Looks like former Blackzilian team training partners Anthony Johnson and Alistair Overeem hate each other a lot more than fight fans initially thought.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, “The Reem” showed his displeasure with Johnson’s recent remarks claiming that it’s standard procedure for the Dutch striker to injure training partners, per Fighters Only.
(He said that out of) jealousy. I can’t think of any other explanations. I have no relationship with the guy … All this talking to the media? I don’t get. Where I come from, if I have a problem, I’m coming directly to you and I’m asking you what’s up. For me, that’s like p**** behavior.
Johnson, the No. 5 light heavyweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings, wasted little time in responding and turned the heat up on “The Demolition Man.”
“Rumble” sent out a very NSFW tweet this afternoon and here’s an edited version of the message:
“How can Over—t call me a p—y when he ducked JDS? Biggest p—y in the heavyweight division. I know the truth kid lol a cpl of us do!”
Just days removed from a definitive decision victory over Frank Mir at UFC 169 in February, UFC President Dana White said Overeem was “literally hiding” from ex-UFC champ Junior dos Santos, per FOX Sports.
White revealed that the former Strikeforce/K-1 titleholder was offered two different scenarios to square off with JDS: a five-round main event in Brazil or a three-round co-main event feature in Las Vegas.
While the UFC’s head honcho was less than thrilled with the situation, Overeem told MMA Fighting that he was rehabbing a rib injury at the time and was therefore not in a position to take a fight.
Overeem, who is 1-2 in his past three matchups, fights in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 50 this Friday when he takes on Ben Rothwell.
Johnson, who currently boasts an eight-fight win streak, fought at heavyweight on one recent occasion: defeating former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski via decision last March under the World Series of Fighting banner.
In the event that Overeem pulls out another victory on Saturday, would a catchweight or heavyweight grudge match with Johnson make sense for his next fight?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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