Alistair Overeem wants to fight 'gatekeeper' Junior dos Santos next

Will the much-anticipated Heavyweight showdown between Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos finally go down inside the Octagon?

If mixed martial arts (MMA) logic reigns supreme, it could very well happen this year, as "The Reem" recently informed abs-cbnnews.com that facing "Cigano" next makes all the sense in the world. The hulking striker didn't have very nice words for his colleague, either, saying that everyone knows the Brazilian bomber has become the division's gatekeeper.

His words:

"The personal choice, if I'm honest, is Junior dos Santos. He's not booked for a fight, I'm not booked for a fight. I will probably hear about this in the next two weeks, but logic suggests he's the next opponent. There's nobody else that makes sense. I'm just gonna wait to see what the UFC is gonna do, but for me, I don't see anybody else out there. JDS is the gatekeeper.... That's what everybody knows."

So much for hiding.

The two fearsome strikers were set to tango three years ago at UFC 146, but Overeem's elevated testosterone levels detected during a surprise drug test nixed the bout. Attempts to re-book the bout a few years later hit another road bump when a rib injury forced Overeem to decline company president Dana White's offer.

But, after getting a win over Roy Nelson earlier this year (video replay), Overeem wants to prove his isn't ducking "JDS" -- who defeated Stipe Miocic in his last outing -- by pleading for the match up.

I can think of at least one other person who wants to see it still happen.