Overeem would feel 'sad' taking belt from Cleveland's Miocic

If Alistair Overeem wins on Saturday, the people of Ohio might not be so hospitable the next time he rolls into town.

Overeem is set to challenge Cleveland's own Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 203 at Quicken Loans Arena. The venue will be packed with thousands of fans screaming their support for Miocic, the fighter who brought a UFC belt to the championship-starved city a month before the Cavaliers topped the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.

Coincidentally, Overeem was in town this past May to witness firsthand how much Miocic's win meant to Cleveland, which is causing some remorse about potentially sending everyone home disappointed.

"What can I say? People are very friendly, people are open, I was here during the parade. It was madness. It was nice to see a very proud state finally accomplish a championship," said Overeem at the UFC 203 pre-fight press conference Thursday. "I almost feel a little bit sad that I'm going to be taking something away from them, but I will be taking that something away this Saturday."

Miocic will face a mixture of comfort and pressure fighting in his hometown, something that Overeem dealt with when he knocked out Andrei Arlovski in the Netherlands in May to set up his title opportunity.

Overeem credits lessons learned from his lengthy career in helping him avoid hometown distractions, but he's unsure if the relatively inexperienced Miocic will have it so easy.

"There's the extra appearances that you've got to do, everyone wants a piece of you. It kind of has a drag on you as well. It depends on how you handle it," Overeem said. "I think with my 86 fights and my 22 years of training and competing I've been able to handle it very well. I'm curious to see how Stipe handles it. He seems very professional, but we'll see on Saturday."