After being named as the culprit for Jon Jones' injury, Alistair Overeem has faced harsh criticism from fans, other fighters and even UFC president Dana White.
Dana White Blames Greg Jackson for Jon Jones' Injury
Leading up to his fight on Friday at UFC Fight Night 50, Overeem was finally able to speak about the incident.
"(The injury was) very unfortunate," Overeem told MMAjunkie. "This was just one of those freak accidents on a takedown. Listen, I was looking forward to that fight. Everybody was looking forward to that fight. Jon Jones was looking forward to it. Accidents happen. There's no fault to blame."
Jon Jones Recovering While Daniel Cormier Continues Training for UFC 182
Jones was forced out of his light heavyweight title defense against Daniel Cormier after suffering a torn meniscus and injuring his ankle while defending a takedown from Overeem in training. The much-anticipated fight had to be moved from September's UFC 178 to UFC 182 on Jan. 3, and Overeem hasn't been forgiven.
Training partner and fellow heavyweight Andrei Arlovski criticized Overeem's training habits, saying he "injures everyone he trains with." White questioned why Overeem was training with Jones in the first place.
"What is he doing training with me? We're in the same gym. We're teammates. We have lunch (together) and we drive around together," Overeem said.
Overeem joined Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, NM after having problems with his past training camps. Besides his mistake with Jones, Overeem has been praised by other teammates and he believes he will train at Jackson's MMA for the foreseeable future.
"I'm having a great time learning every day," he said of his new surroundings. "The team is great. They're stand-up people, there's no egos. Everybody's cool. Everyone is helping each other out."
Overeem will meet Ben Rothwell in the co-main event of Friday's card. The fight will be televised on FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET.
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