(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
On Saturday night, in front of millions on FOX, UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem will return to the Octagon against the number-15 ranked Stefan Struve.
Earlier this week, MMAJunkie.com put out a story that Overeem plans to knockout Struve in 30-seconds or less. The quotes for that article came from the UFC on FOX 13 ‘Road to the Octagon’ Episode, but according to the 34-year-old, he never said anything of the sort.
“Nobody said anything about finishing anybody in 30-seconds and I have no idea where that comes from to just clarify on that,” Overeem told MMASucka.com.
When asked if he re-watched the show or saw the headlines on a number of MMA sites, his answer was simple.
“Yeah, but lets just drop the subject, because I didn’t say it.”
Struve has not fought since his March 2013 loss to Mark Hunt. He was expected to face Matt Mitrione at UFC 175 in July of this year, however during the first fight of the main card, Struve fainted in the dressing room and had an elevated heart rate. This didn’t worry “The Demolition Man” at all because he knew if Struve did for some reason pull out, there would be another opponent for him to fight.
“I was not worried, because I had known that if Stefan would drop out, I’m sure UFC would find a replacement. I mean they hold so many events.”
The “Skyscraper” stands at 7-feet-tall, however he is not known to use his reach to his advantage. This could play right into Overeem’s game-plan.
“He is somebody that, I know he’s working on it, using his reach more,” said Overeem. “So I expect that a little bit more, but I just think, be sharp, do my own thing and then stick to the game-plan. Stick to the stuff that we prepared for, then it should all be just fine.”
The work Overeem has put into this camp seems to be second-to-none. However, the same could be said for his last camp, when he made the change to Team Jackson-Winkeljohn in Albuquerque, N.M.
Things didn’t go his way against Ben Rothwell in his last outing, but that didn’t have anything to do with the camp, he simply got ‘clipped.’
“Definitely I am getting better. In this camp, even now I’ve gotten better; improved a lot. I was still in shape from the fight before, so that gives you more space to just improve on communication and on strategies and tactics. Of course it always takes some time to settle in a new camp. Trust me, don’t get me wrong, I felt great for the last fight. Hard work pays off.”
Fans will find out on Saturday night, whether or not Overeem is back to the man who was undefeated since 2007 coming into the UFC or not.
