Overeem: More than meets the eye

After spending Christmas Day with my family in Holland, I’m here in Las Vegas for Friday’s UFC 141 main event against Brock Lesnar.

The fight has been promoted as the biggest two athletes in UFC history fighting for the No. 1 contender spot in the heavyweight division. It has also been promoted as a classic "striker vs. wrestler" battle, based on me being, if I may say so, one on the best, if not the best, strikers in the division and Brock almost certainly being the best wrestler in the UFC’s top division.

However, I don’t necessarily agree it is that simple.

While he doesn’t have world-class technique, Mr. Lesnar is a big man who can punch, and I have trained to avoid Lesnar’s strikes like I would any opponent. I will never give an opponent a chance he cannot create for himself by not preparing for any situation. It is not only about respecting Mr. Lesnar, but also respecting myself and the sport.

I’m an all-around fighter. I do everything. I’ve got wrestling, I’ve got submissions and I’ve got striking. Of course, I like to knock people out – and that is the plan Friday – and my striking is something that I focused on because I wanted to be the first MMA champion to also win the K-1 kickboxing Grand Prix, which I did a year ago. Obviously my strikes were my best weapons even before K-1, but they got a lot better because of the K-1 competition.

Right now, I don’t feel anyone in the division can strike with me, but this is MMA and I have prepared very hard for any eventuality.

There’s a chance I could use a submission. This fight isn’t just a case of my strikes against his wrestling, I have won big fights with submissions, and while I think every fighter prefers to win by KO, at this level you take any chance to win.

I am about to leave for the open workout for the media at the "The Ultimate Fighter" Gym. I won’t be giving away too much in front of the media but I am actually enjoying the media attention. This is a fight that deserves attention and – in answer to a question I have got a lot in media interviews – no, it is not a major distraction. For me, the more attention on the fight, the more fans who are excited, the more people watching around the world – that makes me perform.

There are lots of little distractions, but none of them will affect the result. When I'm looking in Brock Lesnar's eyes, I won’t be thinking about missing a training session because there was a miscommunication about my drug test.

Is there an extra pressure on me because the fight is in UFC? Of course there is pressure – this is a fight to decide the No. 1 contender to the most important title in the sport – but that pressure is the same pressure that is on Brock Lesnar. He badly wants to be UFC heavyweight champion again, but one of us is going to go take a step up and fight Junior dos Santos in the New Year, and one of us is going to take a step down and put some wins together to get back in line.

There’s also a pressure because either myself or Mr. Lesnar expect this to go more than two rounds. My concentration will be high, as sharp as a razor. I was asked if the miscommunications with my drug test, or even the worry about my mother, will distract me. I can tell you it will not. Once I get to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday night to fight, the one and only thing on my mind is knocking Mr Lesnar out. That is my job, that is what the last three months have been all geared towards.

When I fight, I can be very, very single-minded. The rest of the world stops turning until I win the fight.

This fight is scheduled for five rounds, and I have trained for five, but I personally think I will win in the first round. I will knock Brock Lesnar out. Second round at the latest. I never underestimate anyone, and Mr Lesnar is a former UFC world champion, but this is it, the chance to send a message to my fans, my critics and to UFC fans who maybe haven’t seen too much of me yet. All the talk, all the would-be distractions, all the training and the hours in the gym and on the mat – it all comes down to Friday night.

He wants it, I want it. One shall stand, one shall fall.

UFC 141 takes place on Friday, and can be seen on pay-per-view television and right here on Yahoo! Sports. In the meantime, check out more videos and updates from me at my website and follow me on twitter.

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