Had this been a normal year, September 5 would have been the first full Saturday of the 2020 college football season and that would have completely overshadowed any UFC event. Alas, this hasn’t been a normal year by any standards and there are only a handful of lower-tier NCAA games. Thus, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card from Las Vegas should draw more betting action than it normally would, and it’s headlined by a heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai.
The 40-year-old Overeem (46-18), from the Netherlands, is nearing the end of a legendary career – legendary even though he has not won a UFC title. However, the “Demolition Man” is a former Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight champion as well as a one-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion. Overeem is one of only two fighters to hold world titles in both MMA and K-1 kickboxing simultaneously.
His lone UFC heavyweight title shot came at UFC 203 in September 2016 and he lost by first-round knockout to current champion Stipe Miocic; Overeem does hold several wins over former UFC heavyweight champions, though.
Overeem’s fights tend to end pretty early as only eight of his bouts have gone to decision. He comes off a second-round TKO victory (punches) over Walt Harris in May as a +120 underdog. Overeem, ranked No. 6 in the division, is a -155 favorite for Saturday.