Alistair Overeem was on the verge of a decision win on Saturday night against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. But after “The Demolition Man” was dropped with a punch with four seconds left, referee Dan Miragliotta decided to stop the fight and award Rozenstruik with a TKO win.
Overeem felt the stoppage was a bit too early, an assessment that former referee John McCarthy partially agrees with. Former middleweight champion and UFC Hall-of-Famer Michael Bisping also believes Miragliotta made mistake.
“Referee Dan Miragliotta, I love Dan Miragliotta. He’s a great guy. I think he’s a very, very good referee and they do a very hard job,” Bisping said in a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast (transcript by BJPenn.com). “They have to make split-second calls in a tough situation. But Overeem wasn’t knocked out.
“Rozenstruik hits him, puts him down, smashes his lip wide open, and then thinks it’s a walk-off knockout. Turns around and just walks away. But Overeem gets up and then walks opposite direction. Walks away from Rozenstruik but even still, he’s still on his feet. He wasn’t knocked out, and then Miragliotta waves the fight off. It was very unusual.”
As for Overeem, “The Count” says there is a strong enough case to appeal the loss.
“The record stands, Rozenstruik won that fight. Simple as that,” he said. “What I’m saying is that if I was Overeem, he’s got grounds to be a little pissed off, a little bit annoyed.
“Possibly — and I’m not a fan of doing this — the appeals. He’s certainly got potential grounds there for a real appeal.”
The loss snapped Overeem’s two-fight win streak, as he now holds a record of 45-18 (with 1 NC and 40 wins by stoppage).
About the author
