As those familiar with his career might expect, Alistair Overeem is over his loss to Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 50.
“I’m good,” he told The MMA Hour via phone on Monday. “The fight was not good. That was terrible, a terrible result. I can tell you it’s such a shame, because I was in damn good shape. And that just proves to me it can alter in the heavyweights, one mistake, one blow.”
After setting up shop at Greg Jackson’s gym, the heavyweight still suffered an upset loss after getting caught by a powerful right hand, resulting in Overeem’s third loss in his last four fights.
“I’m disappointed in the result of the fight, but you know I was in a great place and I’m still in a great place,” he said. “I think I really found myself at Greg Jackson’s. I like the people, and the prep was great. And I know — I just know — that all those months of work that I put in are going to come out. It might not have come out in the fight, or the result wasn’t there, but I know it’s going to come out later. Because I know what I’m doing in the gym…I just know that it’s in the right direction. So again, very unfortunately result.”
When asked to explain why he was surprised, Overeem said he got overanxious after presuming Rothwell was hurt.
“We all knew that Ben has hard hands, that’s how he wins fights,” he said. “I kicked his arm, and I thought I disabled his arm. I heard a crack, I could see he was hurt, so I didn’t expect him to punch with it, especially not that fast counter-punch. I was maybe expecting him to punch a little bit later, but not that fast, and I didn’t expect it to come from that angle.
“I should have been more guarded, I should have been more careful. We all knew Ben could take a punch, well maybe take a couple of punches, he’s a tough guy. He’s got hard hands. And I just made a mistake.”
The fighter has been dissuaded by the loss and still says he is ready, willing, and able to step into the Octagon at anytime Dana White chooses to call on him.
“[I’d like to fight] as soon as possible, because I was not out,” he said. “I was not sleeping. I was just dazed, and Ben capitalized. So I guess if it’s up to me, not too far away.”
