Alistair Overeem`s first-round knockout loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 203 sparked a significant controversy involving the Dutch heavyweight.
Alistair Overeem is still considered one of the most notable signings in UFC history following his transition from Strikeforce in 2011 and his impressive debut knockout win over Brock Lesnar.
Despite his reputation as one of the greatest heavyweights ever, Overeem never managed to capture the UFC heavyweight title, remaining one of the best fighters in the promotion`s history to never win a championship.
Throughout his decade-long career in the UFC, `The Demolition Man` had only one opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title, which was against Stipe Miocic at UFC 203.
Overeem`s Close Call Against Miocic in the UFC 203 Main Event
Coming off a streak of four impressive victories, Overeem was granted a title shot against Miocic at UFC 203, held in Stipe`s home state of Cleveland, Ohio.
This fight marked Miocic`s first defense of his heavyweight title reign after having dethroned Fabricio Werdum just a few months prior.
Early in the bout, the Dutch kickboxer showcased his powerful striking, landing several heavy kicks to the champion`s body.
Just over a minute into the fight, Overeem knocked Miocic down with a significant left hand and followed him to the ground, attempting to finish the fight.
However, instead of unleashing ground-and-pound, Overeem secured a guillotine choke attempt on Miocic`s neck.
At one point, the choke appeared tight, and Miocic made some hand movements, but the champion quickly managed to escape the submission attempt.
With just under a minute left in the first round, Stipe caught Overeem`s leg and took the fight to the ground. From there, he delivered devastating ground-and-pound, rendering Overeem unconscious.
Overeem Claims Miocic Tapped, Joe Rogan Uses Replay to Disprove Him
Immediately after the fight, the challenger complained to referee Marc Goddard, claiming that Miocic had tapped while caught in the guillotine earlier in the round.
Later, during his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, Overeem reiterated his claim that the referee missed a tap.
“There’s one thing I can say about the fight: I believe when I punched him and he went down, I followed him and got him in a guillotine, and I clearly felt a tap. The ref didn’t see it, the ref didn’t jump in. In my opinion, he tapped,” Overeem stated as the Ohio crowd began to boo.
“We’ll have the truck pull it up, let’s take a look at it,” Rogan replied as replays started to show.
“You dropped him, you had him hurt, you grabbed a hold of the guillotine, you held on strong… Tell us when you see the tap? You felt like it was in the beginning? Did you see it there? Where do you see the tap? That looks like he’s trying to find his way through your arms. It didn’t look like a tap,” Rogan said, effectively calling Overeem`s bluff publicly.
Consequently, Overeem was booed by the fans in attendance in Ohio after making a claim that replays showed was inaccurate.
