The UFC will try something a little different when it travels to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. to present UFC 146. The main card will be nothing but heavyweight bouts for the May 26 event, with the main event seeing Junior dos Santos in his first title defense.
Dos Santos’ opponent will be former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.
Dos Santos captured the heavyweight crown on November 12, 2011, when he knocked out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds at UFC on FOX 1. Following that fight, Dos Santos underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus, an injury he suffered while training for the Velasquez bout.
Overeem will enter the bout following a first-round stoppage victory as well. In his first bout in the UFC, Overeem faced former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, dispatching him at the 2:26 mark of the first stanza. Overeem hurt Lesnar badly with a kick to the liver and forced the TKO stoppage after delivering strikes to the crumpled Lesnar against the cage.
Before Dos Santos and Overeem meet, the winner will know who his next opponent will be, as Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez will face off in the event’s co-main event. The winner of that bout will be next in line for a shot at the winner of the night’s main event.
Also appearing on the main card:
Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Silva
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane del Rosario
Stefan Strive vs. Mark Hunt
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