Alistair Overeem has departed the Golden Glory team.
After twelve years with the Dutch outfit, which enjoys a tremendous reputation as a centre of kickboxing excellence and is a major player on the K-1 circuit, Overeem is now going solo.
Fighters Only learned of the split earlier today but when contacted, Golden Glory could not confirm it. Overeem has since used Twitter to make a short announcement.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Overeem was until recently a part of Strikeforce, holding its heavyweight belt and being a participant in the ongoing Grand Prix. But he exited both the tournament and the champion’s spot as part of a dispute with Zuffa.
Shortly afterwards, every Golden Glory fighter under contract to Zuffa - with the exception of Sergei Kharitonov, who was also part of the Grand Prix - was dropped from their contracts. The official reason was that Golden Glory business practices were ‘incompatible’ with UFC practices.
Specifically, Golden Glory required fighter purses to be paid directly to the company. The UFC pays fighters directly and then the fight pays the manager their commission. Golden Glory defended its position by pointing out the international nature of its roster and operations, but agreed to accept UFC practices if it would make a new deal possible.
However, sources behind the scenes indicate that there was more to the Zuffa/Golden Glory fallout. The Dutch outfit, which has considerable resources thanks to the wealth of some of those involved in its infrastructure, had been in talks with Strikeforce about staging events in the US with the specific aim of developing a stronger and more competitive rivalry with the UFC.
Overeem signed a multi-fight UFC deal recently and will face former champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 140. It is a contenders bout and the winner will go on to challenge the winner of the Cain Velasquez/Junior Dos Santos title fight taking place later this year.
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