At UFC 209, at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the main card opened with a promising bout between two heavyweight knockout artists looking to make a statement. Alistair Overeem was out to prove, despite his recent loss to the champion, Stipe Miocic, he is still one of the greatest heavyweight fighters in the world. And his opponent, Mark Hunt, came to "Sin City" to let his fans know, regardless of his pending lawsuit against the UFC, he isn't leaving the fight game behind just yet.
The perfect game plan
Fully aware of the power Hunt possesses, Overeem entered the fray cautiously, maintaining distance and using leg kicks to set up his punches. The opening round was uneventful, but in the second Overeem was able back his opponent into the cage and initiate the clinch.
From there he did significant damage with a series of knees to the body. In the third and final round, Overeem began to switch between orthodox and southpaw stances frequently in an attempt throw off his opponent's rhythm, allowing him to get in close and land a big right hand that sent Hunt reeling against the cage.
Once in the clinch, Overeem used his overwhelming size to keep his opponent against the cage and connected with a right knee to the head, dropping Hunt to the canvass.
Overeem was sick going in
Analyst after analyst broke this fight down, taking into account every variable they could think of. One thing they didn't know, however, was that Overeem had been in the hospital for nearly twenty-four hours leading up to his fight at UFC 209. Even still, he refused to drop out of the fight, instead opting to take on one of the most dangerous men on the planet while weak and dehydrated -- something that his team did an amazing job of hiding from the public. It wasn't until UFC president Dana White revealed after the fight the former champion was suffering from food poisoning, that anyone knew he was ailing.
Post-fight interview
In his post-fight interview, Overeem expressed his desire to face fellow UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou, an up-and-coming contender with serious knockout power. President White quickly shot down the idea, claiming that Ngannou needs to win a few more fights before earning the right to step into the octagon with the former champion.
Although, White did mention a possible opponent for Overeem's next trip to the cage, Derrick Lewis, another heavy hitter making waves in the UFC's heavyweight division. Both matchups seem enticing, but only time will tell what's in store for Overeem.