If Junior Dos Santos has things his way, he will be defending his UFC heavyweight title in December against Alistair Overeem, not Cain Velasquez.
UFC president Dana White fielded questions from the media after UFC on FOX 4, and one of the questions dealt with the rumored heavyweight rematch between Dos Santos and Velasquez.
The rumors started after Velasquez’s mind-blowing performance against Antonio Silva at UFC 146. The former heavyweight champion left the Octagon looking like a “CSI” crime scene after a devastating first-round TKO stoppage.
After the fight, White seemed confident Velasquez had earned the next title shot.
“I like that fight,” White said, when a Dos Santos vs. Velasquez bout was brought up at the post-fight press conference. “Cain deserves the next fight.”
Unfortunately, nothing is ever set in stone in the world of MMA.
At the post-fight press conference for UFC on FOX 4, White eased up on the Dos Santos and Velasquez talk, and instead, he interjected another name into the equation—Alistair Overeem.
I sat down with Junior Dos Santos yesterday, who is the nicest guy in the world. He said, ‘I have nothing but respect for Cain Velasquez. I like him as a person and as a fighter, and I think he deserves this shot at the title, but I do not want to fight him,’ which is not what he said a month ago.
He said, ‘Alistair Overeem is a punk. He’s got a big mouth, and he’s been saying lots of bad things about me, and I want to knock him out. I want to knock him out now,’ and I said, ‘Junior, I like that.’ I’m not saying that that’s what’s happening. I’m saying that’s what he’s saying. He wants this fight. They wanted to meet with me. We went to lunch yesterday, and he just went off on what a punk he thinks Alistair Overeem is, and how bad he wants to knock him out.
Overeem was initially slated to challenge Dos Santos for the UFC title in May, but he was removed from the card after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone. He won’t be able to apply for a new license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission until December.
White never confirmed who would get the next title shot, but it’s starting to look like a long shot for Velasquez, who was knocked out in 64 seconds by Dos Santos less than a year ago.
If Overeem is awarded the title shot, this situation would bare a close resemblance to the welterweight fiasco involving Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit.
Despite being named the No. 1 contender, Condit lost his shot after St-Pierre told White he preferred to face the trash-talking Diaz.
People say talk is cheap.
Overeem might have just talked himself back into a UFC title shot.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com