Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem (29-11-0) is looking forward to a rematch bout with former UFC/PrideFC fighter Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (23-6-2). Their first encounter came late September in a heavyweight bout over at the final round of the DREAM 6 middleweight Grand Prix event. Overeem used several knee strikes to the body as part of his gameplan, but 3 of those strikes landed on Cro Cop’s groin which eventually led to a "no contest" rule and referee stoppage. Immediately after the fight, Overeem told media:
"I’m sorry this great fight had to end this way…It was a mistake to make early in the fight. I wanted to
finish the fight with Cro Cop with a KO or submission in a fair way."
In late October, Cro Cop had stated that he too wanted to settle some unfinished business with Overeem. He felt that the Dutchman did start off well in their first match-up, but his own strategy was not able to kick in because of the illegal strikes to his groin. The knees made him lose focus and he was just not physically capable of continuing the fight:
"We will fight, we will have a rematch for New Year’s eve (Dec. 31)…We have already agreed in principle about it, but it has not been confirmed 100 percent…The third hit was very hard and it has given me small complications. I
had to undergo a small operation later, but it is that kind of a job.
I urinated a little blood, but that is all a part of the sport…Overeem started well, but his condition is his disadvantage. I will not say too much, we will repeat the match."
Overeem has repeatedly attacked Cro Cop verbally, calling him a "coward" and a "faker" on numerous occassions. The Strikeforce heavyweight champion is extremely eager to step back into the ring. In a recent interview with sherdog, this is what Overeem had to say:
“I’m afraid Mirko is trying to run from me again…FEG wants to make it happen, I would like nothing more than get my
hands on him again and I know that the fans would like to see a
definite ending as well, so the only obstacle here is Cro Cop. He’s the
one who hasn’t signed the contract yet and he’s the one who is trying
to avoid fighting me again because he knows that he will get his ass
kicked again…I won’t use any knee strikes to the body this time, so he won’t have any chance to wimp out of the fight again."
(Does Overeem want attention or could this actually be true? Hopefully we’ll see both men in action once again on New Year’s eve.)
