After early statements that he wouldn’t be ready to fight in the next leg of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix on September 10th, Alistair Overeem has officially been removed from the tournament. Undefeated prospect Daniel Cormier will take his place against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Overeem stated today that Zuffa had “threatened” to remove him from the tournament if he wasn’t able to fight and after explaining that he would have insufficient time to train for the fight, Overeem has since be removed, but will remain under contract with Strikeforce.
At present, there is no location for the tournament semifinals, but according to UFC President Dana White and Zuffa minority shareholder (the parent company of Strikeforce):
“Sept. 10 was the date Showtime wants us to go, so it’s the date we’ve got to go,” White said. “It’s unfortunate that Alistair is unavailable, but situations like this are why there are alternates in the tournament.”
