Alistair Overeem

Born in Hounslow, England, Alistair Cees Overeem spent most of his life in Holland. Along with his older brother, Valentijn Overeem, Alistair was brought by his mother to Holland at age 6 after she and their father divorced. Alistair's interest in combat sports began at 15, when Valentijn took him to a gym to learn self-defense. Overeem's first time in combat sports competition happened in a 1997 kick-boxing bout, under K-1 rules. His first professional kick-boxing bout was in March 1999 with a decision win over Paul Hordijk. Another first happened that year: he fought in a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bout that October against Ricardo Fyeet, winning by a first round submission. His second MMA fight happened with Japan's Rings organization. Although he lost the decision to Yuriy Kochkine, he was offered a Rings contract. In his second Rings fight, he defeated Chris Watts by TKO. Overeem had several fights in the Dutch promotion 2 Hot 2 Handle. Later in his first fight with Pride Fighting