A key heavyweight bout between Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem headlines tonight’s UFC on ESPN 8 event in Jacksonville, Florida.
The former UFC heavyweight title challenger, Overeem (45-18 MMA), will enter tonight’s event looking to rebound, this after suffering a fifth round knockout loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a fight that he had been dominating.
Prior to his surrendering the late comeback win to Rozenstruik, Alistair Overeem was coming off back-to-back first round TKO victories over opponents Alexei Oleinik and Sergei Pavlovich.
Meanwhile, Walt Harris (13-7 MMA) will fighting for the first time since the tragic loss of his stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard this past November. In his most recent Octagon appearance in July of 2019, ‘The Big Ticket’ had scored a sensational twelve-second knockout victory over the previously mentioned Aleksei Oleinik.
Round one of the UFC on ESPN 8 main event begins and Walt Harris comes out quickly. He backs up Alistair Overeem and misses with a right hand. ‘The Reem’ circles out and lands a side kick. More pressure now from Harris. He is swinging heavy leather. Overeem is looking to counter. Harris with a big combination that drops Overeem. Big hammer fists now. Walt Harris is going to finish this. Big lefts hands. Somehow ‘The Reem’ survives and scrambles back up to his feet. Wow! There is a big gash near Overeem’s eye. Alistair lands a front kick that stuns Harris. Overeem shoots in and scores a takedown. He immediately moves to mount and begins to drop punches. After some short shots from Overeem, Harris battles his way back to half guard. Overeem works in some better left hands now. He moves back to full mount. Harris scrambles up to his feet just as the horn sounds to end round one.
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Round two of the UFC on ESPN 8 main event begins and the heavyweights meet in the center of the Octagon. Harris misses with a jab. Alistair looks to shoot but Walt is wise to it. Harris with a body kick which is blocked. He paws with his jab. Alistair goes to the body with a hook. He lands a nice inside low kick. Overeem with a head kick. Harris goes down and ‘The Reem’ lands some big shots instantly from top position. He is unloading right hands from the back of Harris. Alistair Overeem has Walt Harris flattened out and is now unloading right hands. Two minutes remain. This is not good. The referee steps in to stop the bout.
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Official UFC on ESPN 8 Result: Alistair Overeem def. Walt Harris via TKO in Round 2
Who would you like to see Alistair Overeem fight next following his TKO victory over Walt Harris at tonight’s UFC on ESPN 8 event in Jacksonville? Share your thoughts in the comments section of this post PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on May 16, 2020