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[Cat--Smasher]

White: Overeem meets Dos Santos-Velasquez winner, possibly in March or April

Not that either will be looking past the other, but at least Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez can be reasonably sure of their potential next assignment if they win in December.

The winner between heavyweight champion Dos Santos (15-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and Velasquez (10-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will face former No. 1 contender Alistair Overeem (36-11 MMA, 1-0 UFC), perhaps as early as March or April.

UFC President Dana White laid out the still very loose plan early Sunday following the post-event news conference for UFC 153, which took place in Rio de Janeiro.

"The winner of that fight will fight Overeem (in March or April)," White said.

Dos Santos and former champ Velasquez meet in the main event of UFC 155, which takes place Dec. 29 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Dos Santos was scheduled to face Overeem this past May, but Overeem tested for elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels and was essentially suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for nine months. At UFC 146, Dos Santos defended his title against Frank Mir, while Velasquez beat Antonio Silva to become the top contender with Overeem unavailable at least until the end of 2012.

In August, White said at a recent meeting with Dos Santos, the champ told him he would prefer to face Overeem instead of Velasquez.

"He's the nicest guy in the world," White said of Dos Santos. "But he said, 'I have nothing but respect for Cain Velasquez. I like him as a person and as a fighter, and I think he deserves the shot at the title. But I do not want to fight him,' which is not what he said a month ago.

"He said, 'Alistair Overeem is a punk. He's got a big mouth, and he's been saying lots of bad things about me, and I want to knock him out. I want to knock him out now.'"

Overeem is eligible to reapply for a license with the NSAC starting Dec. 27. There is virtually no shot of Overeem getting licensed to fight on the Dec. 29 show.

Dos Santos this past November knocked out Velasquez to win the title at UFC on FOX 1.

In July, Overeem told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) that Dos Santos was afraid to fight him .

"He can talk all he wants," Overeem said. "I know he's very happy that fight didn't happen, and I know he's afraid to fight me. He also knows that I'm the biggest threat out there to him. He knows when he fights me, there's no escape from it.

"He's going to hit and run, or he's going to go down. Either way, he's going to leave that octagon a loser.

White: Overeem meets Dos Santos-Velasquez winner, possibly in March or April | MMAjunkie.com

[Lesnar_FTW]

Out of any fight that has a legit chance of happening I want to see Overdeem/JDS more than any other fight.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

There's no doubt that Overeem is money in the bank, but I'm really sour on him coming back immediately from pissing dirty and dropping out of a title fight(in which he was trying to cheat) to get a title shot.

I guess this means Werdum/Cormier?

[1inthechamber]

March or April is a bit of a long wait. I can't wait for this fight to happen already.

[K1NG P3NN]

JDS is going to HURT Overeem.

[LefthookStcrook]

Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

There's no doubt that Overeem is money in the bank, but I'm really sour on him coming back immediately from pissing dirty and dropping out of a title fight(in which he was trying to cheat) to get a title shot.

I guess this means Werdum/Cormier?

Exactly!

Like hes gets caught cheating to EARN his title shot....then "EARNS" a title shot? Fucking Bullshit.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Good. I hope he tries to get Werdum and DC to fight each other... I do honestly beilve that Werdum himself wants to fight DC, but his management has convinced him that it isnt in his best interest...

I know some will say that a fight with JDS or AO would be more intriguing because it is a rematch... but I disagee in this case... He KTFO by JDS, and that was when JDS was still a young fighter... Watching both of their fights since then... nothing indicates anything would change... Yes, they both improved, but this stylistic clash, still favors JDS, and always will... imo, thats just how it is. And I dont think I need to bring up Werdum/AO 2... Dana would flip a switch if he Werdum tried to pull that shit in the UFC.



JDS vs. AO is a huge fight. It will sell well and it will undoubtedly determine who is deserving of being the #1 HW in the world...


I wonder if AO has lost some of his luster or if he could have ring rust by then... It does make sense to get him a quick fight before then... Possibly Bigfoot? Get more hype around him, also giving him a legit test.

[jdwall]

i think overeem should fight jds his frst fight back wether or not jds is still champ. jds is a phenominal striker but i still believe cain is bettr all around specialist especially cardio so i still pikin cain to take back belt

[AnchorPunch]

Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

There's no doubt that Overeem is money in the bank, but I'm really sour on him coming back immediately from pissing dirty and dropping out of a title fight(in which he was trying to cheat) to get a title shot.

I guess this means Werdum/Cormier?

Absolutely feel the same the way. I understand that star power affects title shots, but I really dislike that star power also affects how people caught cheating are treated.

Maybe it means that Josh Barnett is coming to the UFC after all

[Rise]

They shouldn't be rewarding Overeem with a title shot after all the stunts he pulled.

He should be fighting at least one more clean fight before getting a title shot. Send him back to Strikeforce to fight Cormier or Barnett first then if he wins maybe think about a title shot.