Surging UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson is no fan of ex-Strikeforce/K-1 champ Alistair Overeem, largely since he believes “The Demolition Man” would intentionally hurt people in training.
Speaking with Fighters Only magazine, “Rumble” said he isn’t surprised “The Reem” is the one who hurt 205-pound champ Jon Jones in training, also noting he’d make one more trip to heavyweight to settle the grudge with Overeem.
Greg Jackson says it wasn’t on purpose, but I know the man and when he was here he was always hurting somebody. Accidentally on purpose. And it ain’t because he’s clumsy, he ain’t clumsy, he would just hurt you. I’ve seen the guy do it. I’ve seen him basically bullying and stuff … If Joe Silva called me up and offered me that fight, yeah, I’d take that and knock his head off … And, well, right now, Alistair Overeem is the right guy (laughs). I’d love to knock him out. And I’d do it with a big smile on my face too.
Overeem trained at Boca Raton, Florida’s Blackzilian team from February 2012 until January of this year, most recently joining Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Greg Jackson’s MMA camp in April.
Blackzilian team member Gilbert Burns alleges that Overeem left the camp after intentionally causing a knee injury to fellow UFC heavyweight Guto Inocente back in May, per MMA Fighting.
In the same interview, Burns claimed that none other than Johnson was one of the fighters who used to beat up Overeem during sparring.
Johnson, who seemed to defy all logic when he made welterweight (170 pounds) between July 2008 and October 2011, has primarily competed at light heavyweight since August 2012.
However, in the midst of his eight-fight win streak, Johnson was victorious in one heavyweight contest: winning a lopsided decision over ex-UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski in March of last year.
According to the UFC’s official rankings, Johnson is the No. 5 light heavyweight in the world, while Overeem cracks the heavyweight list at No. 7.
After a decisive win over Frank Mir at UFC 169 in February, Overeem returns to the Octagon to face Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 50 next month.
Meanwhile, Johnson awaits his next assignment after decimating Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on FOX 12 last month.
Would a heavyweight scrap between Overeem and Johnson appeal to fight fans in 2015?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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