Overeem and Arlovski to headline UFC debut in Netherlands
London, UK – UFC® today confirmed that No.3 heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem will take on No.5 heavyweight Andrei Arlovski in the main event for the organization’s debut event in The Netherlands on Sunday, May 8 at Ahoy Rotterdam.
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: OVEREEM vs. ARLOVSKI will go on general sale on Thursday, March 24.
Overeem (40-14, 1NC; fighting out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands), who previously held the heavyweight title in Strikeforce, is looking to make another run at UFC gold in 2016 following three consecutive notable wins over Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve. Overeem will be returning to compete in front of a home crowd for the first time since 2009, bringing the UFC’s first ever event to The Netherlands.
“I feel honored to be able to bring the UFC to The Netherlands” commented Overeem, “Holland has grown a lot of champions and striking is our forte. Andrei is a former UFC champion, an accomplished fighter and my teammate at Jacksons MMA in Albuquerque. I’m looking forward to the fight, he has excellent skills all-round and it promises to be an exciting fight.”
Since his return to the UFC in 2014, Arlovski (25-11, 1NC; fighting out of Chicago, Illinois, USA) has notable wins over Travis Browne, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Frank Mir. The former UFC heavyweight champion, and first European UFC champion ever, has his eyes on reclaiming his title as these two legends collide.
With the top of the heavyweight division currently in such close contention, a possible title shot could be the next opportunity for the winner of Overeem and Arlovski in Rotterdam on May 8.
Sure to delight the Dutch fans even more, UFC added another important heavyweight bout to the card as Dutch national Stefan Struve (30-8; fighting out of Boca Raton, Florida, USA) takes on Brazilian Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-8, 1NC; fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida, USA).
“I got goosebumps when I was told the UFC is finally coming our way, I’m thrilled it’s finally going to happen,” said Struve.
Addition bouts include:
• Dominic Waters (9-4; fighting out of Santa Rosa, California, USA) vs Peter Sobotta (15-5-1; fighting out of Au, Ballingen, Germany) in a welterweight tilt
• Lightweights Chris Wade (11-1; fighting out of Islip, New York, USA) vs Rashid Magomedov (19-1; fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) in a pivotal matchup
• Reza Madadi (13-4; fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden) vs. Yan Cabral (12-2; fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) squaring off in a lightweight contest.
• Garreth McLellan (12-3; fighting out of Johannesburg, South Africa) vs. Magnus Cedenblad (13-4; fighting out of Stockholm Sweden) matching up in the middleweight division
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: OVEREEM vs. ARLOVSKI go on sale to the general public Thursday, March 24. Tickets are available for purchase via Ticketmaster.nl. UFC FIGHT CLUB members have the opportunity to purchase tickets early, on Tuesday, March 22 via www.ufcfightclub.com. UFC newsletter subscribers will also have priority access starting on Wednesday, March 23.
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