Fedor Emelianenko. Mirko Cro Cop. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Wanderlei Silva. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Kazushi Sakuraba. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Alistair Overeem has outlasted them all. Many of the big-name stars of Pride continue to fight to this day, over 13 years after the organization merged with the UFC. Overeem alone remains relevant, carrying the banner of the legendary Japanese promotion.

Overeem has been fighting since 1999, when he choked out fellow Dutch kickboxer Ricardo Fyeet in the Netherlands. But for the first time, he’s started publicly speaking about retirement in recent months: the 40-year-old has stated that he sees himself fighting for maybe two more years, committing everything he has to one last run at a UFC heavyweight title that he says would complete his career.

He took another step towards that ultimate goal on Saturday, when he outlasted the much younger Augusto Sakai – who was eight years old when Overeem made his pro debut – and scored a fifth-round TKO win. The win was Overeem’s fourth in his last five, all against ranked competition, showing that the Demolition Man still has a ton left in the tank.

Overeem knows that he only has one shot left at the title. And most of the fighters above him in the rankings – Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik – have already beaten him. They weren’t all blowouts, by any stretch. Overeem was up big on every judge’s scorecard before Rozenstruik knocked him out with four seconds left – a really arguable stoppage, in my opinion. And Overeem dropped Miocic with a right hand in the first minute of their title fight in 2016, but famously went for a guillotine choke instead of following up with ground and pound. Miocic survived, and knocked Overeem out minutes later.

But since the loss to Blaydes in June 2018, we’ve seen a different Overeem, perhaps one who could turn his last fighting dream a reality. Overeem’s biggest stumbling block moving forward will always be his chin, which is still dodgy – he’s 40 years old, been in dozens of fights, and been knocked out plenty of times. But Overeem has absorbed some heavy shots in recent fights and stayed in the fight: Sakai blasted him with some vicious blows against the cage, Walt Harris dropped him and bloodied him in the first round, and even the whopping right hand that ended his fight with Rozenstruik didn’t really put his lights out.

Overeem’s been on a run of being able to survive punishment, which is the biggest key. He’s not the kind of physical freak he used to be, but he’s stayed in excellent shape, his cardio is strong, and his exceptional technical striking skill remains. Even against Rozenstruik, considered one of the top heavyweight strikers in the world, Overeem looked a cut above on the feet.

But over his last two fights, he’s changed his typical narrative. Overeem’s skills have been building leads against top fighters, but his chin has been blowing them. Against Harris and Sakai, he bided his time, absorbed their best blows, and put them away.

We’ve also seen a renewed focus on the wrestling game from Overeem, who has always been a capable grappler but has always been known for his world-class kickboxing. Overeem switched camps after being elbowed out on the ground by Blaydes in 2018, leaving a declining Jackson Wink MMA Academy to become one of Blaydes’ training partners at Team Elevation in Colorado. We saw a lot of Blaydes in Overeem’s win over Sakai – in the fourth, Overeem took Sakai down and absolutely ruined him with some violent elbows and punches on the ground. He took Sakai down again early in the fifth, and when it was obvious the Brazilian had absolutely nothing left, referee Herb Dean moved in to stop the fight.

The days of Ubereem starching people in the first round are done. I miss it, I really do. But this new Alistair Overeem might have something, even at the age of 40. An Alistair Overeem who is fighting smart, protecting his chin, using every tool in his toolbox, and leaning on his unparalleled knowledge and experience? I could talk myself into that guy making that run.

And here’s the thing: he’s basically already made the run. Overeem is one of the top five heavyweights in the world. He pretty much should be on a five-fight win streak. He may be as few as one win away from getting one last shot at the title. There’s just guys in front of him in line. Miocic and Ngannou are expected to rematch at some point in the near future, and Blaydes and Derrick Lewis appear headed for a clash. Then there’s Jon Jones, moving up to heavyweight, who looms as the X-factor – he could get an immediate title shot. That would leave Rozenstruik, who bounced back from getting murdered by Ngannou to knock out faded former champ Junior dos Santos three weeks ago.

An Overeem-Rozenstruik rematch makes all the sense in the world, especially after the somewhat controversial way the first fight finished, and how Overeem looked like the better fighter throughout. I’m taking the Reem again, and after that, who knows what could happen?

At the end of the day, sports are about stories. And what better story exists than Alistair Overeem winning a UFC title at the end of his career?