Alistair Overeem Believes He ‘Probably’ Already Had Coronavirus

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on everyone, UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem believes he already contracted the virus.

At the time of writing, there are nearly 2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide along with over 124,000 deaths. The deadly virus originated in Wuhan, China, and has since spread throughout the world.

Overeem — who does his fair share of traveling — revealed he was in Thailand for Chinese New Year back in February and likely already had the virus. But even then, he isn’t intimidated by it given how obsessed he is with health and his immune system.

“This is the time to eat healthy and be healthy, right?” Overeem said in a recent interview (via MMA Junkie). “It’s very good for your immune system. As an athlete, I’ve been always very obsessed with health and the immune system.

“That’s why I’m not really afraid of the virus. I’ve probably already had it. I was in Thailand during Chinese New Year. It was flooded with the Chinese and some people who were close to me had symptoms. That’s what it’s like now in the whole coronavirus discussion.”

“The Reem” went on to suggest how people should be working on strengthening their immune systems by eating the right kind of food.

“For your immune system, you should diet, eat to strengthen your immune system,” Overeem said. “Read some books. There’s a lot to learn about what to eat and what not to eat. There are a lot of foods people are eating that they do not realize is not healthy – and also combinations of food. People, you’ve got homework to do.”

Overeem was set to take on Walt Harris last month before the fight had to be rescheduled and ultimately postponed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The former title challenger, however, believes the number of new cases will eventually go down and things will return to normal. And when it does, he expects to be on the first card back.

“I think with the virus, you’ll see the numbers go down,” Overeem added. “I pay attention to it very closely, what’s happening and what are the next steps. Of course, because my work is affected by it. I think everybody in the world is right now, right? The news is there every day. I think everybody is inside all over the world. I have friends all over the world. My contacts – everybody is inside. Everything is shut down.

“This will be not a couple of weeks. Maybe, four weeks. Maybe, six at the most. Then, it will start back up again. I think slowly. I think not immediately it’ll (get back) to the same as always. It has to start up. I think when it starts up, the UFC will be the first to hold an event. I expect to fight there.”

What do you make of Overeem’s comments?