Alistair Overeem agrees with those who feel the UFC heavyweight division is experiencing a down period.
Tom Aspinall is an exciting fighter who reigns at the top of the weight class, but he’s been recovering from double eye surgery. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira will be fighting Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250.
Outside of a handful of names, many feel the heavyweight division has gotten stale and boring. During an interview with Bloody Elbow, Overeem opined on the state of heavyweights in MMA (h/t MMAJunkie).
“There is a decline, unfortunately, even though the top guys will remain the top guys,” Overeem told Bloody Elbow. “It’s not as colorful as it once used to be. There used to be 15–20 top-name heavyweights, which is now not the case. They’ve kind of slowly declined, unfortunately.”
Overeem then recalled when a similar situation happened in the world of kickboxing. He believes boxing was able to restore order in the heavyweight ranks, and he wouldn’t rule out a comeback for MMA.
“Before, we have also seen a similar style decline in K-1, in kickboxing, and that kind of happened to MMA now, as well,” Overeem said. “Boxing made a revival. Boxing came back. So I think it’s what you can describe as the tides of life. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down.”
UFC recently released Jailton Almeida, who was once thought of as an emerging contender. Uneventful outings against Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev ultimately marked the end of “Malhadinho’s” UFC run.
Whether or not Pereira can provide a spark to the heavyweight division remains to be seen. If he can deliver the same highlight reel knockouts that he’s known for, it might be enough to give the weight class a much-needed boost.