Alistair Overeem claims Fedor Emelinaneko turned him down for the third time.
When it was announced Emelianenko would fight again and in Russia, many big names like Overeem offered up their services. However, it ended up being Tim Johnson getting the fight. For Overeem, he says this is the third time the Russian has turned him down.
“We tried to make a little bit that Fedor fight, and that was kind of radio silence on that end,” Overeem said on “The MMA Hour.” “But that would be something I was interested in.
“We tried to make that fight 2010, when he fought Werdum and I fought Brett Rogers – declined. After he lost to Werdum, we tried to make that fight. He declined, and now he has declined,” Overeem continued. “So that’s three declines, so I think, with all due respect, but there is no interest from that side to fight me, and I cannot blame Fedor. Listen, I’m getting a little bit older, myself. A little bit, not too much. He’s a little older than me, I think he’s 45 or 46, so I understand. But I have done everything I can do to make that fight happen – 10 years ago, but also now.”
Although Overeem claims Emelianenko turned him down, it’s uncertain if Bellator has even offered the fight. Overeem was under contract with Glory but he has made it clear he can still fight MMA and wanted the Emelianenko scrap.
Alistair Overeem was released by the UFC following his loss to Alexander Volkov. He was 2-1 in his last three and headlined his final five UFC fights. Following the release, many thought he would sign with Bellator but he ended up signing with Glory Kickboxing. He will now face heavyweight champ, Rico Verhoeven at GLORY: Collision 3,” which takes place Oct. 23 at GelreDome, a 34,000-seat stadium in Arnhem, Netherlands.
