“I’m afraid Mirko is trying to run from me again. FEG wants to make it happen, I would like nothing more than get my hands on him again and I know that the fans would like to see a definite ending as well, so the only obstacle here is Cro Cop. He’s the one who hasn’t signed the contract yet and he’s the one who is trying to avoid fighting me again because he knows that he will get his ass kicked again. I won’t use any knee strikes to the body this time, so he won’t have any chance to wimp out of the fight again.”
– Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and former PRIDE star Alistair Overeem calls out bitter rival Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic on Sherdog.com for being all talk and no action. The two were expected to rematch on December 31 to settle a previous No Contest from their bout at September’s DREAM 6. “Demolition Man” delivered several illegal groin strikes during the bout, providing a disappointing conclusion to a fight that had received much interest and fanfare leading up to it. Cro Cop promised to deliver a rematch on December 31 but Overeem says the Croatian has yet to put pen to paper.
