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In case you were wondering … yes, Alistair Overeem is still bitter about his knockout loss to fellow contender Jairzinho Rozenstruick, which took place in the UFC on ESPN 7 heavyweight main event last December in Washington, DC.
Probably because “Demolition Man” was up on all five scorecards heading into the fifth and final round, but found himself getting waved off by referee Dan Miragliotta after “Bigi Boy” landed a thunderous combination that split Overeem in half.
With just four seconds left in the fight.
“We schooled the guy,” Overeem told Sirius XM’s Fight Nation (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “We were up all five rounds, it was just like one, or actually it was two punches that he connected. In my opinion a wrong stoppage, the ref should have never jumped in and when he jumped in it was zero seconds left. I actually had thought that it was the end of the fight because I remember the click, click, last 10 seconds and then I got dropped, straight back to my feet and it was over.”
The victory moved Rozenstruik to a perfect 10-0 and right into a heavyweight showdown opposite Francis Ngannou at UFC 249. Unfortunately for “Bigi Boy,” the brick-fisted “Predator” airmailed him right back to Suriname with a first-round knockout.
Overeem, meanwhile, recently rebounded with a second-round finish over Walt Harris.
“I thought I actually won that (Rozenstruick) fight and then it was like hey (expletive), they stopped it, TKO?” Overeem continued. “And then you have Rozenstruik talking about it. He KO’d me, he KO’d me. That guy got lucky and I would love to run it back with him because (if) I fight him again, I’m gonna finish him. One hundred percent.”
Overeem (46-18, 1 NC) remains ranked at No. 8 in the heavyweight division, just two spots below Rozenstruick at No. 6.