Bellator pursuing Alistair Overeem after signing Benson Henderson


Bellator made a big splash yesterday when they announced the signing of former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson. Now it appears that the promotion has set its sites on former Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem.

Overeem has a history with Bellator President Scott Coker. Coker was the man in charge of Strikeforce where he dealt with “Reem” from 2007 to 2011 before the promotion was bought out by the UFC. Overeem went 2-0 in Strikeforce with wins over Paul Buentello, Brett Rogers and future UFC champ Fabrício Werdum.

When he finally arrived in the UFC at UFC 141 Overeem made a splash by knocking out Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately Overeem went 1-3 in his next four fights. After relocating to Albuquerque to train with Greg Jackson “Reem” has won his last three, knocking out former champion Junior dos Santos in December in his last fight on his contract. Should Overeem re-sign with Zuffa he will likely get a title shot or at the least, an eliminator fight with another top contender.


But we have learned through a source close to Bellator that the promotion has made Overeem a very generous offer to sign with them. Scott Coker has offered the former Strikeforce champ a three fight deal that starts in the mid-six figures that has escalators built in after his first fight.

Besides the money, Bellator is also dangling three other carrots in front of the heavyweight to bring him into the fold. The first is that he can have sponsors outside of Reebok that the UFC doesn’t allow. Overeem made a lot of money from sponsors before the Reebok deal took that away last summer. With his name and reputation a lot of companies will be willing to pay up to be associated with Overeem.

Another carrot being dangled in front of Overeem is fighting in Japan. Bellator has a relationship with Rizin who is run by former PRIDE boss, Nobuyuki Sakakibara. “Reem” fought in Japan numerous times and is a big draw there. If Overeem signs with Bellator he could potentially fight overseas, which brings us to carrot #3…

Fedor Emelianenko is currently signed to Rizin. Overeem has expressed an interest in fighting Fedor in Japan. The two men were huge draws in PRIDE but never crossed paths. An Overeem vs Fedor fight would be big for a co-promoted by Bellator and Rizin. It’s a fight for his legacy and would also a be a big payday for a 35 year old fighter who may not have too many year left in the sport.

Overeem hasn’t made a decision yet but he does have options. The UFC may not want to match the money Bellator is putting up and be willing to let him walk away. But with Coker signing one of their former champions Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White might decide to break the bank for the dynamic heavyweight.

Stay tuned this could get interesting