Alistair Overeem, a former Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight champion, has made the huge leap to pro wrestling. He decided to make the switch after more than two decades as a professional MMA fighter.
What is surprising is that the former UFC star will make his debut in the main event.
On June 4, the Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES) will have its first-ever event in Nottingham, England. The main event will feature a fight between Overeem and Adam Scherr.
Overeem used to be quite open about his distaste for everything pro wrestling. Last year, Overeem declared that pro wrestling is “fake, lame” and “stupid” in an interview with The MMA Hour. Nonetheless, he has become a part of it.
“The thing is with that whole wrestling thing, I watched it when I was 8, 9, 10 years old,” Overeem revealed. “Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, huge fan of those guys. Honky Tonk Man. Great, funny. Andre The Giant. I stopped watching after that, so I’m not watching since [1992, 1993, 1994].”
“And just recently, I started looking again on YouTube, and oh my God, this stuff is lame. It’s just lame what these guys are doing. It’s fake. It’s lame. It’s stupid.
“It’s lame. It’s not even a sport. It’s just lame. It’s bad acting. It’s just lame. Sorry for all the fans of WWE, but I’m just being honest.”
“I’m just giving my opinion. Free country, right? I think it’s lame, and because I hadn’t seen it for 20 years. I never watched Brock fight. I never watched CM Punk fight. I knew they were from WWE.”
Overeem’s most recent MMA bout was at UFC Fight Night 184. In the match, he lost to Alexander Volkov by TKO.
Overeem hasn’t won since 2020. It seems that the 42-year-old has been considering retiring from MMA for a long time.