UFC
Lorenzo Fertitta says UFC won't book Alistair Overeem until licensed by NSAC
Jun 19, 2012 - 10:20:07 PM Lorenzo Fertitta says UFC won't book Alistair Overeem until licensed by NSAC

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Alistair Overeem said on Monday that he will be back fighting this December, with a desire to go after the UFC Heavyweight Championship. However, unless the Nevada State Athletic Commission goes against their own ruling sometime this fall, Overeem will not be on a UFC card this year.

UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said on Tuesday that the UFC will not be booking Overeem in any fights until he gets licensed by the NSAC once his nine-month denial expires. Considering his denial goes through December 27, the UFC will not be putting him on their year-end likely to take place on December 29.

"That's speculation," Fertitta said of Overeem's December ambitions in a comment made to ESPN.com. "It's in the NSAC's hands. [The UFC] can't be presumptuous."

As it stands, that approval cannot come until after December 27, so the UFC will not book him for any event until after that.

Penick's Analysis: It would take the NSAC holding some unprecedented hearing this fall to express an advance licensure of Overeem once December 27 hits in order for him to fight on December 29. I don't think we'll see that at all, so Overeem will be out until at least January. The most likely scenario we'll see for his return is a Super Bowl weekend headlining bout in Las Vegas. That may or may not be for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but it's probably the likely return date for Overeem.

[Alistair Overeem art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]