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I guess when you talk as much trash leading into a fight as Alistair Overeem does, you better make sure to back it up.

Otherwise, the “haters” are all going to come out.

Take Ramon Dekkers for example. He is a former coach of Overeem’s when he was with Golden Glory. The eight-time Muay Thai champion had some choice words for his former pupil following his loss to Antonio Silva this past weekend.

Alistair Overeem I thought we’ve teached him to take a beat like a man….not like a BITCH! twitter.com/diamonddekkers…

— ramon dekkers (@diamonddekkers) February 5, 2013

Overeem called out Silva in the days leading up to the contest, and Silva made sure to make him back in the third. “Bigfoot” caught him up against the fence and was relentless, firing off several right hands that knocked the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion out on his feet.

It looks like Alistair Overeem’s next fight is going to come against his former team and management Golden Glory, not Junior dos Santos.

Overeem has been reluctant to speak about the situation with Golden Glory since their surprising split late last year, but now that the Brock Lesnar fight is behind him, he is ready to start talking. His attorneys at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP issued the following press release yesterday explaining Overeem’s stance on the situation and his intentions moving forward.

“[Alistair] has avoided comment up to now for many reasons. First, Alistair believes that the split between himself and Golden Glory should be kept between the parties. Although he has been tempted to expose ongoing problems with Golden Glory’s business, its poor relationship with some of its remaining fighters, and the deep betrayal he has experienced in recent years, he has chosen not to air the specifics of those facts.

“Second, Alistair was singularly focused on his fight with Brock Lesnar. Third, Alistair does not want to disrupt Golden Glory’s ongoing business operations. Fourth, Alistair believes that commenting on the litigation lacks professionalism. Golden Glory continues to take action by press release, through public comment and in the litigation in an apparent attempt to derail Alistair’s career.

“Now that Alistair has defeated Brock Lesnar, he feels compelled to speak up. You will hear from Alistair on many of these topics directly. We can say that Alistair and his legal team are very confident in the legal positions he has taken or will take in the California and Nevada litigation. Alistair is looking forward to having a judge or jury determine the merits of his position in this litigation.

“Although overtures regarding resolution of the lawsuits have been made by Golden Glory, Alistair believes it is important to see this matter to conclusion, not just for himself, but for other Golden Glory fighters, the UFC and its fans.”

It’s pretty clear at this point that neither party is going to back down, and unfortunately, it’s probably going to get pretty ugly as disputes over money typically do. All I know is it’s a confusing, complicated mess and I’d hate to be the judge who’s tasked with sorting it all out.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Alistair Overeem received some good news following his victory over Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. That big check he was supposed to get for demolishing Brock Lesnar? He was actually going to get it.

If you’re wondering why he wouldn’t, then you probably missed the news right before the fight that his former management Knock Out Investments/Golden Glory obtained a pre-judgement to hold his UFC 141 purse in an escrow account until the courts figured out if they were rightfully owed a portion of it. Well, it turns out the wage garnishment was contingent upon KOI/GG posting a $200,000 surety bond and for whatever reason, they did not, so Overeem got paid.

ESPN’s Josh Gross has the details.

A Nevada court, citing an existing and enforceable pact between Overeem and Knock Out Investments, a fighter management group, decreed that UFC parent company Zuffa “is directed to issue a check from the portion of the purse owed to Overeem in the respective amount of $241,285,49, made payable to Knock-Out Investments; and that the Nevada State Athletic Commission shall hold” the check pending further order of the court.

That order was contingent on KOI, also known as Golden Glory, posting a $200,000 surety bond by fight time.

Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer told ESPN.com it was his understanding that the bond was not posted, therefore Overeem received a check for $385,714.28 — his bout fee and win bonus. Overeem will also earn a signficiant portion of UFC 141′s pay-per-view proceeds.

The funny thing was Overeem didn’t even know about it until one of the reporters at the post-fight press conference asked him about it. He kept his emotions in check like always, but you could tell he wasn’t happy. I can only imagine the sense of relief he felt when he got word that was getting paid after all.

It’s only a small victory though. The lawsuit is still pending which means he may still have to give some of it up to his former team.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Update: KOI’s lead attorney Roderick J. Lindblom comments on the latest development. Looks like they’re targeting Overeem’s pay-per-view bonus now.

“This was a short-term possibility that KOI and Golden Glory were prepared for,” stated Roderick J. Lindblom, who’s representing the fighter’s former management team, in a release issued Monday evening. “Seeking the initial writ was merely the first step in a long-term litigation strategy that KOI and Golden Glory will prosecute in Nevada. The writ of attachment remedy remains fully available to my clients and will be sought as to Mr. Overeem’s future pay-per-view payout, which we expect will be more lucrative than his initial fight purse.”

“Rest assured, now that we have had the opportunity to troubleshoot complex international hurdles – and without a long holiday weekend to contend with – future writs of attachment will be utilized to ensure that Mr. Overeem makes good on the commissions owed to my clients and his Golden Glory training team, who helped him achieve the success he now enjoys,” Lindblom stated.

If Alistair Overeem isn’t already a wealthy man, he’s going to be after he gets done fighting for the UFC.

Well, that’s if lawsuits and legal fees don’t eat away at all the money he stands to make fighting for the sport’s top organization. The financial details of Overeem’s UFC contract were revealed today in a lawsuit his former management KOI/Golden Glory filed against Overeem in Clark County, Nevada this week claiming that they are entitled to 30% of his earnings.

ESPN’s Josh Gross filed the initial report detailing his contract.

In the complaint filed against Overeem and Lam Thursday, KOI alleges that “subsequent to the execution of the UFC contracts, Overeem made numerous public statements that KOI/GG breached its fiduciary to him and that there was ‘mistrust.’ Overeem claimed that Zuffa’s CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta told him in no uncertain terms that: there is a one million dollar ‘signing bonus;’ that the one million dollar signing bonus was Overeem’s money and that KOI/GG was ‘ripping him off’ and ‘stealing from him.’”

…

Pursuant to the terms of Overeem’s UFC contract as outlined in the complaint, he is guaranteed a “bout fee” of $264,285 on Dec. 30. Should he defeat Lesnar, Overeem would receive an additional $121,428 “win bonus.” Overeem is also in line to receive a $2 pay-per-view bonus per viewer, “for all revenues received by UFC-Zuffa for telecast of the Lesnar fight in the United States, Canada or over the internet in excess of $500,000.”

Terms of the contract also guarantee Zuffa would pay Overeem $1 million spread out evenly over the first three fights of his deal, which is potentially good for up to eight bouts. Overeem is also expected to receive intellectual property payments for worldwide marketing of his likeness or image.

Not that you need me to spell it out for you, but that’s BIG money folks.

Here’s KOI/GG’s lead counsel, Roderick J. Lindblom, explaining why they filed the lawsuit.

“The suit was filed for a very simple reason,” Roderick J.Lindblom, legal counsel for KOI and Golden Glory, told ESPN.com. “Alistair Overeem has been part of Golden Glory for 11 years. Knockout Investment has a management contract with him. The management agreement was from 2007 until 2012. They negotiated one of the largest MMA agreements in the history of the sport for him. And within days he accused them of some pretty shady stuff that is not true. And he has walked away from his contract.”

It’s unclear how all of this is going to shake out, especially with the lawsuit Overeem filed against them last month, however a judge did rule today to hold Overeem’s UFC 141 purse in escrow until they get this mess sorted out.

Despite all the legal drama, Overeem’s representative Collin Lam maintains that Alistair remains 100% focused on Brock Lesnar.

On a side note, Brock Lesnar will make a flat $400,000 fee tonight plus whatever he makes in pay-per-view bonuses.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Good news, John Olav Einemo is back in the UFC.

MMA Fighting reported the news earlier today along with word that Einemo will be back in action at UFC on FOX 2 in a heavyweight bout against Mike Russow.

Shortly after losing in his UFC debut in a bout that won Fight of the Night at UFC 131, John Olav Einemo was surprisingly cut from the UFC. As it turned out, Einemo was part of the fallout from an ongoing business issue between his Golden Glory management team and the UFC.

Now, it appears a resolution has been struck, as Einemo is back with the promotion and will take on Mike Russow as part of the upcoming UFC on FOX 2 card on January 28, MMA Fighting has learned.

Sources confirmed that both sides have verbally agreed to the bout.

It’s unclear if Einemo left Golden Glory like Alistair Overeem did or if Golden Glory managed to patch things up with Zuffa, but if it’s the latter, here’s to hoping other innocent GG fighters caught in the crossfire like Marloes Coenen get the opportunity to return to the Zuffa fold as well.

Image via CombatLifestyle.com

TMZ, of all outlets, has more details on Alistair Overeem’s beef with his former Golden Glory management.

According to the report published earlier this evening, Overeem has filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court against Golden Glory, claiming they owe him over $150,000.

According to the lawsuit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Overeem stupidly agreed to give his managers 35% of his pre-tax income in exchange for their services — but the managers failed him miserably.

Overeem claims the managers have refused to pay him more than $151,000 in earnings — including a bigtime bonus he was supposed to rake in when he signed with the UFC.

Overeem is suing for unspecified damages — and he wants a court order to break his contract with the management team ASAP.

35% sounds pretty ridiculous, but LiverKick.com points out that Golden Glory provided “free” training, which can be costly for fighters, and 25-30% isn’t unheard of in Europe. In other words, it may not be “the worst MMA contract ever” as TMZ sensationalized it, but clearly Overeem wasn’t happy with at least something in the contract since he left the team. My first question is did Overeem leave the team because they wouldn’t pay him his $150k or did GG withhold the $150k because they believe he breached their contract?

There’s definitely a lot of questions and surely more to come as both sides give their side of the story. We’ll keep you posted.

Image via SiamFightMag.com

Update: Justin Klein, aka The Fight Lawyer, has a breakdown of the lawsuit if you are so inclined.

Update: This situation is going to get worse before it gets better. Golden Glory and KOI, the other defendant named in Overeem’s lawsuit, have fired back with a lawsuit of their own. They claim Overeem owes them commissions from past fights and sponsorship deals and believe his lawsuit was nothing more than a preemptive strike which suggests they were going to sue regardless. A statement was issued to MMA Junkie from their counsel.

“This lawsuit is a preemptive action on the part of Mr. Overeem and his counsel in response to KOI’s recent notification to Mr. Overeem of numerous violations by him of his management agreement with KOI, including but not limited to his failure to pay commissions for past fights and endorsement deals secured by KOI and Golden Glory.

“KOI and Golden Glory are respected organizations committed to securing the best fight deals and training for their team of fighters. Mr. Overeem’s continued suggestions to the contrary are scurrilous and will be vigorously defended in the proper forum.

“Alistair Overeem is a striker – he wants to throw the first punch. But this misguided decision to file a lawsuit as a preemptive strike leaves Mr. Overeem vulnerable in ways our clients wished to avoid.”

With Golden Glory behind him, Alistair Overeem has made the decision to train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas for his upcoming UFC debut against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. As Overeem explains in this 7th episode of the THE REEM II, he won’t make a permanent move to the US for another year or two, but he will have his UFC 141 training camp at Xtreme Couture, mainly because he felt the most welcomed there.

Overeem also attempts to clarify why he left Golden Glory in the video. He doesn’t divulge all the details, but it came down to things Golden Glory put in his contract during the UFC negotiations that were in their best interests, not his, that he found on his own. The dishonesty wasn’t something Overeem could tolerate so he left.

There’s definitely been a lot of distractions in his life leading up to the Lesnar fight. Enough for one to wonder if he’ll be as prepared as he should be when he enters the cage on Dec. 30.

In rather surprising news, Alistair Overeem announced today that he has split from his longtime management and fight team Golden Glory, citing “differences that led to a breach of trust.”

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. 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.

As Overeem stated, he wants to keep the details private, however in a conversation with MMA Junkie, Overeem’s (former) manager, Bas Boon, insinuated that disagreements over money caused the split. He also hinted that legal action would be necessary to settle the dispute.

“I wasn’t really surprised, actually, after the last three months because he already had a lot of different ideas on how he would divide certain percentages which were normal in the past, and apparently, are not now,” he said. “I think the judge will decide on this issue that we have, and when that is decided, we will see who was right and who was not.”

Boon also speculated that Overeem may be blaming them for not securing his purse money yet for winning the 2010 K-1 WGP.

“Maybe that has to do with it, as well,” Boon said. “Everybody has problems with this, and I’m trying to do my best to solve this matter in Japan. It’s not easy, and of course, people are getting restless, and some people need to point the finger at certain people when things go wrong, but the only thing we can do is our best. It looks good, but these things take time.”

Whatever the issue(s) may be, Boon says he’s disappointed that it’s come to this after working with Overeem for over a decade.

“I’ve been together with Alistair for 12 years,” he said. “He slept in my house; I treated him like real friends. It’s kind of sad that maybe other influences by other people made him decide to go away, especially on the deal of a lifetime. That’s very disappointing.”

Overeem’s (former) trainer, Martijn de Jong, also expressed his disappointment in Overeem’s decision. He doesn’t think Overeem’s qualms with Golden Glory have anything to do with his training and believes he just happens to be “stuck in the middle” of an unfortunate situation.

It’s unclear where Overeem is going to train now, but he is planning to relocate to the US soon. Alistair told MiddleEasy recently that Hollywood, New York and Miami are all possibilities.

Image via SiamFightMag.com

Update: Bas Boon has released an official statement regarding the situation and confirms that Jon Olaf Einemo is back in the UFC.

The UFC is not wrong!

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. The fighters sign their own contracts and agreements. If journalists have any questions regarding Alistair Overeem’s statement about G.G please contact the UFC for any further questions. 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.

These are difficult times in the fighting industry. We are still waiting for payment of FEG, as Alistair said in the press, and the future of FEG is still unclear. There is a Dutch law called bibop in the Netherlands which makes promoting events there extremely difficult. There will be a lot of rumors like in the recent past when 4 G.G fighters were released from the UFC and Strikeforce and that was the so called end of G.G relationship with the UFC.

Not long after this rumor, Golden Glory made a mega-deal with Alistair Overeem signing with the UFC. John Olaf Einemo is now back with the UFC and Siyar Bahadurzada just got offered a UFC contract.

There is also some really good news coming soon about the situation in Japan and I really want to let everybody know the details — but I have signed multiple NDAs (non disclosure argreements) and I have to wait before publicly elaborating further.

With Sporting Greetings,
Bas Boon

Also, Liverkick.com is reporting that kickboxer Gokhan Saki has also left Golden Glory. It’s unclear is his and Overeem’s departure are related, though Liverkick is hearing other fighters are leaving the team as well.

As Alistair Overeem explains in this interview with MMABay, he wants to fight for the UFC, but doesn’t need to fight for the UFC. Since he holds title in Strikeforce, K-1 and DREAM, he has “options.” That said, he’ll sign with the UFC if the terms are right and an immediate title shot would certainly get his attention.

There was a rumor posted today on the UG by someone who’s proven to have inside info in the past that a deal is nearly done to bring Overeem to the UFC, but Dana White personally posted later in the thread that it was bs. Dana did say they are working on it, but it’s not close to being done.

Back to the interview, Overeem also commented on the pay issue, saying that he prefers his checks be made out to him, but it makes sense for less established fighters to have their checks run through Golden Glory first. He doesn’t think this was the real reason he and his teammates were let go from Strikeforce.

Here it is, the latest chapter in the Golden Glory-Zuffa saga. Dana White tells Ariel Helwani in this interview that if everything Bas Boon is saying about Alistair Overeem signing an exclusive deal and paying the Golden Glory fighters directly is true, then they can “absolutely, positively make a deal.” Transcription via Low Kick:

“Well, that’s awesome. If that’s the true story and that’s what (Bas Boon) said, sounds like we can make a deal then… One thing that I don’t do, I wouldn’t go on there and lie to all of you guys. If the deal was something other than what it was, I wouldn’t go out publicly and say, ‘These guys wouldn’t do this.’ I’m not trying to fight with Bas Boon, and I don’t dislike Bas Boon – or any of the Golden Glory guys. We just had different business opinions on how the things should be done… Now, if Bas Boon is saying that this is the way that we can do it, then we can absolutely, positively make a deal and we can get this thing rolling again… To be in a position where Alistair Overeem can come over and fight in the UFC, why would I not do it?

If only it was that simple…