Alistair Overeem and Badr Hari have detailed how they were able to bury the hatchet ahead of trilogy fight at Glory: Collision 4.
Glory: Collision 4 takes place this Saturday, October 8th at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands.
Overeem and Hari are set to finish their bitter-turned-respectful rivalry once and for all. It was back in 2008, where Overeem was able to KO Hari inside one round. The following year, Badr that got his revenge finishing Alistair in the K-1 World Grand Prix Semi-Finals.
Heading into the weekend, the two goliaths sat down on ‘The MMA Hour’ to speak about their history together and their upcoming trilogy match-up (h/t MMAFighting):
Overeem shared his thoughts on Badr:
“I’ve only got love for Badr. Throughout the years we’ve trained a little bit together, we’ve spoke a little bit together, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s had a rough patch but he’s shown beautiful things in the ring, and I know his technical ability, I know what he’s capable of. I know what he has done. He’s one of the guy, one of the pioneers. So it’s going to be an awesome fight and my hat’s off to Badr.”
Continuing Alistair Overeem said:
“After we fought, this was nine years ago, we trained together, and then already my attitude was different. But it also comes with age and it also comes with falling from your stature. I’ve had my fall from grace, and it humbles you. It manners you and it just shows you that all that, ‘Blah, blah, blah,’ it’s about nothing. Badr is very similar to me. He is actually me, just a different rout. But he’s a fighter and we have a lot of similarities, and throughout the years you see the similarities. Also, he’s career ups and downs, I’ve had my ups and downs, he’s like me. Just a different path.”
In response to Overeem’s comments, Hari said:
“After all these years, you don’t see it like this. It’s not personal at al. I just want to win this fight, I just want to enjoy, and knocking people out is the most beautiful thing in our sport. It gives a feeling of domination. This is just the cherry on the pie. For me, it’s not personal, it’s just me enjoying still standing here. Where the rivalry changed, I think it changed because if you see somebody fighting for all these years, you know what it takes to be on top for all these years. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work. You have to push everything to the side, so you know when you’re looking at the other guy that this guy has been putting in the same work that you have been doing for all these years. So I think it’s difficult to not be respectful for somebody who has been fighting in this game for so long, because it’s like looking at yourself in a mirror… So of course it’s not personal. I’ve got respect for everything he did. But still, Saturday is Saturday. I want to win.”
Continuing Hari talked about the fight tomorrow commenting that the rivalry with Alistair Overeem is still there:
“Listen, you shouldn’t mix things up, because at the end, we are killers. At the end of the road, if you are there Saturday, Oct. 8, and he punches me in the face or I punch him in the face, all this respect is gone. This is who you are as a fighter. You can be respectful but that doesn’t say nothing about the rivalry between me and him. The moment he starts kicking me and trying to hurt me, believe me, I will do everything to finish him. So don’t get confused, this is just respect for somebody who is too long in the game.”
Will you be watching? What is your prediction for the Alistair Overeem vs Badr Hari trilogy fight?
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