‘Reem: Rothwell fight is beginning of title run

UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem recently appeared on MMA Fight Corner with Heidi Fang, ahead of his co-main event fight with Ben Rothwell at UFN 50. The main card airs at on Fox Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET (not the previously announced 9:00 p.m.)

A title is my goal,” said Overeem. “I think this fight and the last fight against Frank Mir are the beginning of this title run. Obviously, I came from two losses, so a title run is a bunch of fights, a bunch of wins. And actually Frank is the first one and Ben a second one. Who comes after? I don’t know. That’s something that’s up to the UFC and that’s something that will become clear after this fight.

I always aim for the knockout against the opponent,” Overeem added. “I have a couple of game plans, of course, I can’t disclose that. But I have a couple of game plans and all the game plans end with me finishing Ben, first or second round. Definitely not a decision, three rounds.

The interview also covered a number of recent controversies, including why he left the Blackzilians, and how he feels at his new team, Jackson’s MMA.

I was so excited to be in Florida, in Miami, said Overeem. I just lost my happiness for that camp. It’s in the total package. The camp is linked to a management and that’s linked to the big manager, that’s Glenn Robinson. We never really had a falling out, but just not my type of person. So that’s the reason.

Every gym has its own thing. I was very surprised by the family vibe [at Jackson’s]. Obviously, for me, I like it a lot. Everybody helps each other. There’s also the high altitude element. Jackson’s is pretty hard to train there, which is obviously going to pay off once you’re not in high altitude. Basically the feeling that you’re learning again, every day improving, that was something that was lacking for a while.

Current Blackzilian Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Overeem recently had words on social media, that began when Johnson accused Overeem of previously hurting teammates “accidentally on purpose.”

To tell you the truth, to be honest, I don’t really know [what started it], said Overeem. That’s something you’d have to ask Rumble. But again, he’s not one of my priorities right now. Right now I have different things on my mind. If you’re going to ask if that’s a fight I’m looking for, it’s not a fight that I’m looking for. At one point in the future I could see us fighting, but right now he’s not a priority for me.

The final issue addressed was Overeem’s three times delayed fight with Junior dos Santos. The pair were supposed to fight at UFC 146, but Overeem failed a drug test. The pair were supposed to fight at UFC 160, but Overeem cited a rib injury. Then Overeem declined a five-round fight with dos Santos in Brazil in May, as well as a potential three-round fight in Las Vegas, leading UFC President Dana White to declare that the Dutchman literally hiding from dos Santos.

That’s definitely a fight I look forward to do in the future, said Overeem. He’s fighting Stipe I believe in November. So again, that why I’m not going to look past anybody. I’m just going to focus on my fight and see what comes in my path.