Ngannou knocked Overeem out inside the first two minutes of the first round, drawing comparisons to the brutal knockout power of a young Mike Tyson in boxing.
It may have seemed there was a cliched changing of the guard took place that night, but Overeem, 37, isn’t ready to give up on his championship dreams.
In his near-two-decades-long career, Overeem has held major world titles in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, including K-1 and Strikeforce belts, but has never held the UFC strap.
After several false starts, he finally got a shot at the UFC title when he faced current champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 203 in September of 2016. The two fought to a Fight of the Night performance, but Miocic scored a knockout victory, keeping the belt around his waist.
Overeem rebounded with back-to-back victories over Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt, but they are both from the same era, so when Overeem lost to Ngannou, the cage door appeared to be quickly closing on his championship aspirations. Not so says “The Rheem.”
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
