Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem are set to co-headline UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando, Florida on December 19th.
Is the third time the charm? After two previous Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem bookings were scrapped, the UFC is giving it another shot, this time as the co-main event for UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando on December 19th. The UFC confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon.
JDS (17-3) has been out of action since his narrow decision win over Stipe Miocic in the UFC on FOX 13 last December. It's quietly been an injury-riddled past two years for the former heavyweight champion, who had suffered a hand injury that delayed the Miocic fight from May to December, and is currently coming off another knee surgery. His only losses in the UFC have been one-sided beatings vs. Cain Velasquez.
Overeem (39-14, 1 NC) has won his last two fights after a dismal showing vs. Ben Rothwell last September. The former Strikeforce HW champion crushed Stefan Struve on the JDS/Miocic undercard and then survived a late knockdown to get an otherwise easy decision win over Roy Nelson at UFC 185 in March. This is a fight that has been a long time in the making, stretching back to 2012. Overeem was pulled from his title fight vs. then-champion JDS that year after failing his pre-fight drug test. In 2013, Overeem was forced out of the UFC 160 co-main with an injury and replaced by Mark Hunt.
UFC on FOX 17 is headlined by a lightweight title fight between reigning champion Rafael dos Anjos and familiar foe Donald Cerrone. Also on the card is Nate Diaz against Michael Johnson, Nate Marquardt versus C.B. Dollaway, and Josh Samman against the returning Tamdan McCrory.
