Alistair Overeem out of UFC 160 with injury; will Mark Hunt face JDS?

alistairEarlier tonight it was reported by MMA Fighting that UFC Heavyweight Alistair Overeem was indeed forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 160 bout against Junior dos Santos with an injury. While Overeem is only on the shelf for 4-5 weeks, it is unknown whether JDS will wait to face Overeem or find a replacement opponent for the UFC 160 card.

Unfortunately this is another day in the saga of the fight that was supposed to headline UFC 146 last May. After Overeem’s much-publicized drug test failure, the bout was rescheduled with much less on the line, as neither fighter has the belt at this time. Overeem is coming off a devstating loss to Bigfoot Silva while JDS lost a brutal decision to Cain Velasquez for the title last December.

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Still, the battle of two power strikers was much awaited nonetheless. The UFC has not announced any replacement plans as of yet. All hope is not lost, however, as man of the hour Mark Hunt was on hand to comment on the situation:

“If I get the call for the fight, I’m there, of course, and the fans are crazy for it, so it’s good.”

“Sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I’m not injured. I’m always down for a battle.”

“I was born down. You know this.”

So Hunt would have around two months to prepare for a step up in competition in dos Santos. He of course bested Stefan Struve in a battle at UFC on Fuel TV 8 last weekend.

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Struve is a good fighter and prospect, but Junior dos Santos is just on another level. A fight against Mark Hunt may serve as a good replacement for fans looking for fireworks between him and Overeem. Does Mark Hunt truly have what it takes to beat one of the world’s elite Heavyweights? We may find out soon.