There's a new sheriff in town and he's not messing around. Strikeforce fighters were sent a message tonight by their new boss Zuffa - play the game or play it elsewhere.
Back on July 18, the promotion's heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem got in a public beef over a fight date. Overeem said he wasn't available to fight on Sept. 10 on Showtime. It took less than 12 hours for Zuffa to pull him from the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix. Now less than two weeks later, he's a free agent as Zuffa released Overeem from his contract according to HDNet's "Inside MMA."
Sources close to the situation have told "Inside MMA's" Ron Kruck that Strikeforce has exercised its right to eliminate the one remaining fight on Overeem's contract effective July 22nd.
Also according to the source, Overeem has been dealing with more serious injuries than originally reported, including a broken toe and rib and elbow problems. Overeem will fight next in October in Russia for the promotion United Glory. �No word on who his opponent will be.
This is a terrible blow for MMA fans. Overeem is certainly one of the top five heavyweights in mixed martial arts. Fights against the likes of Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Josh Barnett, Antonio Silva or even Brock Lesnar would've been big sellers. It seems unlikely Overeem will be fighting under the Zuffa umbrella anytime soon.
Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased Strikeforce back in March. The organization immediately got an overhaul in the front office and with some of the support staff.
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