Overeem Scoffs at Timing of Fedor Challenge, Rumored Blood Testing Demands

"Сertainly, I would like to have a rematch with (Fabricio) Werdum. But as he had surgery this fight unlikely to happen soon. This year, in November-December, I would like to meet in a cage with Alistair Overeem," Fedor told Mixfight.ru early Wednesday.

Overeem’s intentions to compete in K-1 are not a surprise. The Golden Glory fighter stated his likely participation back in June following Emelianenko’s stunning 69-second submission defeat to Werdum, a heavy underdog in the bout, in San Jose, Calif. In June, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker also gave Overeem his blessing to pursue his dream to become a K-1 champion, though it meant the San Jose-based promotion could lose its champion until early 2011.

In an email to Sherdog.com on Wednesday, Overeem questioned Emelianenko and his M-1 Global management team’s timing in asking for the bout when he is unavailable.

“Two weeks ago I decided to fight K-1 because Werdum was out,” said Overeem in the email. “Ironically, I have tried to challenge Fedor for almost a year and two months after the Werdum fight, they want to fight me all of a sudden. It makes you wonder if they knew I made the decision to fight K-1.”

Overeem said he believes it should be Werdum, not Emelianenko, who he faces next in the Strikeforce cage. The 33-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion recently underwent minor elbow surgery and should return to competition in the first quarter of 2011, his manager Richard Wilner confirmed to Sherdog.com on Wednesday.

“I flew last minute to the States to challenge the winner. It was even on the TV that the winner of that fight should face me,” wrote Overeem. “If Werdum wasn't injured I would fight him over the K-1 because I said that Strikeforce is my priority, but now it allows me to follow my dream and goal and that's to become K-1 Grand Prix champion.”

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said on Wednesday that the promotion is still reviewing a short list of opponents for Emelianenko with M-1 Global, who co-promotes Strikeforce events that the 33-year-old Russian headlines.

Coker and M-1 Global are also in mid-negotiations to extend their co-promotional relationship for additional events including Emelianenko, as the fighter is on the last fight of his current agreement with the San Jose-based promotion.

Overeem, who dispatched Brett Rogers in less than four minutes at Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” in May, believes there is an obvious opponent for Emelianenko to face in December.

“If you look at the virtual rankings within Strikeforce it's clear that Fedor is number three because of his loss against Werdum, and Antonio Silva is number four,” wrote Overeem. “So, let them fight and the winner fights against the winner between Werdum and myself.”

Another potential caveat to Emelianenko and M-1 Global’s challenge is talk that the Russian promotion will ask Overeem to undergo Olympic-style blood testing prior to the potential bout. An M-1 Global representative would not comment on the purported stipulation on Wednesday.

In May, Strikeforce conducted independent urinalysis drug testing on Overeem and nine other fighters in Missouri, whose athletic commission doesn’t perform standardized testing of its own. All ten fighters tested negative for performance-enhancing drugs and other stimulants. Blood testing would provide more thorough results, but is far from a standard in mixed martial arts. To date, only one U.S. regulatory agency, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, has conducted blood testing for select MMA events.

Coker had no specific comment for the purported reports that M-1 Global might stipulate that Overeem undergo additional testing as part of its demands.

“The state athletic commissions, which sanction our events, are responsible for referees, judges, time keepers, score keepers, medicals, rules, safety of the fighters, precautionary measures and drug testing,” wrote Coker in an email on Wednesday.

Coker added that the promotion is currently reviewing its own drug-testing policies for states where its regulatory bodies don’t conduct its own testing, and will continue to follow the already-established procedures in the states that do.

Overeem wasn’t keen on the idea of potentially being subjected to the additional testing.

“Come on. They can try to sabotage Strikeforce because of their ‘crazy’ demands but I'm not going to bow for those guys,” wrote Overeem. “They don't even do any testing at there own M-1 shows, only in the U.S because it's sanctioned by a commission. If you fight for M-1 in Russia or anywhere else you don't even need to take a test. So, before they start demanding things make sure they do it at their own shows. For now, I will follow all rules the commission gives me just like anybody else.”