Alistair Overeem has spoken out for the first time since he failed a drugs test for elevated levels of testosterone, and he appears to be confident that he’ll still fight Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 in May.
Appearing on the MMA Uncensored Live show on Spike TV Overeem refused to talk about the drugs test, but he was more than happy to talk about the potential fight, and the way he did so suggested that in his mind at least, the fight will go ahead.
“I am bigger, I am stronger, I am better in the stand-up and I’m better on the ground,” Overeem said in an interview that had been recorded two days earlier. “So for me, I don’t think about what he is going to do to me. I’m thinking about what I am going to do to him, and I am only thinking about what I am going to do to him. I am going to be ready wherever the fight takes me. I do prefer to strike, I do prefer a knockout over a submission win but I’m going to be ready for anything.”
He also insisted he has nothing to fear from the champion.
“You know I’m strong, I’m fast, I feel good. I’m going to get this guy, I’m going to beat him. Nothing scares me the most about Junior dos Santos. Everything he’s doing, I’ve seen it before. I’m not worried about it, I’ve experienced it all. There’s no fear, there’s only two things – trained and untrained and when I step into the Octagon on May 26 I’m going to be trained.”
Despite his confidence many are still dubious about Overeem’s chances of being granted a license to fight in the state of Nevada any time soon after his failed drugs test.
Amongst them is MMA Uncensored co-host Mike Straka who said on the show that he had spoken to Nevada State Athletic Commission officials and the sense he got was that it would take nothing short of “a miracle” for Overeem to get licensed for the fight.
We won’t know for sure however until Overeem attends an NSAC hearing on April 24th.
