MMA Fighting reports that Alistair Overeem has left the managing stable of Golden Glory. Overeem’s decision to leave was due to “a breach of trust.”
Via MMA Fighting:
With Overeem only stating that “a breach of trust” was the reason for his departure, details behind the split are up for speculation and many people may be quick to point the finger at the recent issues between Golden Glory and Zuffa.
Overeem’s former manager, Bas Boon, indicated that Overeem’s departure was not related to the recent Zuffa-Golden Glory squabble which saw Zuffa cut Overeem, his brother, Valentijn, and Marloes Coenen. In a press release, Boon cited the current state of the fight business (outside of Zuffa we presume) as the culprit as he cited the fact that Golden Glory fighters are owed money from FEG and K-1. Boon cited the fact that Overeem is fighting in the UFC this December as a sign that the Zuffa-Golden Glory relationship is not fractured. But it appears that the money owed Overeem from other fight organizations may be the reason for the split.
Payout Perspective:
Overeem’s departure is interesting considering it occurred after Golden Glory negotiated his contract for the Lesnar fight. This is another example of the tenuous business of fight management. We will see if Overeem decides to sign with another agent and, if so, whether the agent will make an effort to collect the past debt from the organizations.
My theory: Overeem has said that he plans to move to the United States, and Golden Glory is based in Holland (The Netherlands? Sheesh being half-Dutch myself I really ought to know). Overeem is now a very high profile fighter, and will need managers that can put together the best deals for him inside and outside the cage. While I have no doubt Golden Glory is a good management team, Alistair may want a management based in the U.S., that has more experience working with U.S. brands and the UFC organization, and more importantly, that he will be able to meet with face to face whenever he needs to discuss things. At this stage of his career, and especially now that he’s signed with the UFC, he needs a manager that can put more focus on him, not a team of half-managers half-trainers located halfway around the globe. Boon just doesn’t have the time and manpower to run the Golden Glory fight team, manage its other fighters, and handle a high-profile asset like Overeem in the states. It also could be that Overeem feels he can get the same quality representation for cheaper. I wonder if we’ll ever know for sure…
In my opinion, he should let the FEG debt go. They have no capital to pay him and he’ll just end up wasting money on attorney fees. I doubt new management can do anything better for him in that regard. The Japanese combat sports landscape is a financial mess.
Machiel Van:
Many of the Golden Glory fighters were already planning on moving to California because a Golden Glory Gym is supposed to be opening there at the end of the year. It made sense because many of their fighters fought for Strikeforce and UFC at the time, so having a place to train close by to their headquarters made sense.
The other part is that it probably makes sense for him to work with a US based management team to maximize his opportunities in the US, especially now that he signed an exclusive deal with the UFC.
Didn’t know about the training center in CA. I concur about obtaining US based management to maximize opportunities.