Alistair Overeem made it two in a row at UFC St. Petersburg, finishing Aleksei Oleinik towards the end of the first round in a spirited, back-and-forth battle.
Alistair Overeem is one of the greatest heavyweights ever and is known as one of the best strikers in the division’s history. Overeem has K-1, DREAM, and Strikeforce titles to his name. The Dutch fighter is 9-6 since joining the UFC, with notable knockouts against Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt, and Junior dos Santos. He came up short in his title shot against former champion Stipe Miocic, and is coming off a victory against Sergey Pavlovich.
Aleksei Oleinik has been around forever, starting his career all the way back in 1996. Since then, he’s accumulated a ridiculous record of 57-11-1 with 12 Ezekiel choke finishes. Those rare submissions are part of his 45 career finishes by tapout. Oleinik is 6-2 in the UFC with all stoppage victories, including the only two Ezekiel chokes in the promotion’s history. He is currently on a two-fight win streak, most recently defeating Mark Hunt.
Oleinik pulled guard within the first fifteen seconds, looking for an Ezekiel choke. Overeem was able to avoid it, leading to Oleinik scrambling back up, nearly eating a leg kick. Overeem hit a trip, but Oleinik recovered, fired overhands, and backed Overeem up! Overeem covered up while Oleinik unloaded! Overeem would survive, but moments later, Oleinik had ‘The Reem’ covering up again. A third sequence had Overeem covering up again, but Oleinik had to be careful not to burn out his arms.
Overeem then landed some heavy knees, putting Oleinik in a tough position against the cage, covering up. Overeem would fire a jump knee, but Oleinik again forced his opponent to the fence, landing punches while Overeem covered up. Overeem then landed a pair of knees in a clinch that sent Oleinik to his back!
KNEES by @AlistairOverem! pic.twitter.com/Rj9OsIaU4X
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
Alistair Overeem got on top while Oleinik covered up, unable to escape. Overeem landed hammer fists and elbows. Taking a good look, referee Marc Goddard made the call, waving the fight off and giving Alistair Overeem the TKO victory.
Alistair Overeem def. Aleksei Oleinik by TKO, Round 1, 4:45
