The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 149: Overeem vs. Oleinik
Despite being massively low on name value, the UFC’s second card in Russia – UFC Fight Night 149 – was actually a hugely entertaining one in execution. The show started with a bang, with 4 straight finishes, and despite a bit of a slowdown in the middle with 3 straight decisions, it ended with a wildly entertaining Heavyweight brawl.
Naturally the show wasn’t perfect – few UFC shows are really – but considering what I was expecting coming in, this one was pretty low on bad parts, which for a throwaway European card is a huge plus point.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 149: Overeem vs. Oleinik.
#1 Best: The Reem delivers again
It’s hard to believe that Alistair Overeem has now been in the UFC for the best part of a decade. After a really sticky patch from 2013-2014 that saw him go 1-3, it looked like the former ‘Ubereem’ would end up as a high-level entry in a list of the UFC’s biggest ever busts, but he’s turned that around really impressively and remains one of the most dangerous Heavyweights on the roster despite being in his late 30’s.
Last night’s win over Aleksei Oleinik was another example of that, and the fact that the fight between the two veterans was such great fun made it even better. Oleinik came out super aggressively, throwing wild strikes at Overeem after failing to secure a submission in the opening moments, but the Dutchman managed to stay calm under fire and never looked truly hurt despite ‘The Boa Constrictor’ unloading with everything he had.
Moments later, Overeem turned the tide with a series of brutal knees to the head and body, and when Oleinik went down, ‘The Demolition Man’ sealed the deal with some punches on the ground. Is Overeem still a title contender? I know he lost to Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes pretty badly, but I’d actually say he is, as Heavyweight is so thin and he’s back on a two-fight winning streak.
Post-fight Overeem called out Alexander Volkov – who had to pull out of their initially scheduled fight last night with an injury – and that works for me. For an Overeem fan such as myself though, this was the perfect way to end last night’s show, and it’s great to see the Dutchman continue to stay relevant at the top level.