm just finding my way around," Overeem said.
Overeem, a former Strikeforce, DREAM, and K-1 champion, broke from Golden Glory this past month after 12 years in its stable. He is now suing to free himself from a management contract he signed with the MMA team in 2007. Golden Glory representatives have called his suit "scurrilous" and hinted at a countersuit.
A video from Overeem's ongoing web series "The Reem" showed him moving out of Fight and Power Academy in Amersfort, Netherlands, a gym in which he'd trained side by side with other Golden Glory fighters.
"There's been a little bit of a scuffle, but I'm very happy and very proud to now join the UFC family, and I'm ready to get it on," he said.
Overeem was seen at a number of Las Vegas gyms prior to his signing with the UFC, but he chose Xtreme Couture, which is owned by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Heavyweight grappling coach Neil Melanson and former K-1 star Ray Sefo are two heavyweight trainers who work with dozens of pro fighters at the gym.
Despite the abrupt change in environment, Overeem said his new home is working out well. In his split from Golden Glory, the heavyweight complained about a lack of support in finding sparring partners and scheduling his training for fights.
"I have more sparring guys," Overeem said of the difference between his old and new homes. "(I'm) just having a good camp so far."
A little more than a month remains until Overeem (35-11 MMA, 0-0 UFC) steps into the octagon for the first time when he meets Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who returns to action after a second bout of diverticulitis scratched his title eliminator with now-champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131.
Overeem noted that he has "10 times" the experience of Lesnar, a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and WWE professional wrestler. The winner of the bout, which takes place Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, earns the right to meet Dos Santos.
"I'm going to tear this guy apart, piece by piece," Overeem said of Lesnar.
Alistair Overeem has spent the bulk of his MMA career training on home soil in the Netherlands.
Now he's switched things up in advance of what's arguably the biggest fight of his career when he meets Brock Lesnar in the main event of December's UFC 141 event. Instead of training with the fighters of his longtime team Golden Glory, he's in Las Vegas training with Xtreme Couture.
"I'm just finding my way around," Overeem said.
Overeem, a former Strikeforce, DREAM, and K-1 champion, broke from Golden Glory this past month after 12 years in its stable. He is now suing to free himself from a management contract he signed with the MMA team in 2007. Golden Glory representatives have called his suit "scurrilous" and hinted at a countersuit.
A video from Overeem's ongoing web series "The Reem" showed him moving out of Fight and Power Academy in Amersfort, Netherlands, a gym in which he'd trained side by side with other Golden Glory fighters.
"There's been a little bit of a scuffle, but I'm very happy and very proud to now join the UFC family, and I'm ready to get it on," he said.
Overeem was seen at a number of Las Vegas gyms prior to his signing with the UFC, but he chose Xtreme Couture, which is owned by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Heavyweight grappling coach Neil Melanson and former K-1 star Ray Sefo are two heavyweight trainers who work with dozens of pro fighters at the gym.
Despite the abrupt change in environment, Overeem said his new home is working out well. In his split from Golden Glory, the heavyweight complained about a lack of support in finding sparring partners and scheduling his training for fights.
"I have more sparring guys," Overeem said of the difference between his old and new homes. "(I'm) just having a good camp so far."
A little more than a month remains until Overeem (35-11 MMA, 0-0 UFC) steps into the octagon for the first time when he meets Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who returns to action after a second bout of diverticulitis scratched his title eliminator with now-champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131.
Overeem noted that he has "10 times" the experience of Lesnar, a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and WWE professional wrestler. The winner of the bout, which takes place Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, earns the right to meet Dos Santos.
"I'm going to tear this guy apart, piece by piece," Overeem said of Lesnar.
