There's something truly remarkable about seeing Alistair Overeem in the UFC Octagon in 2020. At 6'4" and 252lbs, even with a post-PED physique, he has a legitimately statuesque presence. His first two MMA fights took place in 1999, meaning he has now been fighting and winning across four decades, but more impressive than that is across his 66 fights, he's barely modified or upgraded his fighting style.

A trained kick boxer in the style of other Dutch fighting legends like Bas Rutten and Ernesto Hoost, with a few grappling fundamentals thrown in, Overeem is a true stand-and-bang fighter whose exciting style contributed greatly to the glory days of Japan's PRIDE FC.

On one hand, this style means his fights are almost guaranteed to be entertaining. Out of an incredible record of 47-18, only eight have ever come down to decision; that generally means win or lose, there's going to be a big finish. On the other, as the game has evolved, he's been left behind.

His arrival in the UFC in 2011 was perfectly planned; he was to be the demolition man and destroy Brock Lesnar. When his run with the company began in earnest in 2013, he immediately lost two on the bounce and then looked – as almost all the PRIDE FC refugees did – like a journeyman whose time had passed. Besides a four-win streak against mediocrities Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson, and then has-beens Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski from 2014 to 2016, he's never won more than two in a row. He's always been derailed by top talent.

And yet, on September 6, at UFC Fight Night, Overeem battered Sakai at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 40-year-old is ranked sixth in the division and looks like he's on the verge of challenging for the organization's heavyweight championship of the world.

His victory over Walt Harris at a UFC on ESPN event in May this year was a solid win against a solid fighter and it set up this bout against #9 Augusto Sakai, a fighter who came into the event with a 15-1-1 record, his only blemishes being a draw against Dan Charles and a controversial loss to habitual cheater Cheick Kongo in Bellator. Since then, four of his ensuing six wins came by KO/TKO, and at only 29, looks to be the future of the heavyweight division in the UFC.

He started off looking that way too. The first round of this five-round main event began with a feeling out process in which it appeared Sakai had the perfect game plan for Overeem; he dodged or parried the Dutchman's blitzes and then, with about three minutes remaining, launched his own much more successful version.

What truly made it seem like Sakai had Overeem made was his exceptional clinch game up against the fence. Overeem usually dominates at close range, but he was on the back foot throughout.

This continued into Round 2. Wilfully or not, Overeem spent the five minutes on defence and weathered Sakai's powerful, diverse striking. Once again, the Brazilian was faster and moving in and out, hitting Overeem with combinations and cage work. The main difference is Overeem took on something of a Yoel Romero-type fight style; he would watch, wait and leap forward with one of his famous big punches at the right time.

The justifiable fear of getting your head smashed in by Overeem is likely what turned the tables in Round 3. After almost exactly three rounds of only punching, Sakai was taken down by Overeem who then began mauling from a standing ground-and-pound position.

Even though he had dominated the fight to that point, Sakai started Round 4 looking totally spent. His volume was down, his punches were weaker and poorly aimed and Overeem now looked in control. A hard elbow from Sakai cut Overeem directly on the hairline, potentially swinging the round in his favor, but then Overeem dragged Sakai to the ground again with 2:11 remaining and dominated him again.

He got the finish early in Round 5 with a TKO from this exact technique, leaving Sakai battered, bloodied and somewhat shocked following his success in the early rounds.

It was an incredible performance from Alistair Overeem. At the start of his fourth decade and as a man, and into his fourth decade as a fighter, he showed he's tougher and smarter in the Octagon than ever. This is definitely his last shot at the UFC heavyweight championship, it's also looking like it'll be his best.