Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (29-11) will make his previously scheduled appearance for Golden Glory on Oct. 17 against Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 1 contestant Sam Hoger (8-4), according to MMAWeekly.
The Hoger camp indicates the deal is "95-percent finalized."
Following a hand injury that booted him from two summer events, Strikeforce officials informed MMAmania.com last month that "Demolition Man" was expected to make separate appearances outside of the San Jose-based promotion prior to defending his belt.
One of those stints involved a trip to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009, the other was for Golden Glory in his native Amsterdam, which now looks to be scheduled for Oct. 17 against "The Alaskan Assassin."
Hoger emerged from a 16-month self-imposed hibernation to compete against late replacement Jason Doloff at World Championship Fighting (WCF) 4 at Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass., in September of 2008.
The heavyweight bout didn’t last long – the former TUF heel scored a 17-second first round technical knockout, which was set up by a kick to the face.
Hoger — who starred on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter — had dropped his previous three fights, including two decision losses to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, respectively. Prior to the win, he was choked out by Vernon White in an International Fight League (IFL) show back in April 2007.
He took a break from action to start up his own Miletich Fighting System (MFS) academy in Houston, Texas. Hoger followed up the victory over Doloff by submitting Jonathan Ivey at Urban Rumble Championships (URC) last January.
Following his bout with Hoger, as well as the remaining fights in K-1, Overeem is expected to return to Strikeforce to defend his heavyweight title.
And with Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and Fedor Emelianenko all gunning for first dibs, don’t expect him to receive a very warm welcome.
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