Alistair
Overeem’s face was a bloody mess at the conclusion of his
second-round technical knockout loss to Alexander
Volkov in the
UFC Fight Night 184 headliner.
According to the Dutch veteran, one of Volkov’s powerful punches
broke his nose in the opening stanza of the heavyweight bout. All
told, Volkov outlanded Overeem by a 54-to-10 count in significant
strikes – including 47-to-3 in head strikes.
“You’re a true warrior, [Alexander
Volkov]. Congrats on the win!” Overeem wrote on Instagram.
“Yesterday wasn’t my night. I could not recover from that punch in
the first round after I broke my nose.”
The 40-year-old former Strikeforce and K-1 champion entered the
matchup with Volkov having won four of his previous five Octagon
appearances. Another win could have once again propelled “The
Demolition Man” into the championship discussion at heavyweight.
Instead, it appears that Overeem’s UFC title dreams may have been
extinguished for good.
Still, Overeem sounds as though he’ll be ready to keep moving
forward with his career after some much-needed time off.
“My highest priority right now is to heal up and spend some
well-deserved time with the family. I’ll be back in the gym soon
though,” Overeem wrote. “Thank you all for your support! I see the
comments, you guys are the best.”