Alistair Overeem’s future seems to be in the world of MMA, hopefully in the UFC, as he heads into UFC 169 against Frank Mir he understands that there is some pressure, but he’s not letting it force his hand. Originally the thought was that the loser would leave town, but Dana White has swatted that rumor down, so now it looks like it would just be a matter of how Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem would feel after a potential loss. For Overeem, even if GLORY have been making moves on him, he seems happy in MMA. [source]
So while much of the retirement speculation has focused on Mir, it’s not illogical that Overeem, in the event of a loss and potential UFC release, might himself do a little void-staring—especially given that he could probably move back into pure kickboxing without much trouble.
But contradictory to previous comments, Overeem says now that he won’t consider retirement, win or lose, after UFC 169. He seems determined to make it in the octagon, too. So no move back to kickboxing.
“No, I’m not going to retire,” Overeem said. “Not going anywhere. I’m focused on the UFC. It’s the biggest stage.”