DREAM 12 Analysis: Popularity on the Rise for Alistair Overeem, Marius Zaromskis
by Leland Roling on Oct 28, 2009 1:15 PM EDT in Events Comment 2 commentsYesterday, I focused on the memorable comeback win by Eddie Alvarez over Katsunori Kikuno after surviving a deep standing crucifix at DREAM 12. While the battle between the two lightweight champions was easily one of the better bouts on the card, the event also featured a number of talents in the Japanese mixed martial arts scene that we'll likely be seeing in the North American scene very soon.
In the headlining bout, Alistair "Megareem" Overeem, as I like to moniker him, easily steamrolled the "Mega Punk" James Thompson as he caught him in a standing guillotine choke, the same choke that he defeated Tony Sylvester with at Ultimate Glory on October 17th. While Overeem's opponent quality is on the low end of the spectrum in his more recent mixed martial arts contests, it's apparent that these bouts are serving as a means to pushing Overeem's image to the Japanese fans as well as giving him easy paychecks for his increased popularity and drawing power.
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