• UFC 160

Overeem out of Dos Santos clash

Brett Okamoto
March 7, 2013
Alistair Overeem will not be in action in Las Vegas in May © Getty Images
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UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem has withdrawn from a scheduled bout against Junior dos Santos on May 25 at UFC 160 in Las Vegas because of injury, sources confirmed to ESPN.com.

MMAFighting.com first reported that Overeem had withdrawn. The UFC has not announced if Dos Santos will remain on the card, now without its co-main event.

This is the second time the UFC has booked the matchup, only to see it fall through. The two were originally paired in a heavyweight title fight at UFC 146 last May, but Overeem was denied a licence to fight in Nevada after he failed a random drug test in Las Vegas.

Overeem (36-12) was last seen in the Octagon at UFC 156, where he suffered a surprising third-round knockout loss to Antonio Silva. It was the former Strikeforce champion's first loss since 2007.

Dos Santos (15-2) also is looking to rebound from a recent loss. He relinquished the UFC belt in December after a unanimous decision loss to Cain Velasquez. The Brazilian successfully defended the belt once, defeating Frank Mir at UFC 146.

This article first appeared on ESPN.com

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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