Overeem's great-great grandfather was a slave on the island of Jamaica, who became a free man and bought a large tract of land on which he started a village, which has survived and prospered until this day.
On 1 January 2012 following his match with Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, Overeem shoved a woman in the face, "causing her to stagger back," at the Wynn Las Vegas at about 3 am, according to the Las Vegas Police Department.