Three years ago, if you had asked me who I considered to be the best heavyweight in all of MMA, I would have said Alistair Overeem. It wouldn’t have been a popular opinion. Perhaps my opinion was biased, I have always been a big Overeem fan, but at the time, I believed that Overeem made a strong case for the number 1 spot. Now with Alistair Overeem losing 3 of his last 4 fights and scheduled to face Stefan Struve on December 13 at UFC on Fox 13, I can’t help but reflect on Alistair Overeems fall from grace. Where did he go wrong and at this point in his career can he make a comeback?

I believe that most people would point to Overeem’s failed drug test as the pivotal moment where everything started going wrong for Overeem and it would be hard to argue otherwise. From November 2007 through 2011, Alistair Overeem moved his way to the top of the heavyweight division. He held the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title, won 11 MMA fights 10 of which he won by KO or submission, compiled a 9 and 2 kickboxing record, and won the K-1 World Grand Prix, the most prestigious title in kickboxing. He closed out 2011 by entering the UFC and defeating Brock Lesnar in round 1 with a vicious body kick. On December 20, 2011, right before his fight with Brock Lesnar, Sherdog.com ranked Alistair Overeem as the number 3 Heavyweight in the world. After defeating Brock Lesnar, UFC scheduled him to face then UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. It would be the final hurdle Overeem needed to clear in order to claim the top spot in the division. Only the failed drug test derailed the title fight and sent Overeem on a 14 month layoff.

After the layoff Overeem hasn’t looked the same. As I previously stated, Overeem’s last 4 fights have resulted in 1 win and 3 losses. All of his losses came via knockout, and UFC president Dana White was not pleased with his performance in his win against Frank Mir. Now Overeem faces another pivotal moment in his career. I believe that a loss to Stefan Struve would make it almost impossible for Overeem to make a run to the top of the division. Right now Overeem is ranked 11 in the division and a loss to Struve would probably see Overeem cut from the UFC. On the other hand a win could definitely set Overeem up to make a title run. Alistair Overeem still possesses the ability to beat anyone in the division and with a he few wins he could definitely put himself back in the title picture. So in my opinion a comeback for Overeem isn’t all that ridiculous. I guess we will have to wait and see this Saturday.