Heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem says he enjoyed fighting at UFC Florida despite the fact there was no crowd or fans to cheer him on. Overeem met fellow contender Walt Harris in Saturday night’s main event. The Dutch knockout artist survived an early scare to score a second-round TKO win over ‘The Big Ticket’.
As a near 100 fight veteran Overeem has experienced pretty much everything in the game. However, this weekend was a first for him. The 40-year-old went war with no fans in attendance due to the ongoing global pandemic. Speaking at the UFC on ESPN 8 post-fight press conference Overeem explained how he quite enjoyed fighting without an audience, he said.
“Strange, I was fired up about it. This was fight No. 92. It kind of reminded me of my earlier fights. I have to go all the way back to ‘97 when there were like 200 or fewer people in the audience. This was a little bit different though. I don’t know, it motivated me. (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
“[It was] during a pandemic, first time, so to me it was very interesting tonight,” Overeem added. “No audience. Still you got tensions, still you’ve got the nerves going through you fight day. I don’t know but it was different. It was cool. I liked it. I enjoyed it.”
Overeem also said post-fight he is hoping to earn one more shot at UFC gold before he calls it a day. The multi-organization champion previously fell short when he fought Stipe Miocic for the title in 2016.
“We’re still hunting for the title,” Overeem said in the UFC Florida post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting). “I would say also I’m in the last phase of my career.
Do you think Alistair Overeem still has what it takes to become a UFC champion?