[sigallery id=”EKNJNtJTYXfkcpwxDXzpDN” title=”Overeem def. Hunt” type=”sigallery”]
A pair of high-profile matchups can take the “targeted” and “reportedly” tags off for UFC 213.
A heavyweight trilogy bout between former champion Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and recent title challenger Alistair Overeem (42-15 MMA, 7-4 UFC), as well as a welterweight bout between ex-champ Robbie Lawler (27-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and former lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone (32-7 MMA, 19-4 UFC) each now are official.
UFC officials formally announced the bookings on Wednesday. UFC 213 takes place July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the promotion’s official home in Sin City. Main-card fights air on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
The heavyweight booking marks the third pairing of Werdum and Overeem, who’ve split two previous bouts. The two first met in 2006 under the now-defunct PRIDE banner, with Werdum winning by first-round submission. They fought a rematch five years later for the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion, and Overeem emerged with a unanimous decision.
Werdum takes the rubber match after a rematch with ex-champ Cain Velasquez was canceled at this past December’s UFC 207 when Velasquez wasn’t medically cleared. Werdum accepted a replacement bout against ex-champ Junior Dos Santos, but the promotion balked at his financial terms. He lobbied for a title shot, but the UFC subsequently awarded Dos Santos the opportunity against champ Stipe Miocic.
Alistair Overeem
Standing in Werdum’s way is Overeem, who recently got back in the win column after a brush with the title. A knockout of Mark Hunt at UFC 209 put “The Reem” on better footing after Miocic knocked him out in a seesawing first-round brawl at UFC 203. Better yet, he did it after overcoming a nasty bout of food poisoning that necessitated several IV bags.
Robbie Lawler
It will have been nearly one year since Lawler, currently ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, suffered a devastating first-round knockout loss to Woodley to lose the 170-pound title. Before that, Lawler had been on a five-fight win streak, including two title defenses after winning the belt from Johny Hendricks in December, 2014 at UFC 181.
Donald Cerrone
Cerrone, ranked No. 11, will enter the fight looking to bounce back after losing by second-round TKO to Jorge Masvidal in January at UFC on FOX 23. Before that, “Cowboy” had won four in a row since moving up to welterweight after getting stopped by then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in a title fight in December 2015 at UFC on FOX 17.
The UFC 213 lineup includes:
- Champ Cody Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw — for bantamweight title
- Donald Cerrone vs. Robbie Lawler
- Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Thiago “Marreta” Santos
For more on UFC 213, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.
