UFC fighter Alistair Overeem to visit Manila on April 19

Nissi Icasiano

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UFC fighter Alistair Overeem to visit Manila on April 19
The Ultimate Fighting Championship will bring heavyweight fighter Alistair Overeem to Manila on April 19 to promote their first Philippine live event

MANILA, Philippines – The Ultimate Fighting Championship will bring heavyweight fighter Alistair Overeem to Manila on April 19 to promote their first Philippine live event, UFC Fight Night 66 on May 16.

Even though he is not slated to be part of the UFC Fight Night 66 card, the 34-year-old Dutch fighter will spearhead a meet-and-greet session and public workout at SM Megamall’s Event Center in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.

Along with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Overeem (39-14, 1 NC) is one of the two prizefighters in the world to capture world titles in both MMA and kickboxing at the same time.

In the sport of MMA, Overeem held the inaugural Strikeforce heavyweight championship by forcing Paul Buentello to submit with knees to the body before claiming his second world title in December 2010 by knocking Todd Duffee in 19 seconds to bag the DREAM heavyweight belt.

Meanwhile, Overeem has a kickboxing record of 10-4 with seven knockouts and spent most of his time in K-1, where he won the 2010 World Grand Prix with a first-round stoppage of Peter Aerts in the finals.

The 6-foot-5 striker made his way to the Octagon in December 2011 and had a successful UFC debut by thwarting former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in round one.

Overeem, who currently has a 4-3 UFC record, is riding high on a two-fight winning streak, scoring a first-round knockout victory over Stefan Struve this past December before outpointing Roy Nelson three months later.

UFC Fight Night 66, which takes place at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, is headlined by a featherweight super-fight between Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar.

Five Filipino fighters have been booked by the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization to compete on the same fight card.

Mark Eddiva battles Alex White in a featherweight match-up, while his teammate Roldan Sangcha-an aims to claim his first UFC triumph as he squares off with Guamanian flyweight Jon delos Reyes.

Meanwhile, Fil-Am standouts Phillipe Nover and Nolan Ticman are also slated to have their respective homecoming fights.

Mark Muñoz was also added to UFC Fight Night 66 and stressed that he is ready to hang up his gloves for good regardless of the outcome of his bout against English middleweight Luke Barnatt. – Rappler.com

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