CEITEDMOFO
Banned
'The Demolition Man' takes on the former heavyweight champ at UFC Fight Night 87 on Sunday evening.
Overeem, 40-14-1NC, goes into the fight, which takes place at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, on a run of three consecutive victories.
The Dutchman, 35, recorded stunning TKO victories over Junior dos Santos and Stevan Struve either side of a unanimous decision win over Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner Roy 'Big Country'Nelson.
And the 2010 K1 Grand Prix winner believes a convincing win over Arlovski will see him earn a crack at the winner of the heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic, which takes place on May 14.
"I think when we beat Andrei we are going to be fighting for the title this year," he told Starsport.
Overeem's clash with Arlovski will see him lock horns with his Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA team-mate.
But the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion has no problem with facing someone who trains in the gym as him.
"We are team-mates, we are not friends," he added.
"I don't have a problem fighting a team-mate. I've fought team-mates before and came out victorious -it's all good."
Arlovski, 25-11-1NC, is confident of handing Overeem his 15th career defeat and has vowed to make him pay for seeking out a fight with him.
Overeem, however, sees the fight going a different way.
"I feel very confident. The way I see it he's like Junior dos Santos but I think Junior is more tough," he said.
"And we all know how that fight ended."
Watch UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski on BT Sport from 7pm BST on Sunday, or catch the Prelims from 5pm BST on the BT Sport app/BT Sport Extra 3, and the Early Prelims from 3:30pm BST on UFC Fight Pass
Alistair Overeem I'll fight for the UFC heavyweight title after I demolish Andrei Arlovski
