Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (35-11 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is UFC bound, and Brock Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will welcome him to the octagon.
UFC officials today announced that Overeem and Lesnar will meet on Dec. 30 in the main event of a rare Friday-night UFC card (expected to serve as UFC 141) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The five-round contest serves as a No.1 contender's fight, and the victor meets the winner of the Nov. 12 bout between current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and top contender Junior Dos Santos.
"This is the fight the fans want," UFC president Dana White told "The Los Angeles Times" earlier today. "Both of these guys are monsters. Can Lesnar take Overeem down?"
UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta echoed White's enthusiasm for the fight.
"Our thinking when we bought Strikeforce was to give fans the fights they want," Fertitta said. "Obviously, Alistair's one of the best heavyweights in the world, but he also has that 'it' factor – the tremendous look. He's huge. It's a star factor."
UFC officials confirmed with www,mmajunkie.com that the fight was scheduled for Friday, Dec. 30, due to the challenges that hosting an event on New Year's Eve would have presented.
Overeem, of course, was released from Strikeforce in late July following a conflict with UFC and Strikeforce officials regarding his ability to compete in a Sept. 10 bout with Antonio Silva. His Golden Glory teammates Marloes Coenen, Jon Olav Einemo and Valentijn Overeem were released shortly after, and White pointed to the team's wishes for paycheck to be issued directly to management as the cause for the move.
However, White recently revealed that Golden Glory officials reached out in an effort to reach an agreement and that negotiations were ongoing.
"We're talking," White said. "You guys know how that whole thing went down. Golden Glory was in this position where we couldn't do business, and they changed their position, which I respect. Now we can do business."
Meanwhile, Lesnar hasn't competed since an October 2010 loss to Velasquez. A second bout with diverticulitis scratched a planned summer contest with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter 13" coach Dos Santos. Lesnar's inactivity led some MMA pundits to speculate that a retirement announcement was in the works, but White recently branded the speculation as "ridiculous."
"It's so far from the truth it's not even funny," White said. "The guy's working up on a farm in Canada all summer. He's 100 percent."
