ESPN
Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title contender, Alistair Overeem, is recovering from what could be the worst facial cut ever suffered in a sanctioned mixed martial arts (MMA) fight.
See the post-fight photos here.
The damage is a result of his five-round war against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the UFC on ESPN 7 main event earlier this month in Washington, D.C. (highlights here), but it appears as though “Demolition Man” is finally on the road to recovery.
“It was a nice fight,” Overeem said in the embedded video above. “It was a good scrap. I was winning rounds, doing my thing … too fast of a stoppage if you ask me. I was not out. I was knocked down, getting right back up. The ref didn’t see the damage by then but yeah, sometimes you have these days.”
The victory was enough to propel Rozenstruik into the No. 5 spot in the official UFC rankings, as well as the UFC Columbus main event opposite Francis Ngannou next March. The still-wounded Overeem, meanwhile, will be sidelined until further notice.