Even though Alistair Overeem wants to fight Junior dos Santos as soon as possible, the international heavyweight star expects Cain Velasquez to spoil the party.
As the Dutchman discussed in a recent interview with the Las Vegas Sun, he doesn’t expect that he’ll get to face “Cigano” for the UFC heavyweight title any time soon. In his mind, that’s due in part to JDS flip-flopping on the once-planned matchup, along with Velasquez’s superior wrestling:
“I want dos Santos to win so I can beat him, but I think Cain is going to take care of him for me, unfortunately.” Overeem said. “Junior is going to get taken down. He’s going to get ground-and-pounded.
“[Junior’s] been doing the zig-zag. He wants to fight me then he doesn’t, so then he fights Cain. I think he’s going to have his hands full with Cain. He’s going to lose.”
However, it takes two men to make a fight, and Overeem was already slated to challenge JDS for the UFC Heavyweight Champion on May 26, 2012 at UFC 146. Those plans were scrapped once Overeem turned a positive drug test for abnormally high levels of testosterone, leading to a nine-month suspension.
Despite being out of action for so long, Overeem has been doing steady media tours in preparation for his return at UFC 156 against Antonio Silva.
Notably, the Dutchman also joined the “Blackzilians” supercamp last February, which led to Silva’s recent departure from the highly publicized group. As Overeem opines, it was ultimately an unwise move by the Brazilian heavyweight:
I think it was the stupidest thing on his part. This is a really good team with a really strong manager backing it and a lot of good people. I just don’t think it was a clever thing to do. I don’t even know where he’s training now.
Regardless of the inner-camp drama, both men will cross paths again at UFC 156 as part of the main card in Las Vegas this coming February. Overeem heads into the bout on a 12-fight undefeated streak, dating all the way back to a November 2007 victory over Paul Buentello for the inaugural Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship.
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