Alistair Overeem denies ducking Derrick Lewis, calls matchup an “easy paycheck”

UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem denied that he ducked a matchup against Derrick Lewis, saying that fight is an “easy paycheck” for him.

Lewis takes on Aleksei Oleinik this Saturday night in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 32. Though Oleinik is a top-10 heavyweight, some fans were surprised when the UFC booked this fight because Overeem, who is ranked higher in the division, is currently without an opponent. According to Lewis during virtual media day for the event, the UFC tried to book him against Overeem but he says Overeem turned him down three times.

Taking to social media to refute the rumors, Overeem denied ducking a matchup against Lewis, calling him an “easy payday.” Check out below what Overeem wrote on his Twitter.

Why would I turn you down ? (Easy paycheck 😹) https://t.co/SSqOl02n0z

— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) August 7, 2020

Why would I turn you down? (Easy paycheck)

Overeem is coming off of a TKO win over Walt Harris at UFC Jacksonville to bounce back after a last-second KO loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik last year. He is currently the No. 7 ranked heavyweight in the UFC and is considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. As for Lewis, he is coming off of back-to-back wins over Ilir Latifi and Blagoy Ivanov. He is ranked as the No. 4 heavyweight in the UFC.

A pairing between Lewis and Overeem certainly seems to make a lot of sense when you look at the rest of the landscape of the UFC heavyweight division. Although Lewis has tried to call out Francis Ngannou for a rematch, the UFC matchmakers seem hesitant to book that fight considering how poor their first fight was. So should Lewis beat Oleinik on Saturday, perhaps he will get the fight he wants against Overeem, instead.

Would you like to see Alistair Overeem vs. Derrick Lewis?