Former management sues Overeem; judge orders UFC 141 purse withheld
Knock Out Investments, better known as Dutch fight management firm Golden Glory, filed a lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada, Thursday…
Knock Out Investments, better known as Dutch fight management firm Golden Glory, filed a lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada, Thursday alleging Alistair Overeem breached the terms of a five-year contract with the group that runs through July 2012.
The complaint, a copy of which ESPN.com has obtained, also names Overeem’s representative Collin Lam as a defendant. The filing comes one day prior to the Overeem’s headlining clash against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in Las Vegas.
“We have a legal team,” Lam told ESPN.com. “We have a great law firm in Las Vegas. A great law firm in L.A. So they’re taking care of everything.”
Overeem is alleged to not have paid a 30 percent commission to Knock Out Investments following his win in Strikeforce against Fabricio Werdum on June 18, 2011.
Rather than following the arrangement Overeem and KOI used in previous bouts — a promoter pays KOI which in turn cuts a check to the fighter — Overeem was directly paid his purse and win bonus totaling $170,000, which is standard practice when Zuffa LLC promotes events.
Six weeks after beating Werdum, Zuffa, which purchased Strikeforce in March, released Overeem from the final fight of this three-bout deal with Strikeforce.
Update: FCFighter.com has learned that Alistair Overeem’s purse from tonight’s bout with Brock Lesnar is going to be held, in accordance with a ruling by a Nevada District Court judge:
As of this morning, a Nevada District Court issued an Order directing the issuance of a pre-judgment writ of attachment and garnishment on Overeem’s fight purse, which would indicate that KOI/GG’s claims are meritorious, said Lindblom in his statement.
It would have been ideal if a lawsuit could have been avoided; (Knockout Investments) and Golden Glory wish Alistair well in the fight, continued Lindblom, and, in fact, have a financial interest in his continued success. Unfortunately, my clients simply had no choice.
The amount to be withheld is $241,000.00 USD.