Like dozens of his UFC counterparts, Alistair Overeem doesn’t know when he’ll fight again.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Overeem (45-18 MMA, 9-7 UFC) recently traveled from his native Amsterdam to his training home of Denver. While flights are still happening, this plane was expectedly empty, Overeem said in a recent interview with Duello Channel.
“There are not many flights – not many people traveling right now,” Overeem said. “The plane was 10 percent (or) 15 percent (full), but there are still some flights going on.”
Traveling isn’t unusual for Overeem. The 39-year-old fighter has competed internationally for a plethora of notable organizations. Along his journey, he’s spent time in various countries training at different gyms and picking the brains of some of MMA’s best minds.
In February, Overeem said, he spent Chinese New Year in Thailand. Judging by those around him during his stay, Overeem said it’s likely he’s already had coronavirus. He credits his carefulness in maintaining his immune system throughout the years for his lack of intimidation of the virus.
“This is the time to eat healthy and be healthy, right?” Overeem said. “It’s very good for your immune system. As an athlete, I’ve been always very obsessed with health and the immune system. That’s why I’m not really afraid of the virus. I’ve probably already had it. I was in Thailand during Chinese New Year. It was flooded with the Chinese and some people who were close to me had symptoms. That’s what it’s like now in the whole coronavirus discussion.”
As someone who follows COVID-19 news closely, Overeem encouraged the public to use their time to better themselves. Reading and learning can help people make positive lifestyle adjustments, Overeem said.
“For your immune system, you should diet, eat to strengthen your immune system,” Overeem said. “Read some books. There’s a lot to learn about what to eat and what not to eat. There are a lot of foods people are eating that they do not realize is not healthy – and also combinations of food. People, you’ve got homework to do.”
A longtime UFC heavyweight, Overeem was scheduled to compete April 11 against Walt Harris at UFC on ESPN+ 30. However, the event was canceled due to coronavirus restrictions. It was then rescheduled for May 16 at UFC on ESPN+ 33. Shortly thereafter, the promotion announced all events would be postponed until further notice.
While he doesn’t know when and where the UFC will resume, Overeem expects to be on the promotion’s first card back.
“I think with the virus, you’ll see the numbers go down,” Overeem said. “I pay attention to it very closely, what’s happening and what are the next steps. Of course, because my work is affected by it. I think everybody in the world is right now, right? The news is there every day. I think everybody is inside all over the world. I have friends all over the world. My contacts – everybody is inside. Everything is shut down.
“This will be not a couple of weeks. Maybe, four weeks. Maybe, six at the most. Then, it will start back up again. I think slowly. I think not immediately it’ll (get back) to the same as always. It has to start up. I think when it starts up, the UFC will be the first to hold an event. I expect to fight there.”
