Alistair Overeem says Brock Lesnar knockout was best UFC debut ever

UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem believes his knockout win over Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 was the best Octagon debut ever.

It was back in December 2011 when Overeem made his UFC debut against the former champion Lesnar in the main event of UFC 141. Overeem was the reigning Strikeforce heavyweight champion and he had a UFC debut for the ages when he finishes Lesnar with a vicious body kick. Remember that knockout in the video below.

#OnThisDay in 2011 – @AlistairOvereem took out Brock Lesnar! 🤯

[ Watch more classics now on @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/hHaWH2kzA7

— UFC (@ufc) December 30, 2020

After Michael Chandler knocked out Dan Hooker at UFC 257, many including UFC president Dana White said it was the best Octagon debut of all time. Overeem, however, vehemently disagrees with that sentiment. Speaking to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com, Overeem said that White was wrong when he said Chandler had the best UFC debut ever. In the eyes of “The Reem,” he owns the subjective record.

“Definitely better than Michael Chandler. All respect to Michael and his performance, but I don’t think you can even compare those two fights. Alistair vs. Brock Lesnar in 2011, or Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker. I don’t think you can make a comparison between those two,” Overeem said.

“The Reem” can use White’s comments as motivation when he takes on Alexander Volkov this weekend in the main event of UFC Vegas 18. Overeem is coming off of back-to-back TKO wins over Augusto Sakai and Walt Harris and overall has won four of his last five fights. The long-time contender has promised he is making one last run towards the belt in 2021, and he can use White’s snub to give him more incentive to beat Volkov. Ultimately, it’s all a very subjective record to hold. But when you compare Hooker to Lesnar, one is a former UFC champion, and one is not.

Do you agree with Alistair Overeem that his knockout win over Brock Lesnar was the best UFC debut ever?