Alistair Overeem on tragic events surrounding Walt Harris being replaced (UFC on ESPN 7)

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Alistair Overeem was originally supposed to face Walt Harris at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, DC, but that was before tragedy struck Harris and his family. 

Harris pulled out of the fight when his stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, went missing in late October. Just recently, Blanchard’s remains were located, bringing a horrible end to the already tragic situation. 

Overeem, however, still has a fight in front of him, as he will square off against Harris’s replacement, Jairzinho Rozenstruik in Saturday’s main event. 

At Thursday’s UFC DC media day, Overeem addressed the tragic events surrounding Harris withdrawing from the fight, as well as shifting his focus to Rozenstruik.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship lands in Washington, DC, this week for a fight card topped by the big boys. The UFC on ESPN 7 main event features 39-year-old Alistair Overeem, who faces 31-year-old Jairzinho Rozenstruik, as he makes a final run at the UFC heavyweight title.

Tune in for full UFC on ESPN 7: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik live results from Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, on Saturday, Dec. 7 on MMAWeekly.com.