When Junior dos Santos was still Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem was talking all kinds of smack about how "Cigano" was ducking him and didn't want to fight him.
They were expected to settle that score at UFC 146; however, "The Reem" ran afoul of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and was forced to sit out for a year. Dos Santos went on to clobber Frank Mir in his place, but eventually coughed up his strap in a Cain Velasquez rematch at UFC 155 last December.
It seemed his "Reem" retaliation was off the table.
After all, the Dutchman was expected to be bumped to the front of the line and get his crack at the crown later this year. All he had to do was get past Antonio Silva at the UFC 156 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Feb. 2, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Piece of cake, right?
Wrong. Despite holding the division strap under the Strikeforce and DREAM umbrellas, as well as his K-1 kickboxing title, Overeem got his ass kicked by "Bigfoot" in what has to be one of the better heavyweight finishes in recent memory. Kudos to Silva, that was a goddamn work of art.
Back of the line, "Reem."
The good news is, Dos Santos is back there waiting for him. "Cigano's" loss to Velasquez was so lopsided, he won't see a title shot for several fights and hey, it makes perfect sense to match up two terrific strikers coming off a loss, particularly a pair that have the history that Junior and Alistair do.
And no doubt both are in a big hurry to erase the memories of their most recent performances.
Who wants it?
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