This is a new feature that we are going to do just to show respect to the legends and showcase fights that people may or may not have seen before. This fight took place at Pride 33 in 2007 in the city of Las Vegas. To new MMA fans, Shogun may look like he is unbeatable one minute, a mere mortal the next. To clear things up, the guy has had 3 major reconstructive knee surgeries. I'm not laying out any excuses, just stating facts. As you can see from his earlier fights, he was a pent up ball of aggression in the cage. He now fights a lot more measured and intelligently as he doesn't have the explosiveness he had when he was younger.
Before Alistair Overeem became "Ubereem", he was a skinny, Dutch striker that fought at 205 pounds. He had varying success in Pride and this video is actually a rematch from their first meeting, a fight in which Shogun won by TKO. In Shogun's UFC fights, he is a very good striker and often keeps the fight standing. In his Pride days, Shogun liked to drag guys to the ground and then unleash holy hell on them. He had/has some of the most devastating ground and pound in the sport. A recent example is his second fight with Lyoto Machida. He drops Machida with an overhand right and then he immediately follows Machida to the ground and lands in full mount. These are finishing instincts that are impossible to teach.
Anyways, in the above fight, Shogun and Overeem stand for a bit before going to the ground. Overeem doesn't want any part of Shogun on the ground due to Shogun's grappling advantage. They eventually hit the ground and Shogun immediately goes for kimuras as Overeem looks to sweep and get the fight back to a standing position. Overeem eventually gets the fight back to a standing position but then throws an ill-advised knee. Shogun catches the leg and takes him down with a single. From there, it is Shogun in top position looking to rain down blows. I won't spoil the ending but the bout ends in highlight reel fashion.
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