Demolition Politician!

Overeem is hanging up his gloves and teaming up with Belang van Nederland to run for the Dutch House of Representatives.

Alistair Overeem has confirmed he is retiring from combat sports.

“The Demolition Man” has been going back and forth on his fighting future over the past several months following a 12 month suspension for “a non-performance enhancing drug” his team says was used to treat his injured back. While he told several outlets he was retiring, his team followed that up by clarifying he’d retire — after another fight or two.

That no longer seems to be the plan. Now Overeem is preparing to run for the Dutch House of Representatives as a part of the Belang van Nederland (Interest of the Netherlands) party. His decision was announced by BVNL leader Wybren van Haga on X (formerly Twitter).

“Martial arts legend Alistair Overeem trades the ring for the political arena,” he wrote. “Together with #BVNL he will fight the real battles for the future of the Netherlands. We are proud to have him by our side!”

Overeem explained his decision in an interview with Panorama.

“I became frustrated by all the measures during the Corona period,” he said. “The government was talking about a health crisis. But the same government closed all gyms. No one, except Wybren van Haga, talked about health, healthier living and the madness of the freedom-restricting Corona measures.”

Overeem says the government “greatly overstepped its bounds” handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s been a year of change for Alistair, who has spent the last 24 years fighting in kickboxing and MMA. The former Strikeforce, DREAM, and K-1 champion used to be an absolute unit and credited his massive physique to a diet of horse meat. Now he’s gone vegan and believes it’s the only way to alkalize your body to prevent parasites. The diet has certainly dropped him down a weight class or three.

We’ll pass on putting Alistair Overeem’s opinions on diet or politics under a microscope for now and just say thanks for the decades of amazing fights. “Ubereem” leaves with a 47-19 record in MMA.