Knock Out Investments (KOI) and Golden Glory management fired back at Alistair Overeem on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the Golden Glory legal counsel, Overeem's much-publicized lawsuit against his former management is simply a response to shots initiated by the scorned fight team. Per the statement:
Please be advised that this office is litigation counsel for Knock Out Investments (KOI) and Golden Glory in their legal dispute with MMA fighter Alistair Overeem. We are currently in receipt of a copy of Mr. Overeem's lawsuit and our clients are assessing all available defenses and counterclaims.
This lawsuit is a preemptive action on the part of Mr. Overeem and his counsel in response to KOI's recent notification to Mr. Overeem of numerous violations by him of his management agreement with KOI, including but not limited to his failure to pay commissions for past fights and endorsement deals secured by KOI and Golden Glory.
KOI and Golden Glory are respected organizations committed to securing the best fight deals and training for their team of fighters. Mr. Overeem's continued suggestions to the contrary are scurrilous and will be vigorously defended in the proper forum.
Alistair Overeem is a striker -- he wants to throw the first punch. But this misguided decision to file a lawsuit as a preemptive strike leaves Mr. Overeem vulnerable in ways our clients wished to avoid.
Overeem is suing his longtime representation after discovering a UFC contract littered with clauses leading to the forfeit of 35-percent of his pre-tax earnings. The former champion also maintains Golden Glory misled him on various other contract details, attempted to book fights despite injury, and failed to payout more than $151,000 in back-earnings along with a UFC signing bonus.
As the mud-slinging hits both sides, this issue will likely get uglier before it improves. MMA Nation will continue to update the situation as it progresses.