
Alistair Overeem gets a chance to avenge one of his losses when he puts his Strikeforce heavyweight title on the line against Fabricio Werdum at "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg" on Aug. 15 at HP Pavilion in San Jose on Showtime.
"I'me very happy that I'm being given the opportunity to fight him again and I'm looking forward to beating him," said Overeem, who is unbeaten in his past five fights. "This is the one rematch I've wanted. I'm going to punish this guy."
Werdum, who relocated to Huntington Beach earlier this year to train with the U.S. affiliate of Brazil's famed Chute Boxe Academy, is confident he can beat Overeem a second time. Werdum, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submitted Overeem with a kimura in the second round of their first fight at "Pride: Total Elimination Absolute" in 2006.
"I am very confident," Werdum said. "I have trained my whole life for this moment. Coming in as the challenger in a title match is a huge motivating factor for me. Whether the fight is against Alistair or another fighter doesn't necessarily matter to me. What matters is that I'm fighting the champion.
"Strikeforce is one of the biggest and most prestigious organizations in the world. To become the heavyweight champion for such a respected organization would be an honor that is beyond words."
STRIKEFORCE: CARANO VS. CYBORG
AT HP PAVILION, SAN JOSE, AUG. 15, SHOWTIME
Gina Carano (7-0) vs. Cris "Cyborg" Santos (7-1) for vacant Strikeforce 145-pound female championship
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (29-11) vs. Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1)
Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh "The Punk" Thomson (16-2) vs. Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez (15-2)
Nick Diaz (20-7) vs. Joe Riggs (30-10) for vacant Strikeforce welterweight title