Overeem finds himself on the rebound following his lip-splitting knockout loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik under the UFC on ESPN 7 marquee in December. The 39-year-old Elevation Fight Team representative carries a well-established reputation as one of the sport’s most devastating offensive fighters, as he has delivered 40 of his 45 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Overeem owns wins over six former UFC champions: Fabricio Werdum (twice), Vitor Belfort (twice), Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar.
Operating out of Spartan Fitness in his native Alabama, Harris has compiled a 6-6 record across two stints with the UFC. The 36-year-old last fought at UFC on ESPN 4 in July, when he needed just 12 seconds to bring down Alexey Oleynik with a first-round knee strike and follow-up punches. The showdown with Overeem marks Harris’ first appearance inside the Octagon since his stepdaughter was abducted and murdered in October.
UFC on ESPN 8 “Overeem vs. Harris”—which airs on ESPN and streams to ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—also features a middleweight clash pitting former University of Alabama linebacker Eryk Anders against Krzysztof Jotko and a pair of featherweight duels, as onetime Ring of Combat champion Edson Barboza meets Dan Ige and Team Oyama’s Marlon Vera faces Yadong Song. ESPN and ESPN+ will also share coverage of the six-fight undercard at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
A closer look at the UFC on ESPN 8 “Overeem vs. Harris” particulars:
THE LINEUP
265: Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris115: Claudia Gadelha vs. Angela Hill
145: Edson Barboza vs. Dan Ige
185: Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko
145: Marlon Vera vs. Yadong Song
185: Kevin Holland vs. Anthony Hernandez
170: Matt Brown vs. Miguel Baeza
145: Giga Chikadze vs. Irwin Rivera
125: Cortney Casey vs. Mara Romero Borella
145: Darren Elkins vs. Nate Landwehr
265: Don'Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira
THE RUNDOWN
• Preview• Prime Picks
• Pre-Fight Stock Report
• Weigh-in Report
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