If there is one cardinal rule in mixed martial arts, it’s to never look past an opponent.
Alistair Overeem is prepared to meet Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 next weekend, where the winner will likely slot themselves in for an opportunity to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.
Apparently, Overeem already sees himself standing opposite to the champion in his next bout.
“Style-wise, dos Santos is going to be an excellent fight for me — striker against striker,” Overeem told ESPN.com.
A reigning champion in multiple organizations, Overeem is confident in his skills and abilities to dethrone the Brazilian and believes his experience gives him a distinct advantage over dos Santos as well.
The Dutch striker envisions himself defeating Lesnar in quick and dominant fashion, en route to a future matchup with the champion, where he attributes a lot of dos Santos’ success to his superior boxing.
“I must say that he is very dangerous with his hands. He’s got a lot [of power] in both punches; he’s clever and he’s fast,” he said.
The idea of witnessing the two strikers competing against each other provides for an intriguing bout in the future, but that would require Overeem to walk away with the victory next weekend. Although he hopes to dispose of Lesnar, the win won’t necessarily come convincingly for the 255-pound Overeem.
However, the Demolition Man intends on making a statement in his UFC debut, while making his claim for a UFC title shot.
“I don’t see it going past the first or second round, second round maximum,” he said.
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