Alistair Overeem`s first-round knockout loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 203 ignited significant controversy.
Overeem was considered one of the UFC`s most significant acquisitions, joining from Strikeforce in 2011 and famously knocking out Brock Lesnar in his initial fight.
Despite being recognized as one of the all-time great heavyweights, Overeem never captured the UFC heavyweight championship, becoming known as one of the best fighters in the promotion never to hold a title.
During his decade-long tenure in the UFC, `The Demolition Man` had just one opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title, which was against Stipe Miocic at UFC 203.
Alistair Overeem`s Title Challenge Against Stipe Miocic at UFC 203
Following four impressive victories, Overeem earned his shot at the title against Miocic in Stipe`s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
This fight marked Miocic`s first defense of the heavyweight title he had won from Fabricio Werdum just months earlier.
In the opening stages, the Dutch striker showcased his potent kicking game, landing powerful body kicks on the champion.
Just over a minute into the bout, Overeem dropped Miocic with a significant left hand and pursued him to the canvas, looking for the finish.
However, instead of unleashing devastating ground-and-pound, Overeem secured Miocic`s neck and attempted a guillotine choke submission.
At moments, the choke appeared tight, and Miocic showed some hand activity, but the champion quickly managed to escape the hold.
With less than a minute left in the first round, Stipe caught Overeem`s leg, took him down, and brutally finished him with ground-and-pound strikes.
Post-Fight Controversy: Overeem Claims Tap, Joe Rogan Refutes
Immediately after the fight concluded, Overeem, the challenger, protested to referee Marc Goddard, claiming Miocic had tapped out during the early guillotine attempt.
During his post-fight interview inside the Octagon with Joe Rogan, Overeem reiterated his assertion that the referee had 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 Cleveland crowd began to boo.
Responding, Rogan said, “We’ll have the truck pull it up, let’s take a look at it,” as replays of the sequence began to air.
Rogan then directly challenged Overeem`s claim while reviewing the footage: “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.”
Overeem was subsequently heavily booed by the Ohio fans in attendance as his claim was publicly refuted by the replay analysis.
