Alistair Overeem uninterested in rematching Jairzinho Rozenstruik, believes the ref made a bad call in their previous fight

UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem says he is not particularly interested in a rematch against rival Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Overeem picked up his second straight win on Saturday night at UFC on ESPN+ 34, when he finished Augusto Sakai in the main event via fifth-round TKO. The win marked Overeem’s fourth victory in his last five fights, with his lone loss in that time period coming against Rozenstruik in a fight that had a somewhat controversial ending.

At UFC on ESPN 7 last December in Washington, D.C., Overeem fought Rozenstruik and was completely dominating the fight and well en route to capturing a lopsided unanimous decision. Overeem was four seconds away from getting his hand raised, but right near the final bell Rozenstruik was able to land a big punch on Overeem and drop him, ripping his lip open in the process.

Referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in and stopped the fight although Overeem was still conscious, handing Rozenstruik a late TKO win. The stoppage was considered iffy by some observers as Overeem wasn’t given a chance to defend himself after falling to the mat, though seeing his lip rip open on the replay took away some of the controversies. However, given the way the fight played out, many believed that a rematch was inevitable.

Speaking to the media following UFC on ESPN+ 34, Overeem said he “schooled” Rozenstruik in their fight and while he would do the rematch, it doesn’t particularly interest him.

“Well Rozenstruik, I destroyed that man. I schooled him. In my opinion, it was a very bad decision by the ref waving it off with zero seconds left. I have no problem running that back. In my mind, I already beat him. It’s only on paper that he kind of got it, and he knows it, too. But no problem running it back,” Overeem said.

When you look at the UFC heavyweight rankings, both Overeem and Rozenstruik are ranked within the top-10 and both men are coming off of wins, Overeem over Sakai and Rozenstruik over Junior dos Santos. With both men looking to prove they are legitimate title contenders in the stacked UFC heavyweight division, this is a fight that does make sense on paper and one that the matchmakers may end up booking. But if you ask Overeem, it’s not necessary to run the fight back because he should have won last time.

Who do you think Alistair Overeem should fight next?