Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos had some harsh words for Dutch fighter Alistair Overeem. In an interview with Brazilian site Tatame.com, Dos Santos called The Reem a “joke.”
The comments come as part of a bitter feud that has been raging between the two ever since Overeem had to pull out of their first encounter last year after failing a drug test. Last week, the Dutchman did it again. He was scheduled to face Dos Santos in May at UFC 160, but had to pull out due to an injury.
In his place, Mark Hunt has stepped up to take on the former champion. He is coming off a brutal KO victory over Stefan Struve
Dos Santos was full of praise for the Super Samoan (Tatame.com via MMA Mania):
I admire Mark Hunt very much for having accepted the fight, since he just fought. I admire and appreciate, because I want to fight on May 25 and it will happen thanks to him. Mark is a very tough guy, beating strong. I have to be very careful. He has been champion in K-1, faced the best in the world and won exchanges.
On the other hand, he had few kind words for Overeem:
I cannot wait for the fight. [Overeem] is not champion, is nothing. If he was a champion, I would still hold on. I think [Overeem] is a joke. He is a big guy who is talking a lot of nonsense. I have nothing to do with him, he can follow his career and do what he thinks is best. I’ll follow mine and if one day we are bumping and he does not have any problem, we fight.
Overeem has certainly become a divisive figure in MMA, and has a knack of getting under his opponent’s skin. His arrogant exchanges with Antonio Silva prior to their fight at UFC 156 made it one of the tensest heavyweight fights we’ve seen in years. The fight between Overeem and Dos Santos has even more tension.
Over the last year, the two have skirted past each other, with Dos Santos losing his belt to Cain Velasquez and Overeem losing his No. 1 contender spot to Silva. Whether the pair do eventually meet will depend on how Dos Santos does against Hunt.
If Dos Santos beats Hunt, he will go on to face Velasquez, who is himself preparing to face Silva at the same UFC 160 event on May 25 in Las Vegas.
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