Heavyweight Contenders Alistair Overeem, Francis Ngannou Set to Clash at UFC 218

A heavyweight duel pitting Alistair Overeem against Francis Ngannou has been booked for UFC 218.

Promotion officials announced the booking on Wednesday afternoon. UFC 218 takes place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Dec. 2 and will air on pay-per-view.

Overeem has won six of his last seven appearances within the Las Vegas-based promotion. After falling to Stipe Miocic in a title bout at UFC 203, “The Reem” has since rebounded to post back-to-back triumphs against Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum.

Ngannou was supposed to face Junior dos Santos at UFC 215 on Sept. 9, but “Cigano” was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation and the contest was canceled. The 31-year-old Frenchman has established himself as a person of interest in the heavyweight division with five consecutive finishes in the Octagon. Most recently, “Predator” stopped Andrei Arlovski 1:23 into the opening round at UFC on Fox 23.