Two Dutch heavyweight combat sports legends are reportedly in talks
to meet.

Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Alistair
Overeem and longtime Glory heavyweight champion Rico
Verhoeven are in negotiations for a boxing match in Amsterdam,
per a new report.

Alistair Overeem and Rico Verhoeven reportedly negotiating
heavyweight boxing showdown in Amsterdam

Black Book PR, which represents Overeem, shared a post from popular
boxing news outlet Boxing.media on their Instagram stories, drawing
attention to the potential matchup. The post claims Overeem and
Verhoeven, who were scheduled to square off on two previous
occasions, could finally lock horns in a boxing match at Johan
Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam.

The post further claims that the boxing clash will be the first of
three bouts, with the two heavyweights then competing in MMA and
kickboxing.

Overeem hasn't competed in the UFC since his 2021 loss to Alexander
Volkov. He fought Badr Hari in
kickboxing under the Glory banner in 2022, initially winning via
decision before it was overturned to a no-contest after he tested
positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Meanwhile, Verhoeven, who has one professional MMA bout and win on
his record, is widely regarded as one of kickboxing’s most
accomplished heavyweights. He's unbeaten in his last 22 kickboxing
bouts and took on Oleksandr Usyk in his most recent combat sports
outing, getting finished in the last second of their boxing clash
in May, which has since garnered much criticism for the
stoppage.

Islam
Makhachev is settling in nicely at welterweight, which gives
him even more confidence.

Makhachev (28-1) recently revealed that his training camp for his

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight debut was
challenging and that he's better adjusted to the higher weight
class going into his first title defense at 170 pounds. The former
lightweight champ takes on Ian Garry
(17-1) in the main event of UFC
330, which takes place Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in
Philadelphia.

Islam Makhachev details his transition from lightweight
champion to UFC welterweight titleholder

Makhachev was focused primarily on securing the belt rather than
chasing a finish against Jack
Della Maddalena last year. The Russian claims to be more
comfortable going into his second welterweight outing, as he isn't
lifting weights during camp.

“Now, I feel more comfortable, honestly,†Makhachev told MMA
Junkie. “The first camp, so hard. I just tried to gain weight, do a
lot of lifting program, but this camp I stay at the same weight.
I’m not going to go down. Now, I’m like real welterweight. This
camp I think is more easy, but you can’t say it’s easy, because
we’re not lifting much.â€

Makhachev now wants a finish after his title-winning effort came
via decision. Given that his body is more suited to the weight
class, he's open to taking risks in order to force a stoppage
inside 25 minutes.

“This fight, I will take more risks to finish my opponent, because
I like finishing my opponents,†Makhachev added. “This fight, I
think honestly, from the first time when I take him down, I have a
chance to finish him, because I saw his ground game – it’s not so
good, you know? He has good striking, long reach, long arm, and he
controls the distance, always goes back, but I see when I take him
down, it’s going to be a finish.”

A razor-thin defeat still needs an answer, and this Friday is when it finally comes for one of the sport's most respected veterans.

Superlek meets Abdulla Dayakaev in a bantamweight Muay Thai rematch at The Inner Circle 25 this Friday, August 7, inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium.

Their first meeting at The Inner Circle 14 this past May ended in a hotly debated split decision for Dayakaev. He dropped Superlek with a first-round right hand before absorbing a furious two-round comeback built on low kicks and clinch work. Two of the three judges sided with the Russian. However, the result left plenty of room for disagreement across the sport.

“My plan went out the window early when I got caught by a solid punch,†Superlek said. “Once I took that hit, I was forced to chase the fight and make up ground, but I barely remember most of what happened after that.

“I was planning to pace myself and fight calculated, not expecting to get caught like that, but I made a mistake and took the hit.â€

Superlek needs a statement in bantamweight rematch

Superlek now carries an uncharacteristic three-fight losing skid into Friday. He lost his bantamweight Muay Thai title for missing weight and dropped a loss to Yuki Yoza in kickboxing. His ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title remains the only gold he still holds. It's a rare stretch of adversity for a fighter with more than 170 professional bouts to his name.

A win over Dayakaev would go a long way toward restoring his place in the bantamweight title conversation. He built his training camp around correcting the tactical lapses that opened the door for Dayakaev the first time around.

“This fight will definitely not end the same way,†he said. “I am 100 percent confident that I will avenge my loss and beat Abdulla this time.

“Our first fight was great, but this one will be completely different. You said your goal is to knock me out, but I have the weapons to knock you out too, and I promise you, I'm not going down!â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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