(“Whoooo…whoooo…whoooo wrecked another one of my goddamned parlays?” / Photo via instagram.com/alistairovereem)
With three knockout losses in his last four fights, Alistair Overeem has become almost the biggest bust in UFC history. But he’ll get at least one more chance to salvage his career later this year, when he faces fellow Dutch heavyweight Stefan Struve at UFC on FOX 13 (December 13th, Phoenix). UFC officials confirmed the booking yesterday.
Overeem was most recently spotted enjoying a private performance of Ben Rothwell’s celebratory jig, earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 50. Struve hasn’t competed since his jaw-breakin’ TKO loss to Mark Hunt back in March 2013. Since then, “Skyscraper” has been sidelined due to a heart condition. Struve was slated to face Matt Mitrione at UFC 175 in July, but fainted backstage before his fight and was not allowed to compete.
UFC on FOX 13 will also feature a win-or-get-fired lightweight bout between Jamie Varner and Drew Dober, and will “more than likely” host a heavyweight match between ex-champion Junior Dos Santos and highly regarded contender Stipe Miocic; we’ll let you know when that one is finalized.
In other UFC booking news…
After falling short in his middleweight title challenge against Chris Weidman during their fantastic fight at UFC 175, Lyoto Machida will rebound against CB Dollaway, who has posted back-to-back wins against Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira and Frankie Cars (RIP). The matchup — which was confirmed yesterday by MMA journalist Ronda Rousey — will take place at UFC Fight Night 58, December 20th at the Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is expected to air on FOX Sports 1.
So yes, we think Machida should take this one.