Alistair Overeem Tells Rico Verhoeven to Stop Hiding, Wants Fury vs Joshua Undercard Bout

Alistair Overeem is not done fighting, and he has a very specific opponent in mind. The 46-year-old former UFC heavyweight posted on Instagram Stories calling out fellow Dutchman Rico Verhoeven, writing: "@ricoverhoeven...stop hiding. Let's make history."

Overeem wants the fight on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua, set for December 11 in Cardiff. His team has reportedly been pushing to make the bout happen, per LowKick MMA.

The two Dutch heavyweights have history, just never inside a ring. They were scheduled to fight for the heavyweight kickboxing title at GLORY Collision 3 in October 2021, but Overeem withdrew with an injury. A year later at GLORY Collision 4, after Overeem beat Badr Hari, the two faced off, but the fight again fell through.

Now Overeem is angling for the matchup in boxing, a different combat sport entirely. He told Playbook Boxing and Betway that he wanted to return to competition and named Francis Ngannou and Verhoeven as potential opponents.

Verhoeven is coming off a strong showing against Oleksandr Usyk in May 2026. In just his second professional boxing fight, Verhoeven was ahead on one judge's scorecard before losing by TKO in the 11th round. That performance proved Verhoeven can compete at a high level in the ring.

Whether the fight materializes depends on the Cardiff card's promoters and Verhoeven's willingness to accept. Four years of near-misses between these two has fight fans hoping the fifth time is the charm.