UFC News: Big update on surgery Alistair Overeem underwent after brutal cut to upper lip
UFC's Alistair Overeem was just shy of four seconds away from winning his fight against the Surinamese Heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik before getting knocked down and seemingly out.
It was not only a shocking finish, but the punch tore his upper lip open and it was undoubtedly the most brutal and graphic image of the night. Overeem and many others felt the stoppage was premature. But either way, the Dutchman and his team were quick to exit the Octagon following the brutal scare.
Many wondered what the state of Overeem's lip was after the fight, and according to Ariel Helwani, it's all fine because the Dutchman has undergone a successful plastic surgery to fix his lips. Helwani tweeted, saying:
The freak accident is reminiscent of Robbie Lawler in 2015 when he took on Rory MacDonald in what many considered to be the fight of the year. It was a brutal war that also ended in the fifth round (albeit, a bit earlier than the last four seconds) and after it was all said and done, a brutalized Lawler celebrated with his upper lip completely cut. It just goes to show that you don't "play MMA".
We must give credit to Overeem for handling the loss gracefully even though he had every right to think that the stoppage was a bit premature. It cost him even more so because he was all but guaranteed to win the fight as he was 4-0 in the judges' scorecards up to that point and even if he lost the fifth round and made it through, the victory would have been guaranteed.
We wish him the best and hopes that he comes back stronger than ever. He seems to be aware that his time is running out but has stated his desire to end his career as a UFC Champion.