Former K-1 Grand Prix champion and Strikeforce heavyweight king Alistair Overeem will have to wait until at least the summer before he attempts to get back into title contention in the UFC.
Overeem was expected to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in a pivotal heavyweight showdown at UFC 160. Unfortunately, as injuries tend to happen in MMA, Overeem wasn’t able to make it through his entire training camp and now has to sit on the sidelines for the next few weeks.
The nature of the injury was not revealed right away, but on Thursday, Overeem took to Twitter to reveal the ailment that will keep him out of UFC 160 in May.
Now, a partial tear in the quadriceps muscle can be quite painful, but doesn’t typically require surgery. According to Ortho Info online, most small tears will be treated with immobilization of the leg and a three- to six-week recovery time.
UFC president Dana White said on Thursday that Overeem will still likely face dos Santos in the summer, so the diagnosis for the muscle tear seems right on the money for when he would be able to return this year.
The injury is just the latest rough spot for Overeem over the past two years.
The Dutch fighter started his UFC career with a huge win over Brock Lesnar at the tail end of 2011, but was forced to sit out all of 2012 after a random drug test done in Nevada revealed elevated testosterone levels in his system.
Overeem was then yanked from his fight at that time (also against dos Santos) and forced to sit out for nine months as punishment handed down from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Upon his return to action, “The Demolition Man” was one fight away from another potential shot at the UFC heavyweight title, but that was derailed in February when he lost to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156.
This latest news pushes Overeem back once again, but if all goes to plan, fight fans will eventually be able to see him meet dos Santos in the Octagon.
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