Alistair Overeem: 'I'm happy' former teammates keep dropping my name
Since relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico, UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem has been a much happier man.
The former title contender wasn't able to pick up a victory in his first camp with the team led by coach Greg Jackson, but his last fight against Stefan Struve put Overeem back on the winning track and he expects the same this weekend facing Roy Nelson at UFC 185.
Overeem has bounced around at several different camps over the last few years and he says choosing Jackson's as his latest choice was not only the best place to get better as a fighter, but it's the team he plans on staying with for a long time to come.
"I've always felt good at Jackson's, my first fight at Jackson's I felt good even though it didn't fall in my court but it definitely fell in my court the second time. I think it will fall in my court this time, too. I have a great group of people around me," Overeem told FOX Sports. "Everything at Jackson's is great. I feel really confident, I'm in shape, no injuries and mentally I'm good. I'm ready."
Seeing the huge list of success stories of the fighters who train and win out of Jackson's would seemingly make it a no brainer on why any number of UFC stars would choose to train there, but it goes beyond just coaching and sparring for Overeem.
For him, training at Jackson's has also been a fresh start with a great group of people around him from the heavyweights he works with on a daily basis to the smaller guys he'll never actually get inside the cage with on any given day.
It's all about the team because now Overeem feels like he's truly part of a family.
"Jackson's has the sort of chemistry that suits me very well," Overeem said. "Everybody helps each other. Everybody's friendly and there's no hostility. The group chemistry clearly comes from Coach Jackson and Coach Mike Winkeljohn. It's great."
Hearing Overeem talk about his time at Jackson's and the way his teammates speak about him is a huge switch from the last place he called home in the United States.
Prior to living in Albuquerque and working with Jackson's, Overeem was a mainstay at the Florida based Blackzilian camp where he trained for several fights.
Since leaving, Overeem has heard his name mentioned by a slew of fighters training there who say he was a bad teammate and only cared about himself. Most recently, fellow heavyweight Matt Mitrione went as far as to say he disliked Overeem 'as a human being' and calling him 'a prima donna'.
Overeem has rarely said much in response to any of his former teammates and he's not going to start now with Mitrione. He does thank the former Ultimate Fighter competitor for keeping his name in the press in the weeks leading up to his fight with Roy Nelson at UFC 185.
"For me everybody is entitled to their own opinion and quite frankly to be really honest, I'm happy they use my name," Overeem said. "For me, I'm in the media, they're building my name. Cause if you listen clearly I will never name their names.
"If you really don't like somebody, just ignore them that's the best."
As far as his new team goes, you'll never catch Overeem saying a bad word about them because he believes Jackson's will be the place that will finally get him back to title contention in the UFC.
First things first, Overeem needs to get past Nelson this Saturday night at UFC 185.
