‘I Fought Lesnar & Miocic in UFC

One of the most decorated heavyweight strikers in MMA history, Alistair Overeem operated at the highest level of the sport for a considerable period, even challenging (unsuccessfully) for the UFC heavyweight championship in 2016.

‘The Demolition Man’ officially retired in 2023 with 67 fights to his name. His record of 47 wins and 19 losses (with one no contest) is particularly impressive when you consider the company he mixed in. The Dutchman shared the cage with the likes of Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum and Frank Mir.

However, his biggest victory came in December 2011 when he stopped former UFC heavyweight titleholder Brock Lesnar inside a round at UFC 141.

Despite that headline-grabbing win, Overeem had to wait almost five years for a crack at the UFC heavyweight crown. When the opportunity came, he was knocked out in the first round by Stipe Miocic at UFC 203 in September 2016.

While that was a hugely disappointing defeat for Overeem, he would suffer his most devastating knockout loss some 15 months later. In a recent interview with talkSPORT, the 44-year-old admitted that he had never been hit harder in his career than when he faced Francis Ngannou at UFC 218 in December 2017.

Francis Ngannou knocking out Alistair Overeem

Overeem was Knocked Unconscious By Ngannou

‘The Predator’ showed off his scary power in their world title eliminator

Ngannou sent Overeem crashing to the canvas with a brutal uppercut in the first round of their clash in Detroit, Michigan. Overeem was out before he hit the ground – and conceded it was the most brutal shot he had ever taken.

“The heaviest puncher ever? Actually, yes. Francis Ngannou. I was gonna attack his base and then made one attack too much. I overcommitted.”

The day after the contest, Overeem paid tribute to Francis’ finishing ability as he took to social media to call the blow “an uppercut from hell”. Confirming to his followers that he had suffered no long-term damage and was “all healthy” following the fight, Overeem admitted that he and his team knew the blow was coming, but could do nothing to stop it.

Overeem went on to go 4-3 in his final seven UFC bouts, including a loss to Alexander Volkov in his final career fight. He would never again find himself in title contention after being blasted out by Ngannou.

Alistair Overeem’s professional MMA record
67 fights	47 wins	19 losses
By knockout	25	15
By submission	17	1
By decision	5	3
No contest	1

Ironically, Ngannou lost the championship fight he earned by laying waste to Overeem (to Stipe Miocic at UFC 220). Remarkably, he also fell to defeat in his next fight (vs Derrick Lewis at UFC 226. Those losses only proved to be temporary setbacks as he won his next six bouts in a row.

As part of that run, he also wrenched the UFC heavyweight belt from Miocic in a rematch, before walking away from the company while still champion. For a while, Francis said farewell to MMA as a whole, too.

In a bold move, he made the transition to professional boxing, when he shocked the world by pushing then-lineal heavyweight champion Fury all the way in his debut bout – losing via controversial split decision, even knocking ‘The Gypsy King’ down. While many others were shocked, Overeem knew from personal experience just how capable Ngannou was.

“Ngannou did great. I mean, he knocked him down. I think did fantastic in that performance. First boxing fight ever and you go the distance, and you knock him down!”

Ngannou next boxing outing wasn’t as impressive, though, as he was badly knocked out by Anthony Joshua. After such a significant loss, Francis was always likely to seek a return to the more familiar surroundings of MMA. His comeback fight in October 2024 saw him blitz Renan Ferreira in quick time.

It’s currently unclear whether Ngannou’s next bout will take place in boxing or MMA. However, whatever he does throughout the rest of his career, he may struggle to match his finish of Overeem for sheer brutality.