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UFC light heavyweight Zac Pauga has ticked one of the items off of his bucket list after running into MMA veteran Alistair Overeem once again.
Pauga earned himself a UFC contract after impressing Dana White in season 30 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) last year. The 34-year-old built an impressive four-fight winning run at Cage Warrior's before heading onto TUF and continued his fine form by winning both of his bouts whilst he featured on the show.
'The Ripper' later made his official UFC debut in August 2022 but was prevented from having the perfect start after losing to Mohammed Usman via KO in the second round.
Although the start to his UFC career wasn't perfect, 2023 is already looking up for Bauga after he updated fans on Twitter about another run-in with former UFC fighter Alistair Overeem.
In October last year, the 34-year-old tweeted that he had bumped into 'The Demolition Man,' who had asked to see his abs. Bauga took off his shirt and claimed the Dutchman was disappointed in what he saw.
Now, five months later, Zac Pauga has updated his fans once again after Alistair Overeem came to see him whilst he was undergoing a weight cut. The American was happy to announce that he had impressed the 42-year-old and ticked it off of his bucket list.
"For my avid followers, Alistair got to Vegas halfway through my weight cut and I was finally able to please the demolition man with my abs. 1 bucket list item checked off!"
Zac Bauga will make his second UFC appearance this weekend when he faces Jordan Wright at UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield.
When was Alistair Overeem cut from the UFC?
Alistair Overeem was released from the UFC in 2021 after suffering a second-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 18. The 42-year-old was a hugely popular fighter on the roster, and he has racked up an almost staggering 50 wins as a professional fighter (47-19).
The Dutchman was 4-2 in his last six outings in the UFC, leading to some fans questioning the decision to release him. However, Dana White confirmed that it was nothing personal.
The 53-year-old explained that age catches up with everybody and thanked 'The Demolition Man' for his service to the UFC. In an interview with TMZ Sports, White said:
"People get cut every week… I think those two [Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos] are pretty self-explanatory. It's nothing negative, it's just part of the sport... Age, it gets us all man."
Catch the interview here:
