Alistair Overeem is now considered a veteran in MMA circles, and he's been competing in the UFC for nearly eight years now.

The England-born Dutch fighter burst onto the scene in 2008 when he KO'd Brock Lesnar, in what would be his last MMA fight for over four years.

After controversy in 2012 over a failed drugs test, Overeem returned in 2013, but he's had a mixed record since then in the UFC and hasn't lived up to the hype surrounding his name upon his arrival.

Only challenging [unsuccessfully] for the heavyweight championship once in his UFC career, Overeem was ranked number six of the big men, and last night in Washington, D.C. he looked to step it up a notch.

But his opponent was a fearsome undefeated Surinamese fighter in the form of Jairzinho Rozenstruik, who had won nine MMA fights in a row - three of them coming in the UFC.

For the most part though, Overeem dominated this contest, dominating in the clinch and on the mat, but he couldn't generate the power to put Rozenstruik away.

There wasn't much heavy-hitting going on as the two men fought the fifth and final round, but out of nowhere with just seconds to go, Rozenstruik caught Overeem with a crushing right hand.

And despite the Dutchman getting to his feet almost immediately, the referee controversially stopped the bout.

Overeem may not have felt it, but everyone could certainly see the damage that Rozenstruik had done, and his final punch pretty much made Overeem's lip explode!

The next image is not one that squeamish viewers will want to see, but for those who want to see the full effects of Rozenstruik's striking, here it is.

Maybe it was the look of his face that made the referee wave it off with just seconds to go, and Overeem is entitled to feel hard done by, but those injuries are gruesome and they'll take a while to heal.

We can go as far as saying as it's one of the most brutal injuries to ever occur in the fight game, and it's incredibly surprising that Overeem wasn't in a lot more visible pain.

No doubt he will have a long medical suspension to stop him competing anytime soon - we just hope his lip survives!