Alistair Overeem is done persuing a fight with Fedor Emelianenko ā€¦ for now. Since he wasnā€™t able to snap the Russianā€™s 27-fight winning streak himself, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion now wants first dibs at the man that successfully pulled off the Hail Mary.

ā€œLetā€™s just say this, thereā€™s a couple of fights that I would like to have and Iā€™m going to start with the first one. The first one is going to definitely be Werdum ā€“ heā€™s the winner of that fight [against Fedor Emelianenko],ā€ Overeem told MMAFighting.com.

ā€œIā€™m sure, 100 percent sure, Iā€™m going to beat him.ā€

Ubereem has never been one to lack confidence, so his statement shouldnā€™t catch anybody off-guard. However, his motivation to face Werdum is two-fold. He would like to be the first to dominate the man that finally took down ā€œThe Last Emperor,ā€ while avenging his loss to the Brazilian in the process.

Thatā€™s correct! In addition to handing Emelianenko his first loss in nearly a decade, the jiu jitsu black belt tapped Overeem with a crafty Kimura in their May 2006 bout at ā€œPride: Total Eliminationā€ ā€“ something that has clearly been haunting Overeem.

ā€œItā€™s payback time, baby. Payback time and itā€™s going to be sweet,ā€ Overeem matter-of-factly stated.

Assuming Strikeforce grants the Dutchman his first wish and heā€™s able to even things up with Werdum, guess whoā€™s next on his hit list?

ā€œSecond fight is the Fedor fight. He lost his last fight. Did he get caught? I donā€™t know. Has he lost it? I donā€™t know. But heā€™s still one of the guys I would love to fight,ā€ Overeem added. ā€œIā€™ve been challenging him for a year. I was hoping that I was going to be the one to beat him, but now heā€™s lost to Werdum.

ā€œBut still, Iā€™ve been challenging him for a year, so I still want to fight him.ā€

With one dramatic swoop, Werdum has now become the most popular kid in school. Not only does the champ want a piece, but the Russians have also been adamant over arranging an instant mulligan with him. Unfortunately, it was reported last week that elbow surgery could have Werdum on the shelf until 2011.