Alistair Overeem's purse held in escrow
A Nevada District Court on Friday issued an order that will put the purse of Alistair Overeem for his UFC 141 fight against Brock Lesnar into escrow while a management group suing the fighter tries to claim the money.
Knock Out Investments, a fighter management group embroiled in dueling lawsuits with the Dutch heavyweight, asked the court to withhold money owed to the Overeem. That includes his purse, a win bonus, performance bonus and pay-per-view provider proceeds.
KOI claims Overeem did not pay a 30 percent commission to the company following his win in Strikeforce against Fabricio Werdum on June 18. KOI then negotiated Overeem's deal with Zuffa, the parent company of UFC, in September for his fight with Lesnar.
In its order, the Nevada court, citing an existing an enforceable contract, asked Zuffa to "issue a check from the portion of the purse owed to Overeem in the respective amount of $241,285.49, made payable to Knock-Out Investments; and that the Nevada State Athletic Commission shall hold" the check pending further order of the court.
The order requires KOI, better known as Golden Glory, to post a $200,000 bond. Roderick Lindblom, counsel for KOI, said he was in the process of putting the bond in place.
Collin Lam, who represents Overeem, did not immediately return a request for comment. Lam also is named as a defendant in a breach of contract lawsuit KOI filed Thursday in Clark County, Nev.
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer told ESPN.com that he was aware of the order.
"My understanding is if the plaintiff posts the $200,000 bond and promptly serves the UFC, the UFC would give us a check to hold in that case," Kizer said. "I don't know why we hold it, but that's the court order. That's fine. What we probably want to do then is give it to the court. They can put it in escrow pending the case."
Josh Gross covers mixed martial arts for ESPN.com.
- MMA columnist for ESPN.com
- Nearly 11 years covering MMA
- Hosts "Gross Point Blank" podcast
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