Alistair Overeem in decent spirits following KO loss: ‘I made a mistake’

Alistair Overeem has been on the brunt end of criticism following his first-round knockout loss to Ben Rothwell this past Friday at UFC Fight Night 50, but the UFC heavyweight remains in relatively good spirits.

The defeat dropped Overeem (37-14 MMA, 2-3 UFC) to 1-3 in his past four fights and marked the ninth time he’s been knocked out in MMA competition, more than any other active fighter on the UFC roster.

Overeem joined the UFC in 2011 as the final heavyweight champion in Strikeforce history, and he was arguably one of the most highly touted and anticipated signings in UFC history.

His recent struggles, however, have sparked debates about whether he’s the biggest “bust” in UFC history and if the loss to Rothwell (34-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) should spell the end of his fighting career.

None of those questions have answers right now, but according to the Dutchman, he’s still got plenty left in the tank and his most recent defeat was the result of a simple mistake.

“I was in a great shape and prep was superb!” Overeem wrote on his official Instagram account. “Thanks to all involved, from coaches to fysio’s! You were all great. About the fight – I made a mistake!”

Overeem was dominant against Rothwell prior to absorbing the fight-ending blows. An early kick caused serious damage to Rothwell’s arm, which led Overeem to believe the danger was minimized. Despite the injury, “Big” continued to throw punches and eventually caught Overeem with the fight-ending shot (watch the Rothwell vs. Overeem video highlights).

“Hearing Ben’s arm crack on one of the kicks I didn’t expect him to counterpunch with the same arm,” Overeem wrote. “We knew Ben is a tough strong guy, well we got it confirmed yesterday!”

The 34-year-old Overeem made many good moves in advance of his showdown with Rothwell. Chief among them was a switch to the world-renowned Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA team in New Mexico.

Unfortunately, he was unable to reap the benefits and was stopped midway through the first round. It marked the shortest losing effort of his career.

While Overeem has a lot to be down about, he remains in high spirits and claims that he hasn’t given up on his dream of becoming the top dog in the UFC heavyweight division.

“It might not always go as we want or as planned but as long as we have freedom and high spirits we are/should be ok!” Overeem wrote. “This coming from myself who’ve had several downturns in both life and career but plenty of great moments in life to so not complaining! Big Ben was a little too much this time, Looking ahead & forward to the next challenge!”

For more on UFC Fight Night 50, check out the UFC Events section of the site.