Curtis Blaydes has nothing but praise for Alistair Overeem after the former opponents came together as teammates ahead of UFC Fight Night 141.

Following Blaydes’ (10-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) third-round knockout victory against Overeem (43-17 MMA, 8-6 UFC) at UFC 225 in June, “The Reem” relocated to Colorado where he joined Team Elevation, which is home to the man who just beat him in his most recent octagon appearance.

The situation could have easily become awkward – or even hostile – but Blaydes said he welcomed the former Strikeforce and DREAM champ into his gym with open arms, and he’s glad he did.

“Alistair, he’s awesome,” Blaydes told MMAjunkie. “I would consider him a friend and a very good training partner. He’s got a wealth of MMA knowledge and I’ve been taking advantage of that. Being able to ask him little things just about foot placement and balance and when to do certain combos and little things like that. It’s been invaluable.”

Not long after teaming up, Blaydes, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, and No. 8-ranked Overeem happened to land on the same UFC Fight Night 141 card. Blaydes rematches Francis Ngannou in the main event, while Overeem takes on octagon newcomer Sergei Pavlovich in the co-headliner of Saturday’s card, which takes place at Cadillac Arena in Beijing and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Preparing for the same date and location only allowed Blaydes and Overeem to mesh even more. A bond was developed between the two heavyweight contenders, and “Razor” said the reason for that came down to a similar personality trait: A lack of ego.

“That’s exactly what it is,” Blaydes said. “That’s why we get along, because I don’t have an ego either. I wouldn’t get along with a guy with a big ego because it wouldn’t work. I don’t like that and I don’t want to be around people with egos. Egos don’t have any room in the MMA gym. We’re all there to get better and to push each other. He pushes me with his work and kickboxing and I push him with my wrestling.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 141, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.