UFC Fight Rumors 2016: Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski to Fight in UFC Rotterdam
It is a rare occurrence in mixed martial arts when two fighters in the same team do battle, especially if the fight is a headliner. Rumors are circulating that the first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card in the Netherlands will be featuring teammates Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem as the main event scheduled for May 8.
It was Arlovski himself who confirmed the news through his Instagram account, which by all accounts is a very awkward fight to be in for the two heavyweight contenders. It is no secret that both train in the same team and with the same coaches, which leads to the question: Are they going to train in the same gym?
Overeem will be coming into this fight with extra motivation since he's going to be competing in his home turf. The 35-year-old veteran mixed martial artist recently signed a multi-fight contract for the UFC, something he rightfully deserved after winning all three of his previous fights, highlighted by his upset victory against ex-champ Junior dos Santos.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Arlovski is also a former champion who desperately needs to redeem himself one more time. There have been a lot of calls for him to retire, but he proved them wrong by claiming knockout victories against Antonio Silva and Travis Browne. However, he lost his last fight against Stipe Miocic and this one's going to determine if he still has something left in the tank. Credits to him, though, he actually won six consecutive fights (four in the UFC) before falling to Miocic.
This rumored fight card will be the first-ever UFC promotion in the Netherlands and will be taking place in the city of Rotterdam, in South Holland. UFC finally figured out it was fitting to stage a fight in the country considering that mixed martial arts is a popular sport, where several Dutch fighters are competing professionally.
