Alistair Overeem Returns to Box Jimi Manuwa on Jake Paul Christmas Eve Card
UFC legends Alistair Overeem and Jimi Manuwa will meet in a six-round heavyweight boxing bout on December 24 in Dubai.
Alistair Overeem is coming back to combat sports. The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix winner will make his professional boxing debut against fellow UFC veteran Jimi Manuwa on the undercard of Jake Paul versus Cedric Doumbe on Christmas Eve in Dubai.
Most Valuable Promotions confirmed the six-round professional heavyweight bout, per Sky Sports. Overeem, nicknamed The Demolition Man, has not competed since leaving the UFC in 2021 after a career that saw him become one of the most decorated heavyweight strikers in MMA history.
Manuwa, the London-born knockout artist known as Poster Boy, retired from MMA in 2019 with a 17-6 record and 15 of his 17 wins coming by knockout or TKO. The 46-year-old returned to competition in August 2026 with a second-round TKO of former UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman in his professional boxing debut in Orlando.
Overeem said he is starting a new chapter in boxing and is not here to make up the numbers. He acknowledged Manuwa as a dangerous man with serious knockout power. Manuwa fired back that on Christmas Eve one of them is going to sleep, and it will not be him.
The main event features Jake Paul taking on MMA fighter Cedric Doumbe in a cruiserweight clash. Paul returns to the ring a year after suffering a sixth-round stoppage loss to Anthony Joshua in Miami that broke his jaw. MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian called the Overeem versus Manuwa matchup a compelling addition to what he described as an already massive Christmas Eve event.
Two of the most terrifying knockout artists in UFC heavyweight history, both well past their primes, meeting in a boxing ring on a Jake Paul card in Dubai on Christmas Eve. If that sentence doesn't capture where combat sports are in 2026, nothing does.
But honestly? I'm kind of here for it. Overeem and Manuwa were must-watch fighters for years because either guy could end your night with one shot. Overeem has those K-1 credentials and some of the nastiest knees in combat sports history. Manuwa already looked sharp knocking out Chase Sherman in August.
The real question is what Overeem has left at this stage. He hasn't fought since 2021, and the last few UFC years were rough. But in a six-round boxing match against another MMA veteran, the playing field is more level than it looks. I wouldn't bet against Overeem's power in any format.
