It looks like Alistair Overeem is eager to get back in the Octagon by the end of the year. But don’t count on that happening.
Overeem, who is eligible to reapply for a fight licence with the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Dec. 27 following the serving of his nine-month suspension for a positive test for elevated testosterone, declared his ambitions on Twitter on Monday.
I’ll be fighting again in December and mark my words, I’ll be back.. to get the belt, sooner rather later.
— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) June 18, 2012
However, the UFC is apparently not looking at that date as a rubber-stamping for his licence. UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN in a text that it would not schedule an Overeem fight until after he has been formally reinstated.
Overeem is a suspended fighter, and even though it would be expected that his licence would be approved on Dec. 27, it can’t be assumed considering the reason for the denial of licence in the first place.
“It’s in the NSAC’s hands. (The UFC) can’t be presumptuous,” Fertitta told the website.
This of course would rule out Overeem fighting for a belt on the last show of 2012, which is expected to take place on Dec. 29. While the year-end event is typically a big one and would be suited quite well for a fighter of Overeem’s ilk, the timeframe — two days after he would be potentially be eligible to reapply for a licence — won’t work for his inclusion.
Despite the fact that the 32-year-old’s failed drug test caused a headache for the UFC and the eventual complete reshuffling of its UFC 146 show last month in Las Vegas, president Dana White has said that Overeem should maintain his standing in the promotion’s heavyweight division once he serves his sanction, which suggests he would be in line to face the winner of the upcoming bout between champion Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, which is expected to take place at UFC 152 on Sept. 22 in Toronto.
If that were the case, a December bout for the belt would likely not viable anyway.
Thus it appears Overeem, who hasn’t fought since a TKO win over Brock Lesnar last Dec. 30, will have to wait until 2013 for a return to the Octagon. But at least the Dutch fighter isn’t running and hiding.
