UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem wouldn’t be surprised if he had the coronavirus earlier this year.
Overeem was expected to take on Walt Harris at UFC Portland on April 11. Those plans changed when the event was postponed over fears of COVID-19. Harris said the bout had been rescheduled for May 16 at an undisclosed location. That plan also appears to be out the window as the UFC has postponed future events indefinitely.
Overeem Believes He Had Coronavirus
Overeem appeared on Duello Channel and expressed his belief that he had the coronavirus back in February (h/t MMAJunkie.com).
“This is the time to eat healthy and be healthy, right?” Overeem said. “It’s very good for your immune system. As an athlete, I’ve been always very obsessed with health and the immune system. That’s why I’m not really afraid of the virus. I’ve probably already had it. I was in Thailand during Chinese New Year. It was flooded with the Chinese and some people who were close to me had symptoms. That’s what it’s like now in the whole coronavirus discussion.”
Overeem had been hoping to rebound from his tough Dec. 2019 loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik. “The Reem” was on his way to a unanimous decision victory but he was dropped by a punch and the fight was stopped with just four seconds remaining. While Overeem suffered a gnarly lip split, many believe the fight shouldn’t have been stopped as Overeem appeared to be conscious and ready to defend himself.
Prior to that loss, Overeem put together two straight first-round TKO victories. “The Reem” finds himself in the eighth spot on the official UFC heavyweight rankings. He’ll likely have to go on a winning streak to get back to title contention.
