Alistair Overeem’s latest blog for Yahoo! Sports mentions that he has relocated his training for the UFC 141 bout with Brock Lesnar from Las Vegas back to Holland so that he can be with his ill mother. One may normally think that this is a distraction that a fighter doesn’t need before such a big fight, but Overeem says that this is actually less of a distraction.
From the blog:
I am now training for Lesnar in Holland. I flew back about a week ago. I don’t want to go too deep into personal matters, but what happened was my mother is recovering from cancer and needs my support. She needs me in Holland over the next couple of weeks and I came back for her.
What I can say is that going back to Holland to be with my mother won’t be a distraction; it is actually stopping me from getting distracted. If I stayed in Las Vegas for this camp I would be constantly worried about her and my focus would have been compromised. Now I can train 100 percent, and know she’s just across town.
Obviously it feels slightly inhuman to think about a man’s cancer stricken mother and his attempts to be close to her as a “distraction,” but the fight is what we cover here. So it is another layer to the fight and it will still be seen if this affects his preparation for UFC 141.