How To Watch Or Live Stream UFC On ESPN 9: Alistair Overeem Vs. Walt Harris

On Saturday, the UFC finishes its stint of three fight cards in one week in Jacksonville with UFC on ESPN 9. The main event features two top-10 ranked heavyweight fighters.

The headlining bout matches the No. 8 ranked Alistair Overeem against the No. 9 ranked Walt Harris. This fight was scheduled to take place in December, but a family tragedy forced Harris from that event.

Harris’ stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard went missing in late October. Blanchard’s body was found a month later in Macon County, Alabama. Blanchard, 19, was abducted outside a convenience store. Her cause of death, according to AL.com, was a gunshot wound to the head. Ibraheem Yazeed, 29, was initially charged with first-degree kidnapping. A capital murder charge was later added against Yazeed.

“I had a talk with my wife one day, and she was like, ‘Why don’t you start back training and get your mind off of it?’” Harris said ahead of Saturday’s fight (via MMA Junkie). “There was a point where, honestly, thinking about anything but my daughter was wrong. I battled that so hard. I was like, ‘If I go back to fighting, am I not thinking for her? Am I not doing the right thing by her?’”

“I prayed about it,” Harris added. “I could hear her telling me, ‘Daddy, I want you to go back. I want you to fight. This is what we worked so hard (for). I sacrificed so much. Mom sacrificed so much. You sacrificed so much to get to where you are. I would be more upset with you if you stopped fighting.’

“That’s when I went back in the gym and started getting back in shape. I put a goal out there of when I wanted to fight, just to kind of give myself some incentive and motivation outside of what I already had.”

Harris is unbeaten in his past four fights. He brings a 13-7-0-1 record into the octagon on Saturday. All 13 of Harris’ wins have come via knockout. His most recent victory was a 12-second knockout of Aleksei Oleinik in July.

Overeem, who brings an experience advantage into this fight, has a career record of 45-18-0-1. Overeem, a former UFC heavyweight title challenger, lost his most recent outing. Jairzinho Rozenstruik knocked him out late in the fifth round of their December matchup. Overeem’s past 11 losses have all come via knockout. He has not lost a fight via anything other than KO since Fabrício Werdum submitted him in 2006.

How To Watch or Live Stream UFC On ESPN 9:

UFC on ESPN 9 takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. ESPN and ESPN+ carry the entire fight card. 

UFC on ESPN 9 Main Card (ESPN, ESPN+)

Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris

Cláudia Gadelha vs. Angela Hill

Dan Ige vs. Edson Barboza

Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko

Song Yadong vs. Marlon Vera

UFC on ESPN 9 Prelims (ESPN, ESPN+)

Matt Brown vs. Miguel Baeza

Anthony Hernandez vs. Kevin Holland

Mike Davis vs. Giga Chikadze

Cortney Casey vs. Mara Romero Borella

Darren Elkins vs. Nate Landwehr

Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes