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He's got a leg up: Alistair Overeem (right) defends his mixed martial arts title at HP Pavilion on Friday.
Grudge Match
FROM Rocky to Kill Bill, Ali to Holyfield, revenge has always drawn a huge crowd. At the HP Pavilion last March, 18,000 people piled in for the Gracie vs Shamrock fight. And now looking to pull in another attendance record for mixed martial arts are Vitor Belfort and Alistair Overeem, who step into the ring as the main event this Friday for a "Revenge" bout that is sure to bring a massive following.
In 2005, the two contenders fought for nine minutes and 36 seconds at the Pride—Total Elimination fight in Osaka, Japan, when "Demolition Man" Overeem delivered a knockout choke to the Brazilian "Phenom." Old grudges die hard, and Belfort is looking strong. Since he started his career in mixed martial arts at 19, he has taken down names like Randy Couture and Heath Herring. And on April 20 he had an impressive pro boxing debut, taking out Josemario Neves in two minutes and 45 seconds of the first round. Now the former UFC lightweight champion is out for revenge. Belfort will be handing out copies of his autobiography before meeting his 6 feet 5 inches of a Dutch rival Overeem, who will be handing out special copies of his 10 years of wrestling and lethal samples of his 23-7-0 career record.
The main event will be held Friday, June 9, at the HP Pavilion. Prelims will start at 6:30pm. Also on the bill are Cung Le, Josh Thomson, Bobby Southworth, Luke Stewart and James Irvin.
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