SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem took part in a special UFC 141 press conference (watch replay) today at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California.
The two fighters will square off on Friday, Dec. 30, in the UFC 141 main event in Las Vegas in a heavyweight title eliminator bout with the winner taking on the winner of Saturday’s UFC on FOX main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos.
Today’s appearance was the first public UFC event Lesnar has attended since undergoing surgery earlier this year to remove a portion of his colon. There were rampant rumors that Lesnar had lost a lot of weight and would not be the large heavyweight threat he once was.
Lesnar denied those rumors saying he currently weighed 278 pounds, and by all appearances, and as much as one could determine with him being fully clothed, he looked to be about his normal size.
Both fighters remained respectful of one another for the most part during the press conference. However, when asked his opinion of the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix champion, Lesnar said, “Alistair’s done a lot of good things overseas and it’s an honor for me to be able to get in the octagon and kick his ass.”
Overeem fired back, “I’m gonna tear this guy apart piece by piece.” The oddsmakers currently have Overeem as the favorite at -150, while Lesnar sits at +120. Who you got? — Interestingly enough, when asked who they think will win between Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, they both picked Velasquez due to his wrestling.
This is Lesnar’s fight to lose. The Reem has very little chance.