Alistair Overeem has reacted to news of the death of Aniah Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris.
Blanchard was reported missing on Oct. 24. Ibraheem Yazeed was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping. A second suspect, Antwain Fisher, was also charged with first-degree kidnapping. Blanchard was later confirmed dead as her remains were found off Macon County Road 2 in Alabama. David Johnson Jr. ended up being the third suspect arrested for hindering prosecution.
ABC News reported that Yazeed admitted to shooting Blanchard after she allegedly “went for the gun” according to court documents. Yazeed is now facing a capital murder charge and prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
Overeem was scheduled to face Harris this Saturday night (Dec. 7) at UFC Washington, but “The Big Ticket” pulled out due to this tragic event. Speaking to reporters during a media scrum, Overeem spoke on Blanchard’s death (via MMAJunkie.com).
“It’s awful what happened to Walt,” Overeem said. “I was following it every day – the little bits and pieces coming out. Usually, I’d go on Twitter to follow it. It’s really bad. It’s a really bad situation. I have three daughters, myself. So yeah – no words.”
Overeem went on to say that there are no words he can tell Harris to ease the pain from this tragedy.
“I would give him a hug. What can you say to anyone? I can’t really say anything to that. It’s awful, the situation.”
Overeem will meet replacement opponent Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the main event of UFC Washington.
