In part three of this video interview with Alistair Overeem from German outlet GNP1.de, the Dutch kickboxing specialist opens up about a variety of different topics, including a rumored bout against Junior dos Santos and the infamous horse meat that supposedly built his body.
Alistair Overeem on his quest for the UFC heavyweight championship
“That’s what I’m working for very hard every day, one more win and I will fight for the title. (Fabricio) Werdum has that title right now. He made an excellent resurgence, he’s a completely different fighter. I have to say I’m also a completely better fighter since we last fought, so I’m close. One more win,” says Overeem who already has an opponent in mind. “Junior dos Santos. And I believe that fight is coming. […] He’s the number one right now, beat Junior, have the belt.”
In lackluster fight in September 2011, Fabricio Werdum suffered a loss to Overeem during the quarterfinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. He went on to reinvent himself as a technical striker and beat Cain Velasquez in June of this year to become the UFC heavyweight champion. With two wins in a row, Overeem is on a winning streak right now and eyes a fight with former champion Junior dos Santos, which is rumored to take place December 5 in Dallas.
…on another fight against Mirko Cro Cop
“No I don’t have any ill feelings towards Mirko. We know each from back in the Pride days. He was a huge name back then already. But I don’t have the will to fight him. I mean we fought, everybody could see that I was very dominant in that fight. If the fight would happen, if it would be offered, I would definitely not turn it down and say yes, but he’s not on my list.”
Overeem and Cro Cop both fought in the now defunct Japanese Pride organization, but in different weight classes. Back then, Overeem was still fighting at 205 lbs. and Cro Cop was considered as one of the best — if the the best — heavyweights in the world. After Pride’s demise, in 2008, both men fought in Dream, now both as heavyweights.The fight was ruled a no contest after Overeem repeatedly hit Cro Cop with a knee to the groin.
…on the possibility of a Brock Lesnar comaback
“I don’t see him coming back. He’s already at a certain age, that… MMA is for young people. Even I am becoming old for MMA. I don’t see him coming back, because he would come back for what? For one year or something? I don’t see that. He’s in WWE, he’s making the money, he’s champion,” says Overeem. “I don’t particularly think that I’m the reason that he’s not coming back, but I do know that I’m the reason that he’s not in the UFC, because his last fight was against me, and that was, if he’d lost, he’d leave town.”
Overeem faced Lesnar in his first UFC bout at UFC 141, December 2011 and stopped him via TKO after two and a half minutes. Lesnar endet his MMA career after this loss and returned to professional wrestling. There have been strong rumors of a UFC comeback at the beginning of this year, but Lesnar ultimately re-signed with pro-wrestling promotion WWE in April.
…on if he still treats himself to Horse meat
“Well, we’re in Holland right now. It’s legal, you can buy it in a shop. So yes,” Overeem says. “It’s beef is definitely superior to regular beef, beef is superior to pork, so I eat it when I’m hungry.”
When Overeem started to take over the heavyweight scene, many wondered how he managed to gain 40 pounds of muscle in such a short period of time. Overeem answered doubtful questions by stating that training hard and eating horse meat build his body. Since then, horse meat has become kind of an insider joke with MMA fans, indicating the use of performance enhancing drugs. Overeem has was tested with a considerably elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio before a scheduled bout against Junior dos Santos in 2012 and has been suspended for nine months.
…on a UFC event in Holland
“What I would like to do even more, is to fight in Holland, which they are talking about. They are talking about it for some time and I believe in 2016 they will gonna do an event. It’s already being televised. Well, I’m not confirming anything, I’m not Dana White, but I know that they will do it,” Overeem says. “The cage is illegal, so that’s a big thing. But if somebody can change that, it’s the UFC. They have proven that it’s the safe way to do it. Usually how they do it is, they send Lobbyists over. They already overturned it in several countries,even in America. In New York it’s still illegal, but they are lobbying very hard to get it legal there.”
MMA fights in cage a currently prohibited in Holland. Even the popular sport of kickboxing is facing serious problems at the moment, since the government is cracking down on promoters, gyms and fighters that often are associated with organized crime.There has never been a UFC event on Dutch soil, yet.
Overeem also talks about training at Greg Jackson’s MMA academy, possibly participating in The Ultimate Fighter and much more. This is part three of a three-part interview. Here are the other two parts:
Video: Alistair Overeem blasts Glory for financial issues, lack of heavyweights
Video: Alistair Overeem says Fedor ‘declined’ to fight him two times