If Overeem vs Dos Santos doesn’t happen it’s either cuz Reem is injured…or a scaredy cat

Immediately after Alistair Overeem finally earned a second UFC victory, fans everywhere started clamoring for a bout with fellow heavy-handed striker Junior Dos Santos. It made perfect sense. Now however, we’ve heard conflicting stories about the proposed matchup. Both stories have the same ending for the time being—no fight.

Overeem is apparently not accepting the JDS bout. Dana White publicly bashed Overeem and claimed he turned down not one, but two fights with Junior. He reportedly refused a 5 round main event in Brazil; following by turning down a 3-round co-main event in Las Vegas. Dana White—always willing to make a reasonable, calculated statement of fact—said Reem is hiding from Dos Santos.

“He wants nothing to do with dos Santos,” White told Ariel Helwani. “He’s literally hiding from JDS. But he had no problem calling out Brock Lesnar who hasn’t fought in 2 years and who is in WWE.”

That’s bullshit, says Overeem. He responded to the allegation by saying it was an injury, not a yella streak, that was preventing him from agreeing. “I’m hurt,” he said. “Rib problem. So first need an ETA on recovery time. Would be unwise to accept any fight before knowing exactly what’s up. Wouldn’t want to pull out of any fight [due to] being unfit, especially an anticipated fight as this one.”

Obviously Overeem isn’t big on using pronouns, but that’s beside the point. I would look for White to continue shaming Overeem until he ultimately agrees to fight Junior. It’s a bout everyone wants to see.