Alistair Overeem Wants Francis Ngannou Rematch Following Win At UFC Beijing

Alistair Overeem broke a losing streak of back-to-back losses at UFC Beijing this morning and now he wants to rematch the winner of the main event, Francis Ngannou.

Overeem defeated Sergey Pavlovich via first round TKO after finishing him with brutal ground and pound at four minutes and 21-seconds. It was Overeem’s first win since he defeated Fabricio Werdum at UFC 213 in July 2017 and it’s put him back in the mix of the heavyweight elite in an admittedly shallow division.

With former opponent Ngannou also getting a win in the main event, Overeem believes now is the time for him to get his revenge for the uppercut knockout that won the Cameroonian multiple ‘2017 Knockout of the Year’ awards.

“I have a lot of respect for Francis Ngannou,” Overeem said at the UFC Beijing post-fight news conference. “But I’m very ready for a second fight.”

“I can promise you the second fight will be different from the first fight. I made changes to my camp and I feel very energized, very motivated. The second fight will be different from the first fight, I guarantee that.”

Overeem and Ngannou first fought at UFC 217 last December. The win propelled Ngannou onto fight for the UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. Ngannou’s win this evening also snapped a win streak of two following back-to-back defeats to Miocic and Derrick Lewis this year.

Watch the full post-fight press conference: