Tweet
from another poster on the UG
Here's all of Overeem's fights in the last two years or so -
Overeem vs Shogun - 2/24/2007 last fight at 205
Overeem vs Knapp - 6/23/2007 no weigh-in available
Overeem vs Buentello - 11/16/2007 224 http://mmajunkie.com/news/3184/stri...nt-pairings.mma
Overeem vs Lee Tae-Hyun - 6/15/2008 239 http://nightmareofbattle.wordpress....e-fourth-dream/
Overeem vs Hunt - 7/12/2008 no weigh-in available
Overeem vs Crocop - 9/23/2008 241 http://www.mmaconvert.com/2008/09/2...igh-in-results/
Overeem vs Goodridge - 11/09/2008 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Hari - 12/31/2008 253 http://www.fightline.com/news/2008/1230/377691.shtml
Overeem vs Bonjansky - 3/28/2009 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Aerts - 9/26/2009 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Sylvester - 10/17/2009 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Thompson - 10/25/09 253 http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/10/...eigh-in-results
So between 2/24/2007 and 11/16/2007, Overeem went from cutting to 205 to fighting at 224. If you assume that he was cutting from 215, that's only about a pound per month - a rate of growth that's not exceptional for a normal person bulking, let alone a full time athlete. And in fact Overeem has said that he was cutting a great deal of weight to get to 205, so he was probably much heavier than 215 - possibly as heavy as 224 already.
Between 11/16/2007 and 6/15/2008, Overeem went from 224 to 239. That's 15 pounds over the course of 7 months - 7 months during which he had no fights at all, and was free to focus on building quality mass while keeping up his training routine at maintenance. That's about two pounds a month - a decent rate of growth, but not exceptional at all for a professional athlete training full time.
Between 6/15/2008 and 9/23/2008, Overeem went from 239 to 241. Two pounds in three months - barely worth mentioning.
Between 9/23/2008 and 12/31/2008, Overeem went from 241 to 253. That's 12 pounds in 3 months - now we're getting into pretty quick growth territory. It is worth noting that Overeem looked substantially less lean against Hari - his face was puffy and a bit bloated, his abs were less visible, and in general he looked more "smooth" and less "cut". This could certainly be a symptom of steroid use, as many steroids cause you to retain water. It also could be that he bulked too fast in attempting to get heavier to match the 6'6" Hari, and put on a good bit of fat. Neither course of action would be surprising. It's also worth noting that Overeem only had half a training camp for this fight and weighed in fully-clothed with a wallet and cell phone in his pockets, so 253 is probably an inflated figure even though it's what the scale read.
Between 12/31/2008 and 10/25/2009, Overeem went from 253 to... 253. He looked leaner and less puffy against Thompson, so it appears he dropped some fat and replaced it with lean muscle, but again over the course of ten months this is hardly difficult or surprising.
CONCLUSIONS - The absolute fastest that Overeem gained weight was a three month period between the Crocop fight and the Hari fight. Even during that period he only gained four pounds per month, and the puffiness and smoothness he exhibited afterwards indicates that not all the weight he put on was muscle; a substantial amount was water and excess fat.
Certainly it's possible that Overeem has cycled PEDs, particularly during that particular three month period. But no sequence of his weight gain was impossible to achieve naturally, and the majority of it (2/24/2007 to 9/23/2008) was done at a rate that is actually very slow comparitive to how fast you can reasonably bulk without adding excess fat (by most estimates, around 2-3 pounds per month.)
Moreover, Overeem's weight has stayed stable for over ten months now, so the idea that he's avoiding fighting in the US due to drug testing concerns is not really credible - particularly when you look at fighters like Brock and Carwin, shorter than Overeem and significantly heavier, who have yet to fail a single drug test.
Overeem vs Shogun - 2/24/2007 last fight at 205
Overeem vs Knapp - 6/23/2007 no weigh-in available
Overeem vs Buentello - 11/16/2007 224 http://mmajunkie.com/news/3184/stri...nt-pairings.mma
Overeem vs Lee Tae-Hyun - 6/15/2008 239 http://nightmareofbattle.wordpress....e-fourth-dream/
Overeem vs Hunt - 7/12/2008 no weigh-in available
Overeem vs Crocop - 9/23/2008 241 http://www.mmaconvert.com/2008/09/2...igh-in-results/
Overeem vs Goodridge - 11/09/2008 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Hari - 12/31/2008 253 http://www.fightline.com/news/2008/1230/377691.shtml
Overeem vs Bonjansky - 3/28/2009 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Aerts - 9/26/2009 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Sylvester - 10/17/2009 no weigh in available
Overeem vs Thompson - 10/25/09 253 http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/10/...eigh-in-results
So between 2/24/2007 and 11/16/2007, Overeem went from cutting to 205 to fighting at 224. If you assume that he was cutting from 215, that's only about a pound per month - a rate of growth that's not exceptional for a normal person bulking, let alone a full time athlete. And in fact Overeem has said that he was cutting a great deal of weight to get to 205, so he was probably much heavier than 215 - possibly as heavy as 224 already.
Between 11/16/2007 and 6/15/2008, Overeem went from 224 to 239. That's 15 pounds over the course of 7 months - 7 months during which he had no fights at all, and was free to focus on building quality mass while keeping up his training routine at maintenance. That's about two pounds a month - a decent rate of growth, but not exceptional at all for a professional athlete training full time.
Between 6/15/2008 and 9/23/2008, Overeem went from 239 to 241. Two pounds in three months - barely worth mentioning.
Between 9/23/2008 and 12/31/2008, Overeem went from 241 to 253. That's 12 pounds in 3 months - now we're getting into pretty quick growth territory. It is worth noting that Overeem looked substantially less lean against Hari - his face was puffy and a bit bloated, his abs were less visible, and in general he looked more "smooth" and less "cut". This could certainly be a symptom of steroid use, as many steroids cause you to retain water. It also could be that he bulked too fast in attempting to get heavier to match the 6'6" Hari, and put on a good bit of fat. Neither course of action would be surprising. It's also worth noting that Overeem only had half a training camp for this fight and weighed in fully-clothed with a wallet and cell phone in his pockets, so 253 is probably an inflated figure even though it's what the scale read.
Between 12/31/2008 and 10/25/2009, Overeem went from 253 to... 253. He looked leaner and less puffy against Thompson, so it appears he dropped some fat and replaced it with lean muscle, but again over the course of ten months this is hardly difficult or surprising.
CONCLUSIONS - The absolute fastest that Overeem gained weight was a three month period between the Crocop fight and the Hari fight. Even during that period he only gained four pounds per month, and the puffiness and smoothness he exhibited afterwards indicates that not all the weight he put on was muscle; a substantial amount was water and excess fat.
Certainly it's possible that Overeem has cycled PEDs, particularly during that particular three month period. But no sequence of his weight gain was impossible to achieve naturally, and the majority of it (2/24/2007 to 9/23/2008) was done at a rate that is actually very slow comparitive to how fast you can reasonably bulk without adding excess fat (by most estimates, around 2-3 pounds per month.)
Moreover, Overeem's weight has stayed stable for over ten months now, so the idea that he's avoiding fighting in the US due to drug testing concerns is not really credible - particularly when you look at fighters like Brock and Carwin, shorter than Overeem and significantly heavier, who have yet to fail a single drug test.
Comment