Overeem vs. Struve at UFC on Fox 13 in Dec, JDS vs. Miocic to headline

UFC heavyweights Alistair Overeem and Stefan Struve have agreed to fight at UFC on Fox 13 on Dec 13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Overeem entered the UFC as the Strikeforce heavyweight champion and the K-1 champion, having gone 11 fights in MMA without a loss. Then he crushed Brock Lesnar. Next however the Dutchman failed a drug test, that derailed a planned title shot vs. then champion Junior dos Santos. Now he is just 1-3 his last four fights, and is coming off a loss to Ben Rothwell at Fight Night Foxwoods.

However, he is confident in his new camp – Jackson’s MMA – and feels it is just a matter of time before the improvements shine through.

I’m still in a great place,” said a chipper Overeem to MMAFighting recently. “I think I really found myself at Greg Jackson’s. I like the people and I know, I just know, that all those months of work that I put in are going to come out. I know what I’m doing in the gym…I just know that it’s in the right direction.

There was fan talk that Overeem might be cut after his last loss, but UFC president Dana White said he would get another fight, and he has.

Struve too is coming into the fight facing challenges. The Dutch heavyweight has not fought since March of 2013, a losing fight in which Mark Hunt broke his jaw. Then a congenital heart condition was discovered that nearly ended his career. And when that healed and he came back vs. Matt Mitrione at UFC 175, he had a type of panic attack backstage, and was unable to fight.

There is always a lot on the line in a fight, but this one brings particularly high stakes.

The event may also feature Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic, according to a report from UFC Tonight. JDS is requesting that the bout be three rounds, rather than five, as he has not fought since a loss to Cain Velasquez back in October of 2013.