Reem Retiring After ‘One Final Run’

Longtime UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem is setting his sights on retirement, which probably doesn’t come as a surprise when you consider “Demolition Man” has registered more than 80 fights between MMA and kickboxing.

But Overeem, who is about halfway to his 41st birthday, isn’t going to hang up the gloves until he makes one final run at the elusive UFC heavyweight title, which continues with a return to the Octagon at some point in first quarter 2021.

“I’m still improving even at 40, I think you can clearly see that in my fights,” Overeem wrote on Twitter. “I’m still on a learning curve. But I have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights, then I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the mission is completed #onefinalrun.”

To his credit, Overeem (47-18, 1 NC) has done an admirable job of keeping himself in the mix despite a couple of ill-timed setbacks. The No. 5-ranked “Demolition Man” has won four of his last five, all by way of knockout, including last September’s destruction of Augusto Sakai.

His one attempt at capturing the division crown ended in favor of current 265-pound kingpin Stipe Miocic after TapGate in Cleveland. No telling what the promotion has in store for Overeem his next time out, but this rematch is certainly on the table.