In the two years Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski have shared a home gym at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, they have sparred one another just twice.
That's according to Arlovski, who joined the gym in 2011. When Overeem joined in 2014, Arlovski says he doesn't remember exactly what his reaction was to the addition of another heavyweight, but he does recall coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn telling him, "This is a new sparring partner for you, Andrei."
Both men, however, say a strong working relationship never developed -- and at UFC Fight Night on Sunday in the Netherlands, they'll meet for real, in a high-profile main event.
Many are calling the heavyweight tilt a "teammate fight," although that term should be applied rather loosely. During a press conference in March, Overeem clearly stated he and Arlovski don't consider each other friends. When asked by ESPN.com if he even considers Overeem a teammate, Arlovski calmly replied, "I do not."
For what it's worth, an in-camp incident did occur between the two heavyweights shortly after Overeem joined the team in the Spring of 2014. In their first-ever sparring session, Overeem hit Arlovski with a knee to the midsection that sent him to the hospital with a fear of a broken rib.
Arlovski ultimately avoided injury, but spoke out publicly shortly after the incident. The 37-year-old says he's not emotional anymore about the knee, but his low opinion of Overeem as a sparring partner seems unchanged. He says the only other time they worked together was before Overeem's last fight, when Jackson specifically requested Arlovski do so.
"I have a good memory of that," Arlovski said. "I still have those thoughts in my head [from that incident]. I'm very excited about this upcoming match, that's it.
"It was a knee -- a nasty, sneaky, f---ing knee. Usually, if you want to throw elbows or knees, coach Wink will say, 'Guys, wear knee pads and elbow pads.' That way people don't cut or hurt each other. I saw he didn't wear pads, so I said, 'OK, we'll just be boxing and wrestling.' He threw a nasty knee and I tell you, had it been a fight, I would have lost because of that knee. I didn't expect it, which was my mistake, but I had accepted that he wasn't going to throw any knees. I was emotional at that time of course, but now I'm calm. He has dangerous knees."
Overeem (40-14) says he remembers the incident as well and referred to it as "unpleasant for [Arlovski]." As to whether or not it had a lasting impact on their working relationship, Overeem said, "That's a question for him. I'm just cruising, doing me, having a good time and focusing on getting better. That kind of stuff happens all the time. It's a full contact sport."
Overeem, who is originally from Holland and will make his first appearance there since 2009, says he did not ask the UFC for a fight against Arlovski (25-11), as Arlovski has said in previous interviews. According to Overeem, the UFC wanted him to headline its card in Rotterdam against either Cain Velasquez or Arlovski. With Velasquez injured, that list shrunk to one name.
"I don't know where he got that from and to be honest I don't care," Overeem said. "But [UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta] texted me himself and offered me this fight. There was another name within that text, Cain Velasquez. But Cain was injured so it was Andrei. I simply said, 'Sure, fine.' They needed me to headline Rotterdam and Arlovski was available. I wasn't going to say no."
Although both stayed in Albuquerque for their respective camps for this fight, Overeem says he trained primarily out of a satellite facility to avoid running into his opponent. Arlovski will have the benefit of the Jackson-Wink coaching staff, while Overeem said he flew in other coaches he has worked with in the past. He did continue to work with some of Jackson-Wink's grappling coaches.
Overeem, 35, says he has already spoken to Jackson and Winkeljohn about "picking right back up" where they left off after the Arlovski fight. He also said preparations for this fight went well.
"I took the high road and basically moved my camp to one of the satellite gyms," Overeem said. "I went to the main gym sometimes to work cage stuff. I saw Andrei on a couple occasions. I noticed he had a little more difficulty with the situation than I had, but I didn't want to cause any stress. He had an emotional reaction when he saw me, not saying hello, acting weird. But you know, everyone carries their experience in their own way. He's entitled to do his own thing. I'm entitled to do mine. As long as I get my hand raised at the end, it's fine with me."
Teammate or non-teammate issues aside, Sunday's matchup figures to have a significant impact on the UFC's heavyweight division. Overeem is riding a three-fight win streak and has already said he wants to fight defending champion Fabricio Werdum -- whom he holds a previous win over -- on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Arlovski said he isn't looking past this weekend's fight, but would certainly be in a strong position with a win. Since re-joining the UFC in 2014, the former champion is 4-1 with two knockouts. His only loss came in his last fight, a quick first-round knockout to current title challenger Stipe Miocic in January.