Will Alistair Overeem Sign With ONE Championship?

Alistair Overeem, a former heavyweight title contender for the UFC, might join ONE Championship.

After losing to Alexander Volkov in 2021, “The Demolition Man” was removed from the UFC. Overeem didn’t appear too eager in competing in MMA, despite Bellator allegedly showing interest. He joined Glory Kickboxing instead.

He made his Glory debut in October of last year, winning their trilogy match against Badr Hari by unanimous decision.

After the fight, Overeem tested positive for a prohibited drug, putting his potential comeback on hold. But it appears that his return might be coming sooner than anticipated.

An openweight Muay Thai Grand Prix was announced by ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong earlier this week.

There are currently no fighters confirmed for the 16-fighter tournament. But Sityodtong made a suggestion that they were in contact with a number of unsigned fighters during the press conference announcing the competition.

“I would like to announce the greatest grand prix in the history of the sport of Muay Thai,” Sityodtong stated during the inital press conference. “One million U.S. dollars. Sixteen of the best strikers in the world will descend this year for one million U.S. dollars. Fans all over the world, tell me who you want to see.”

“This is an open-weight grand prix,” Sityodtong continued. “This is going to blow up. You’re going to see big guys against small guys, and it’s going to be huge.”

Sityodtong urged followers to suggest fighters for him to watch, but it appears the athletes are contacting him instead.

Alistair Overeem reportedly contacted ONE Championship on participating in the competition, as Nicolas Atkin of the South China Morning Post broke the news first.

If the former title challenger and ONE Championship will come to an agreement is yet unknown.