I agree he was fighting oddly, the thing is...it was evident he was very weary of Francis power. He also got out muscled and couldn't dominate the clinch or achieve a take down with it.
I don't think that'll change in a rematch, especially not now that he was stiffened. If anything, he'd be even more out of character next time around.
This is a horrible match up for him. Overeem has always had great offense and poor defense. He's been notably 'chinny' for his whole career, and his defense is often extremely worrying. Did you see his defense against the likes of Stipe and Arlovski ? He backed up to the cage and sits there trying to bob and weave with shots, he holds up his arms and peaks out to see the shots coming and tries avoid it as best he can...he just sits there getting hit. That's suicide against a guy like Francis.
Back in his Ubereem days, he'd have had a chance of clinching with Francis, delivering some vicious knees, getting a trip from the clinch...or alternatively landing some devastating kicks from the outside. But those days are long gone, he's past his prime and physically not the same as he was back then.
