Golden Glory sue Overeem on eve of Lesnar fight

Dent · **Posted:** Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:29 pm

December 30th 2011

Golden Glory officially launched a lawsuit against Alistair Overeem yesterday.

The lawsuit was filed in a Los Angles court by Knock Out Investments, a company owned and operated by members of the Dutch outfit Golden Glory.

Overeem parted ways with the team earlier this year after signing with the UFC. He headed to the US and joined Xtreme Couture as he prepared to face Brock Lesnar in the headline bout of tonight’s UFC 141 event.

He has also filed his own lawsuits in the US against Knock Out Investments, asking the court to rule that the management contract they have in place is no longer valid. That case is pending. Golden Glory claim it was filed as a pre-emptive measure by Overeem once he had heard he was to be sued for breach of contract himself .

US sports news entity ESPN obtained a copy of yesterday’s court papers and reports that Overeem and his current agent Collin Lam are named as defendants. Lam came to some prominence in an appearance on the recent Nevada State Athletic Commission conference call during which Overeem’s decision to return to Holland and miss a drug test was discussed.

KOI claims that their contract with Overeem is valid until July 2012. They are looking for the court to enforce that term, as well as the commission payments due under the contract. That includes 30 per cent of Overeem’s payment for his win over Fabricio Werdum at a Strikeforce show in June.

Usually, Golden Glory is paid directly by promoters and then passes monies on after deducting its commission. It says this is because of its wide international fighter base and range of operations. Zuffa, owner of the UFC and Strikeforce, did not like this arrangement and so insisted that the money be paid to Overeem directly.

That means Golden Glory has to chase Overeem for its percentage from that fight. But Overeem is owed money from various recent K-1 appearances and even though K-1 has not paid Golden Glory, he believes that under their contract, Golden Glory is responsible for paying him what he is due.

He is seeking $151,000, according to the court papers he filed earlier this year, as well as a ruling that he and KOI are no longer in a legal relationship. For their part, KOI are seeking a percentage of Overeem’s signing bonus with the UFC - which they negotiated - as well as percentages from the Werdum fight and tonight’s Lesnar fight.

Overeem’s contract terms with the UFC are attached to the papers filed with the court and reveal that his standard fight purse will be $264,285 for tonight‘s fight with a further $121,428 win bonus should he emerge victorious.

Golden Glory, via KOI, are claiming that the former DREAM, Strikeforce and K-1 GP champion is also guaranteed 2% of all pay-per-view revenues generated by tonight’s event over and above $500,000 (so if the event grossed $1,000,000 for example, Overeem would get $10,000). If the PPV sells around 500,00 units, Overeem would make well over a million dollars if this $2 provision is accurate.

Unusually, the contract also provides for Overeem to retain certain image and intellectual property rights - tremendously valuable to him in Japan - and guarantees a minimum payment of $1 million over his first three fights. His contract with the UFC is for eight-fights but contains release clauses in case of repeat losses.

Also contained in the court papers is a claim from KOI that Overeem was told by Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta that “the one million dollar signing bonus was Overeem's money and that KOI/GG was ‘ripping him off’ and ‘stealing from him.’”

The case will not be heard in court until early 2012.

Source: http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/ ... snar-fight

Golden Glory sue Overeem on eve of Lesnar fight

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