A series of articles appreciating some of the best knockouts in combat sports

Welcome back to Starch Madness! In this installment, the knockout highlighted will be from a fight in one of the most heated rivalries in kickboxing. This rivalry is between two of the most famed fighters in the kickboxing world: Alistair Overeem and Badr Hari.

Alistair Overeem is a fighter notorious not only for his immense stature but his prowess as a kickboxer. He entered the fighting world with a modest frame before eventually swelling up to the Grecian statue physique he is known for. Many do not know this, but Alistair’s skills earlier on in his career were more grappling-focused than anything else. He’d amassed a record containing a decent amount of knockouts and a hefty amount of submissions for a man.

As he fought, he evolved and developed into one of the most decorated kickboxers to ever compete in MMA. His kickboxing career was as fast and bright as comet due to it only being 14 fights, however within that concise resume Alistair took down multiple kickboxing stars like Gokhan Saki, Tyrone Spong, and his rival and one of the scariest kickboxer: Badr Hari.

Badr Hari holds the distinction of being one of the scariest kickboxers to ever fight. He has amassed a kickboxing record of 106-16-1-1 (92 KO’s) and has fought professionally for 20 years. He is known for his ferocious style of fighting and his relentless aggression in the ring no matter who stands in front of him. He refuses to compromise and retreat in and out of the ring giving him the reputation and respect he proudly owns today.

Badr and Overeem met up for the first time on December 31st, 2008 at the Dynamite!! 2008 event. They clashed in what was seen as a Godzilla x King Kong level matchup because of how both of these men were seen so far in their respective careers as 200+ pound warriors.

The match began patiently with both men raising their arms up in a high guard. They tentatively pawed at each other a bit. They threw shots at each other, neither of them really causing much damage. That is, until Overeem jabbed Badr causing him to shell up. Then, Overeem pulled down Badr’s guard with his gloves (almost in a Muay Thai plum double collar tie) and threw a knee that split through Badr’s guard and punctuated with a left hook on the button that sent Badr down.

Badr was able to beat the count and get back to his feet. Overeem meets him in the middle of the ring to get back to it. He gets too aggressive and Badr catches him with a check right hook. They exchange for a bit with their boxing. Overeem evades a few shots from Badr. They reset. Badr tries to load up on a left hook as he sways but Overeem beats him to the punch with a left straight drilled into his chin sending Badr Hari right back to the canvas. The referee waved it off (thankfully) and Alistair was declared the winner.

Alistair Overeem knocking out Badr Hari