Alistair Overeem knows the end is near.
The heavyweight veteran admitted his career as a professional fighter is coming to and end, and after notching his 46th professional win Saturday, Overeem wants one final run at the UFC heavyweight title. The Dutch fighter defeated Walt Harris in the main event of UFC on ESPN 8, stopping him with ground-and-pound in Round 2.
“We’re still hunting for the title,” Overeem told reporters at the post-fight news conference.”I would say also I’m in the last phase of my career, so those two things are on my mind: Finish up the career, and one more run at the title.”
Overeem (46-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) is 3-1 in his past four performances with his lone loss a last-second comeback win by Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Although he walked away with the finish Saturday, things could’ve easily gone the other way for Overeem. He was dropped in the first round and the fight looked close to getting stopped.
“There was definitely trouble, because I got dropped – that’s No 1,” Overeem said. “No. 2, I got cut, right? And you have a man that’s 275 (pounds) standing on top of you trying to finish you. So definitely, we were in trouble. He’s very athletic, very fast, very powerful – so we were in trouble for a little bit. Fortunately, I was able to reverse the situation and get the finish.”
With title aspirations, it’s tough to see a clear path back to the belt since the title picture at heavyweight seems to be at a halt. Champion Stipe Miocic doesn’t see a quick return to the octagon given he’s a first responder and he’s unable to train due to coronavirus restrictions in his home state of Ohio. There’s also a trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier pending and other contenders waiting on the sidelines.
When asked about Miocic’s stance on defending the title, Overeem took a different approach than most heavyweights.
“Stipe is his own man – he makes his own decisions,” Overeem said. “You can’t go around and say he’s scared or whatever. I think that’s nonsense. He’s tough. He’s proven it over and over again. I don’t really have much to say about him.”
On 'last phase' of career, Alistair Overeem wants one more UFC title shot