(Video courtesy of TheScore)

Strikeforce play-by-play commentator and MMA reporter Mauro Ranallo caught up with Dana White following yesterday’s UFC on FOX 1 press conference in Los Angeles and as usual, the always outspoken UFC president had a lot to say.

Check out the brass tacks of the interview after the jump.

(Cor Hemmers and Bas Boon minutes before they eyeballed their share of Alistair’s bag of K-1 purse money, you know, back when he still got it.)

TMZ is reporting that Alistair Overeem filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court today against Golden Glory — the management team he recently split from that handled his business affairs, not the fight team they are affiliated with.

Alistair Overeem was on MMAFighting.com’s The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani Monday afternoon and the former Strikeforce heavyweight fighter, who many speculated would be joining King’s MMA in Huntington Beach, Calif. after splitting with Golden Glory in the summer, revealed that he has instead decided to relocate to Las Vegas, Nev. where he will train at Xtreme Couture.

Although he wouldn’t reveal too much about the change in camps on the show, “The Demolition Man” gave more details of his decision to train stateside and what was behind his split with Bas Boon and company in the following episode of The Reem documentary, which was released minutes ago.

Check it out after the jump.

(They should have included a can of soda for size comparison.)

With Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem, the UFC will arguably be presenting the most dynamic wrestler vs. striker battle that the heavyweight division has ever seen — but if you really want to hook the casual fans, it’s a lot easier to say “gawd damn these sons-a-bitches are huuuuuge!”

Which they are, of course. This might be the first time that Lesnar will look out-sized in the cage. And after Brock’s year-long illness layoff, Alistair isn’t exactly the ideal return opponent. But hey, this is MMA, anything can happen, etc.

(We’re guessing Brock is off of the Jack’s Links and Coors Light)

It looks like Roy Nelson isn’t the only UFC heavyweight who could stand to drop down a weight class. Unless they used some trick camerawork to make former WWE and UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar look smaller for this new WWE 12 video game promo for some unknown reason, the formerly massive 34-year-old Webster, South Dakota native has lost considerable mass since his last bout against Cain Velasquez a year ago.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/WWEGames)

Either his his reemerging diverticulitis caused him to lose weight or he has focused more on his cardio this time around. Whatever the reason is for his dramatically leaner look, hopefully his strength isn’t depleted from the transformation or else he could be in for a long (or short) night against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on December 30.

Check out the comparison photos after the jump.

(“I would have picked Joey Beltran or Pat Barry but they both just fought.”)

If you’ve been following the story on other MMA websites — and I don’t know why you would be since we thought you were our bros — Fabricio Werdum was rumored to be headed back to the UFC, but then he sort of denied the rumors and sort of didn’t by saying he couldn’t talk about it. Well, “Vai Cavalo” may have let the cat out of the bag that he’s Octagon-bound today since he’s now calling out UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub — an interesting choice for a guy who beat Fedor Emelianenko and went to a decision against Alistair Overeem in his past two bouts.

(Image via TheCheapSeats)

By Anton Gurevich

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem spoke to FightStar TV about his upcoming bout with Brock Lesnar, which will also mark the Dutchman’s debut inside the Octagon. According to Overeem, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion will not be able to get out of Round 1, despite being “a strong guy.”

The Demolition Man is currently in the middle of his training camp for UFC 141, which will take place on December 30, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Visit Lowkick.blitzcorner.com to watch Overeem’s latest interview about his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar.

“Look into my eyes, Keith Kizer…look deep into my eyes. You are getting very sleepy. You hate drug tests...” (Photo: ESPN)

Chael Sonnen has clearly distanced himself from his peers in the art of the interview. His sound bites, validity aside, are second to none. Perhaps gearing up for his hosting duties at next month’s ‘Fighters Only World MMA Awards”, Sonnen joined Jon Anik and Kenny Florian on last night’s episode of “MMA Live”. As expected, Chael did not disappoint, and we’ve got the highlights…

Host Jon Anik asks if Carlos Condit, having taken the title fight on short notice, has actually caught a break with GSP’s injury in that he’ll now have more time to prepare for his opponent and a five round affair (video) :

“I don’t think so, and I don’t think this fight’s going to come back for quite some time. Listen, if you’re the champion, you remain champion until you lose the title. If you’re the number one contender, you absolutely are not ingrained in any type of stone. As a matter of fact, not only do I believe he has lost this opportunity, I believe the winner of Diaz-BJ Penn will get the next opportunity against GSP.”

United Glory announced today that it will be postponing its planned October “World Series” event until December and that the first show of the 2011-2012 kickboxing and MMA tournament, which will happen in Moscow, will feature Golden Glory standouts Semmy Schilt, Sergei Kharitonov, Siyar Bahadurzada and Errol Zimmerman.

(Look at Brock hiding out up there so he doesn’t get hit. Art really does imitate life.)

Sometimes the best highlights and promos are the ones made by fans of the sport. Promotions tend to tell you what they think you should be excited about whereas fans just seem to know what is exciting.

Case in point, the UFC 141: Overeem vs. Lesnar trailer below from our friends who produce “The Reem” documentary series. If you saw the latest episode of the show, you’ve already seen this spot, but it’s worth re-watching even if you have.

It’s a toss-up whether this fight or the upcoming championship bout between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez on Fox is the more heavily anticipated heavyweight tilt, but no matter which one you’re most looking forward to, this video should get you pumped for Overeem vs. Lesnar, or horsemeat vs. beef jerky as we like to call it.

Check it out after the jump.

(Props: thereem.com)

In the latest episode of Alistair’s Overeem‘s web documentary “The Reem,” our hero takes a little business trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas to see if America might be a good place to live someday. By the time he leaves, he has starred in a music video, met porn legend Ron Jeremy, beat up Antoni Hardonk for old time’s sake, watched two of his Golden Glory teammates kick ass at the first Muay Thai Premiere League event, bought a new suit, and signed a UFC contract to fight Brock Lesnar. That’s what you call efficiency. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ClinchGear)

In a recent interview Dana White did with 5thRound.com, the UFC president clarified that Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson will now be fighting exclusively for the UFC, which has led to even more speculation about the future of the promotion that was bought by Zuffa earlier this year. Since acquiring Strikeforce the UFC has picked clean the lion’s share of the promotion’s marquee talent, including Henderson and two of its other six remaining champions, Nick Diaz and Alistair Overeem.

A compelling light heavyweight matchup between former IFL champion Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko and rising star Alexander Gustaffson has just been booked for UFC 141. The match was originally intended to transpire at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, but Matyushenko was forced to pull out due to a last minute injury. Matt Hamill stepped in for “The Janitor” and was subsequently beat into retirement by Gustaffson, so it’s fair to say that Matyushenko has one of his toughest tests to date ahead of him. Well, other than that one guy, which I’m pretty sure was a fluke.

(The team during easier times.)

According to Golden Glory head Bas Boon, fences have been mended between the UFC and his management group and fight team — so much so that the promotion is bringing back heavyweight John Olav Einemo and is in discussions to sign K-1 standout Siyar Bahadurzada as well.

“John Olaf Einemo is now back with the UFC and Siyar Bahadurzada just got offered a UFC contract,” Boon wrote in an email received by CagePotato earlier today.

The email went on to state that Golden Glory’s relationship with the UFC is good and that contrary to media speculation, neither side is guilty of any wrongdoing during the recent negotiations to sign former Golden Glory star Alistair Overeem to a contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I want to make the following statement to clear up any speculation.The UFC did nothing wrong and neither did Golden Glory management – when signing up Alistair Overeem with the UFC. It is public knowledge how the UFC does business,” Boon explained. “ALL correspondence between the UFC and Golden Glory was also shared/CC’d to Alistair Overeem who finally made a decision to sign the agreements. There will be a lot of rumors like in thet recent past when 4 Golden Glory fighters were released from the UFC and Strikeforce and that was the so-called end of GG’s relationship with the UFC. Not long after this rumor Golden Glory made a mega deal with Alistair Overeem signing with the UFC.”

(Full video of yesterday’s UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos press conference, via YouTube.com/UFC)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

- UFC 141: Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem Winner on Dec. 30 Earns Heavyweight Title Shot (MMA Mania)

- We Know You Want to Watch This Video of The Korean Zombie and Arianny Celeste on a Korean Game Show (MiddleEasy)

- Dana White: Dan Henderson Signed Exclusive UFC Contract, Unsure About Strikeforce Belt (5thRound)

- 4 Reasons Jon Jones Will Destroy Rampage Jackson at UFC 135 (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux Set for Dec. 17 Strikeforce Card (MMA Fighting)

- Exclusive UFC on FOX Press Conference Photo Gallery (LowKick)

- A Summary of Bas Rutten’s Excellent Interview With Rampage Jackson (FightOpinion)

- Will UFC 135 Be the Last Fight for Matt Hughes? (NBC Sports MMA)

- Diaz Reportedly Losing Seven Figures Due to UFC 137 Re-Booking (MMA Payout)

- Worst MMA Foul Ever – Takeo Shiina Shows Floyd Mayweather How It’s Done (TheFightNerd)

- Kenny Florian: “I Think I Do Everything Well” (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Greatest TUF Contributions of All Time (MMA Convert)

Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem made a shocking announcement via Twitter today that he has decided to part ways with his longtime team and management at Golden Glory, citing “differences that [led] to a breach of trust” as the cause of the split. Although he didn’t mention any one incident, it’s likely that the recent rift between Golden Glory and Zuffa that saw Overeem and a handful of his teammates including former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and former UFC heavyweight John Olaf Einemo released within a week of one another was at least part of the reason for his departure from the Dutch kickboxing-based team.

“I would like to make a statement regarding the recent news of the separation from my long-time management Golden Glory. As with any relationship, there are good times and bad times – you have your common ground and your differences. As with any relationship, you have trust,” Overeem wrote. “When differences lead to a breach of trust, there’s no turning back and no way to continue a positive, working relationship. I don’t air my dirty laundry. I would appreciate the respect regarding my privacy to not disclose any further details on this matter. Again, I would like to thank team Golden Glory for all the years we worked together and wish them success for the future.”

(Going sleeveless next to Alistair must be a humbling experience, huh Fez?)

First of all, no, we aren’t big LMFAO fans and that’s not how we discovered this little gem. It was brought to our attention by a Danish reader named Jacob Hansen who sent us a link to the video.

Now that we have that out of the way, we want answers how this strange pairing came to be. Did LMFAO put out a call for the scariest dude on the beach in L.A. that day and Alistair just happened to be chillin’ there with Handy Manny? There’s got to be an explanation. Until then, just take in the bizarre clip and wonder what they told “The Demolition Man” to act like for the shoot. Points for noticing Wilmer’s finger-snapping nod to MJ’s “Beat It” vid at the end.

If you can stomach listening to the song that accompanies this thing, check out the video after the jump.

(Props: ShootMediaTV via MMAMania)

It’s such an overused MMA cliche that it’s bordering on CagePotato Ban status. But in this situation, we’ll allow it. Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar will be spending 25 minutes in the cage together on December 30th, and the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ tells Shoot Media that he doesn’t see the fight going to the judges:

“I’m going to do what I do best. I expect him to do what he does best. This fight is not going to go the distance, that’s one thing for certain. Someone is going to get beat up. I’m going to do my best to make sure it’s not me.”

Overeem probably didn’t expect his last match against Fabricio Werdum to go the distance either, but sometimes this weird sport will surprise you. Still, a brutal finish does seem like the most likely outcome here. And according to the oddsmakers, Overeem will probably be the guy to get it. Agree or disagree?

(“You’re shitting me, I get to leapfrog the line to a fight with Fitch?”)

Jon Fitch wanted a title shot. Instead, the 23-3-1 (1 NC) UFC welterweight fighter will get another “lose-lose situation” bout against Johny Hendricks (11-1). The news of the bout, which is said to be verbally agreed to by both sides for UFC 141 on Friday December 30 in Las Vegas, was first reported by ESPN.

Should Fitch lose the bout, there’s a pretty good chance his long-awaited second title shot would likely be put on hold much longer than the two years he’s already waited thus far. If he beats Hendricks, who is 2-1 in his last three outings, he likely won’t move up in the rankings, but at least he’ll be keeping busy, I guess.

(Don’t feel bad, Todd — that’s still 18 more seconds than we would have lasted.)

After four years of whipping heavyweights around the world, Alistair Overeem has finally signed with the UFC, and will fight Brock Lesnar on December 30th. (*Pause for happy-dance*) Though Overeem has more submission victories on his MMA record than knockouts (19 compared to 14), the Demolition Man has become infamous for the destructive power of his fists and knees — which he’s also showcased to brutal effect during his parallel career in K-1. So in honor of his new gig as a UFC fighter, we decided to rank our ten favorite Alistair Overeem knockouts of all time. Enjoy, and let us know your personal favorite in the comments section…

#10: Alistair Overeem vs. Lee Tae-Hyun
DREAM.4, 6/15/08

Overeem got an easy draw for his DREAM debut — South Korean ssireum wrestler Lee Tae-Hyun, who came into the fight with a 1-1 MMA record. Thirty-six seconds later, Tae-Hyun had a 1-2 record and a fresh concussion.

#9: Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers
Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery, 5/15/10

In his first Strikeforce heavyweight title defense in two-and-a-half years, Overeem completely outclassed the Grim, ragdolling him just part the one-minute mark, then smashing Rogers with ground-and-pound until the challenger crumbled.

(“I’ve always wanted your autograph.” Alistair Overeem signs his new UFC contract in Lorenzo Fertitta’s office. Props: bawzzzz)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

- Alistair Overeem Was Offered Immediate Title Shot Before Accepting Brock Lesnar Fight (MMA Fighting)

- UFC 135: Matt Hughes vs Josh Koscheck official for Sept. 24 in Denver (MMA Mania)

- Top 10 Worked Shoot-Fights in Japanese Pro Wrestling (TheFightNerd)

- MMA Comedy Gold: Interviewer ‘Skippy’ (AKA Ed Bassmaster) Discusses UFC 133 Experience, Shouts Out CagePotato (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- American Top Team Offering a Year of All-Expenses-Paid Training for Middleweights and Above (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto Meets Octagon Newbie Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on FOX 1 (5thRound)

- WWE Network coming in 2012 (MMA Payout)

- Dan Henderson Wants Jones vs. Rampage Winner, Says Rashad Evans Can Wait (LowKick)

- Your Cubicle Desperately Needs a Foot-Tall ‘MMA Alien’ Collectible (MiddleEasy)

- Lorenzo Fertitta on UFC Fighter Salaries: “All These Keyboard Warriors Have no Idea What They’re Talking About” (FightOpinion)

- Book Review: Stitch Duran’s ‘From the Fields to the Garden’ (MMA Convert)

- Ariel Helwani’s Official MMA Rankings (NBC Sports MMA)

According to a new LA Times report, a heavyweight superfight between former UFC champion Brock Lesnar and former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem has been booked to headline the UFC’s end-of-year show, December 30th in Las Vegas. The winner of the five-round feature will likely be the next in line to challenge for the UFC heavyweight title against the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos.

Overeem reportedly finalized his contract with the UFC earlier today. As he told the Times: ”Brock is a big name, a dangerous guy, and this is a dream matchup. Brock’s a big guy, an exciting wrestler with his takedowns. I want to see this fight myself. Overall, I’m a different fighter. A striker, athletic, big. These are going to be two big trucks going at it on a collision course.”

The UFC announced today that it will be holding an impromptu media conference call tomorrow at 1:00 pm ET, during which Dana White is expected to make a “major announcement.” It didn’t take long for the UFC president to reveal via his favorite communication channel, Twitter, that the announcement will be the two main event combatants in the promotion’s inaugural show on Fox which will also feature a featherweight scrap between Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza.

Some are hypothesizing that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who was dropped by the promotion last month for what Zuffa termed as “an issue with his management team” Golden Glory, will make up half of the bout and that his opponent will either be Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin or Frank Mir.

(Anderson Silva is brought to tears by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s win at UFC 134. Props: Gesias)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

- Dana White Still Open to Signing Alistair Overeem (NBC Sports MMA)

- Ryan Jimmo predicts a TKO against Sokoudjou at MFC 31 on Oct. 7 (MMA Mania)

- Exclusive Photos From Fight Rehearsals on “Warrior” Film (TheFightNerd)

- Postcards From Rio, Part III: Fight Night Musings From Beer-Soaked Press Row (MMA Fighting)

- Exclusive Interview With Cult MMA Documentarist Genghis Con (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Sanchez Says he Is a New Man and His Partying Days Are Over (MiddleEasy)

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Won’t Retire, Says He’d Love to Fight Frank Mir Next (LowKick)

- ProElite 1 Fight Videos: Grove vs. Riggs, Arlovski vs. Lopez (5thRound)

- Dana White on Insensitive Comments & Gay Slurs Said by Fighters: “This Is the Fight Business, Man.” (FightOpinion)

- The UFC on Fox: It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby (MMA Convert)

- Strikeforce GP Semifinals Conference Call Highlights (Five Ounces of Pain)

- UFC 134 Rio – Payout Perspective (MMA Payout)

(Video courtesy of YouTube/federalpremiumammo)

Well, it looks like Brock Lesnar has recovered from his latest diverticulitis flare-up. The former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion’s sponsor Federal Premium Ammo released the video above of Lesnar out killing vicious prairie dogs with high-powered rifles while laughing like a maniac and chewing on Jack’s Links jerky. So much for his illness making him a kinder, gentler Brock who eats healthier.

(Deja vu all over again all over again: Frankie and Gray strike a familiar pose at the UFC 136 press conference. Photo via MMAMania)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

- Nate Marquardt Calls BJ Penn a Cry Baby Idiot Pothead (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- ‘UFC 136: Edgar vs Maynard 3′ Conference Call Highlights (MMA Mania)

- Shawn Tompkins’ Sudden Death Leaves ‘Huge Void’ in Las Vegas Fight Scene (MMA Fighting)

- ‘UFC Undisputed 3′ Gameplay Trailer (LowKick)

- Fight Nerd Cinema: South Korea’s ‘Champion’ Movie Review (TheFightNerd)

- Underrated Joseph Benavidez Awaits Another Shot (NBC Sports MMA)

- Dana White: Yushin Okami is Best Fighter to Ever Come From Japan (5thRound)

- Start This Morning Off by Watching Skinny Kids Get Beat up by Alistair Overeem (MiddleEasy)

- Jon Fitch Cleared for Competition, UFC 139 Match Against Hendricks Rumored (Five Ounces of Pain)

- David Williams: A Statistical Look at Fedor Emelianenko’s Place in MMA History (FightOpinion)

- Brazilian Reporter Gifts Chael Sonnen a Brazilian Flag (MMA Convert)

- CNN to Air Replays of ‘Mayweather-Ortiz 24/7′ (MMA Payout)

(Surprised they didn’t call this one “Beauty and the Beast.”)

On this day in MMA history two years ago Strikeforce held it’s first event headlined by a women’s championship fight. Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, which featured a bout between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the inaugural Strikeforce Women’s middleweight (145 pound) championship, took place on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

(Video: NBC Sports)

Ten days ago today, Marloes Coenen hopped out of the shower to the sounds of a ringing phone and the shocking news that she, Valentijn Overeem, and John Olav Einemo would be joining teammate Alistair Overeem in the unemployment line. For the record, I’m not entirely sure about the shower part, but that’s how I like to envision it going down. Just as the whole he said/they said battle between Dana White and Team Golden Glory seemed to be heating up, the Pinkberry smudged door to the Zuffa offices may be creeping back open to the Netherlands-based team.

Dana White broke Ariel Helwani off a few minutes of his precious time to talk about a myriad of subjects, most interesting of which was his reaction to Golden Glory manager Bas Boon‘s public desire to meet all of Zuffa’s concerns, including direct payments to fighters and an exclusive contract with Alistair Overeem: “Well that’s awesome. If that’s the true story and that’s what he said, sounds like we can make a deal then…If Bas Boon is saying that this is the way we can do it, then we can absolutely, positively make a deal and we can get this ball rolling again.”

Though he appeared willing to move beyond whatever was behind the mass-firing, Dana didn’t relent from his position that the cuts were simply a matter of different business practices between the parties and nothing more: “I don’t give a shit what they tweet, what they take pictures of, or what they say, they fucking know exactly how it worked and we would not do it that way.”

After the jump, it turns out that Overeem has not been officially released by Strikeforce after all.

(Aleks looks like he’s coming off of a particularly bad vodka bender in that photo)

Alex Emelianenko revealed over the weekend that he will face his next inexperienced opponent October 28 in Poland. The younger brother of Fedor Emelianenko confirmed the news with FightCard.pl that he will take on Tomasz Nowak (2-0 MMA, 27-4 kickboxing) at an event called Strefa Walk.

This past week has been a wild ride for Golden Glory fighters, one that they’d likely rather get off at this point. With the exception of Strikeforce HWGP competitor Sergei Kharitonov, Zuffa purged its rosters of the Netherlands-based camp, starting with Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. Last night “The Demolition Man” joined Inside MMA to give his side of the tale.

Things start off as many would imagine: with Zuffa/Forza management looking like unreasonable assholes. Overeem repeats that he was promised an October date for the second round of the tournament, and when injuries prevented him from competing a month earlier than planned he was removed from the tournament. From there he says the conversation deteriorated:

“Well then the communication harshened a little bit. It was like, ‘If you don’t compete in the tournament then you’re going to be cut from Strikeforce entirely.’ So, that was really like a threat. So I [said], ‘Then go ahead and cut me].’ And they went along and cut me.”

That all sounds pretty cut and dry; he was told to jump, and when he refused he was punished unfairly. As he goes on, however, we see that there was more at play here than petty vindictiveness.

After the jump: More from Overeem on why he was released, and Dana White explains Golden Glory’s management demands and GOES OFF on Fedor supporters.