Alistair Overeem Explains Why He Called out Brock Lesnar at UFC 169

Brock Lesnar is one of the most polarizing athletes in mixed martial arts history.

Despite his relatively amateur prowess inside the cage, the WWE superstar put fans in the seat, eclipsing one million pay-per-view buys on the regular.

While Lesnar's time in the sport might have been cut short due to his lengthy battle with diverticulitis, the former UFC heavyweight champion left his mark.

However, recent rumors surrounding Lesnar's long-awaited comeback have prompted much feedback around the sport.  None more popular than that of Alistair Overeem, the very man who retired Lesnar back in 2011 at UFC 141.

"The Reem" explained his reasoning for calling Lesnar out at UFC 169 in a recent interview with The MMA Hour, originally reported by Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting:

"

I believe I read somewhere that he wanted to come back, and that he believed he didn't fight because of the health conditions and that it would have been different if he was healthy. He was talking about maybe a comeback, and I thought he wanted to fight me because of his last fight, maybe a rematch. With Brock, you have to take it with a grain of salt.

"

In any case, Overeem recently got back in the win column after dismantling heavyweight veteran Frank Mir for three-straight rounds this past Saturday.  He seems to have everything in order after focusing on his cardio and going back to Thailand to train.

But that hasn't stopped Overeem from thinking about the possibility of fighting Lesnar in what would be arguably one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history:

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I care about the title, of course, but if [Lesnar]'s going to come back, why not? It would be a great fight. Brock healthy, because that's what the discussion is, if he's focused, he's healthy, we all remember what he did with Heath Herring, Randy Couture, he is the former UFC champ, aggressive, he's huge, he's strong. I think that would be a very good fight.

"

Whether or not the Dutchman encounters Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, Mark Hunt or some other top contender in his next outing, his divisional resurgence will be truly something to watch.

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