Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fighter to hold world titles in MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time.
Overeem was born in Hounslow, England, to a Jamaican father and a Dutch mother, whose family tree connects him to King William III of the Netherlands. When he was six years old, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother and older brother to the Netherlands. As a child, Overeem started training martial arts with his older brother Valentijn in order to defend himself from bullying. He decided to pursue a competitive sports career by his brother's example, first in Judo and later Track and Field and Basketball. At the age of 15, he followed Valentijn into Chris Dolman's Martial Arts gym to become a professional fighter. Alistair initially did not like the sport, as he was routinely beaten by more experienced students, but he changed his mind when he met Bas Rutten and Joop Kasteel, after which he fully dedicated himself to training.
Overeem had his first MMA professional fight at 19 years old, defeating Ricardo Fyeet by submission on 24 October 1999 (1999-10-24) at It's Showtime, the first event of the eponymously named promotion.

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