Alistair Overeem to Get Title Shot After Fight Night 87 Win

Alistair Overeem will get the next shot at the UFC heavyweight title after his win over Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 87. A UFC official told MMAjunkie that Overeem will face the winner of the Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic fight from the upcoming UFC 198, although he said the fight is not currently targeted for UFC 205. Overeem had laid down the challenge for the winner to face him at that event.

In addition, Overeem and Arlovski spoke after the fight. Some highlights are below:

Overeem on beating a teammmate in Arlovski: “There was a handshake, there was respect, (and) we looked each other in the eyes. Obviously, the whole thing was not good for the team, but I’ve done the best I could to keep the energy positive, not to disrupt anybody and keep the whole vibe positive, and I think the respect is there. It’s not going to be gone. We’re going to see each other in the gym. For me, there’s no bad vibes.”

Arlovski on the loss: “Of course, I’m disappointed, but Alistair is a great fighter, no doubt. I’m going to go back in the gym and do homework. I still have a great coach in the MMA business, so I have a lot of work to do.”

Overeem on Arlovski: “I have no regrets. It would be stupid – Andrei Arlovski, he’s a great fighter, and top-10. He’s hunting for the title. I’m top-10. There’s not many heavyweights out there. So it would be stupid to think we would not face each other at some point, but on an another note, we weren’t training together, we weren’t sparring together, we weren’t buddies together. I have a great relationship with the coaches, and we spoke up that we’re going to pick up where we left off after this fight. I expect to be back in the gym to get ready for the big one.”