UFC News - Alistair Overeem believes he's already had coronavirus, suggests healthy lifestyle to help prevent disease

UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem has no clue when he will get to step inside the Octagon again. Overeem was initially scheduled to face Walt Harris in a heavyweight clash on April 11 this year at UFC Fight Night 172 in Portland, Oregon.

But due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the fight got postponed to May 16, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175.

However, due to the current scenario, where no combat sports events are being held anywhere in the United States, UFC president Dana White recently announced that this event too has been shelved for the time being.

The 39-year-old MMA veteran, who is 9-7 in the UFC, recently traveled from his training location in Denver to his home in Amsterdam. In a recent interview with Duello Channel, Overeem shared his experience of flying back home during the current situation.

“There are not many flights – not many people traveling right now. The plane was 10 percent (or) 15 percent (full), but there are still some flights going on.”

Traveling is a very frequent occurrence in a fighter's life and throughout his career, Overeem has had to travel to various countries for training purposes, fights, promotional tours, etc.

The Dutchman was in Thailand back in February and he thinks he's already had the coronavirus because the people accompanying him during the trip have shown symptoms. He has, however, credited his healthy lifestyle and a strong immune system for not falling prey to the deadly virus.

Overeem also urged people to stay fit and eat healthy food to strengthen their immune systems so that they can resist the virus.

“This is the time to eat healthy and be healthy, right? It’s very good for your immune system. As an athlete, I’ve been always very obsessed with health and the immune system. That’s why I’m not really afraid of the virus. I’ve probably already had it. I was in Thailand during Chinese New Year. Some people who were close to me had symptoms.”