UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

[INDYjon22]

[YOUTUBE]Isft2C86l74[/YOUTUBE]​

Main Card

• Heavyweight Bout: Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
• Lightweight Bout: Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
• Welterweight Bout: Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Vladimer Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson
• Featherweight Bout: Nam Phan vs. Jimy Hettes

Preliminary Card (televised)

• Featherweight Bout: Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao
• Lightweight Bout: Anthony Njokuani vs. Danny Castillo

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

• Welterweight Bout: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson
• Lightweight Bout: Jacob Volkmann vs. Efrain Escudero
• Welterweight Bout: Matt Riddle vs. Luis Ramos
• Featherweight Bout: Manvel Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes

The UFC closes the door on a fantastic year of fights with a gigantic card for the ages. Two juggernauts will collide and two exciting Lightweights will certainly give us an entertaining fight.

Lesnar vs. Overeem has been a dream fight for fans for years. Lesnar is coming off of a big layoff and it could really effect him in this fight. That said, Lesnar is a big dude with some tremendous ground n' pound. Overeem has great stand up that could lay Brock out, and his submission skills aren't to shabby either. This should be an awesome fight and the term invincible force meeting the immovable object certainly comes to mind.

Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone should be an exciting fight. Both guys are very well rounded. Diaz is better on the ground and off his back, Cerrone is a slightly better striker, both guys have chins made of granite. This has all of the makings of an instant classic. My personal bias wants to see Cerrone get his ass kicked, never been a fan, but honestly this fight should be entertaining as hell and in the end that's all I really want.

My boy, Jon Fitch, returns to action after a long layoff to take on Johny Hendricks. This will be no cake walk and Hendricks could easily win. Hendricks is a very talented, young fighter and the layoff may significantly affect Fitch. That said, Fitch is a warrior with great conditioning and I think he is coming into this fight with something to prove. He clearly wants to make 2012 the year he becomes champion and if he wins expect him to face the winner of Diaz/Condit next. If Hendricks wins I won't be upset and would love to see him face Koscheck next.

Maty vs. Gustafsson should be a great exchange. Maty has been on a roll since his UFC return and Gustafsson is a tremendous prospect. Maty is a very willy veteran with a ton of tricks up his sleeve, but I think Gustafsson may be the next big thing for the Heavyweight division, and I await the day to see him face Jones. Should be a good one.

Nam Phan faces Jimy Hettes. I have no idea who Hettes is so that leads me to believe that Phan should crush this guy. However, if MMA has taught me anything it is that on any given night a no name can beat a somebody.

Both of the undercard fights for TV are a bit underwhelming to me, but should also be pretty solid scraps. Assuncao and Pearson will certainly go to war, and Njokuani and Castillo are both bangers who will throw bombs. Njokuani in particular is worth watching.

The other undercard fights are pretty solid as well. DHK is looking to rebound from his first UFC loss by facing Pierson. DHK is a very talented fighter and it will be interesting to see if he can rebound. Volkmann vs. Escudero will be interesting. It's nice to see Efrain back in the UFC and I hope to God he dethrowns that bore of a fighter known as Jacob Volkmann. I have been a big fan of Matt Riddle since TUF and I really hope he can pick up the win at 141. And, Gamburyan vs. Nunes should be a solid fight between two guys who throw some serious leather.

UFC 141 will be a great way to end one hell of a year in Mixed Martial Arts. They might as well call this one The Clash of the Titans, not to sound cheesy or anything, but it would fit perfectly with this card and main event.

 

[jmt225]

Overeem vs. Lesnar is guaranteed to be short and sweet.

Either Overeem will knock Lesnar out or submit him in the 1st, or Lesnar will take the fight to the ground and finish Alistair off with some GnP.

I'm a huge Overeem fan and am rooting for him big time in this fight, but I recognize his biggest flaw, and that's his glass chin and heart. Maybe it's changed since moving to Heavyweight, but his LHW fights showed that he cannot take a punch, and if Lesnar is able to land some of those hammerfist and elbows while Overeem is down, Reem will not like it and will find a way out of the fight.

That said, Overeem is far superior on the feet, and I think he matches Lesnar in strength, so it won't surprise me at all if he stops Lesnar's takedown attempts and knocks him out shortly. That's the outcome I'm certainly hoping for.

I don't think there's another fight scheduled more impossible to call than Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone.

We've only seen Cerrone against one really good, all-around fighter (Bendo), and he lost (twice). However, he's looked fantastic against everyone else, and while they weren't top competition, they weren't bums either.

Nate Diaz, to me, has yet to lose at Lightweight in the UFC. In my opinion, the Stevenson, Guida, and Maynard decisions were all horseshit. But also with Nate, we haven't seen him fight a top tier Lightweight yet as well (he fought pre Greg Jackson Clay Guida). The Gomi fight was really impressive though. I mean, say what you want about Gomi being out of his prime, but Nate looked incredible in that fight.

Anyways, this fight will ultimately show who's the real deal, and who will go on to be a guy who's only there to put on exciting fights. Can't wait to see it. I'm definitely rooting for Nate as I'm a big fan of the guy, and I think Cerrone is a major douchebag, but it's going to be a really tough fight for Nate to pull off.

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks... Fitch hasn't faced a wrestler the caliber of Hendricks yet in his career (Diego was the closet one and Fitch was handed a gift decision in that fight). Unless Fitch has improved drastically in his stand-up, then he's in for a long night come Saturday. And I really hope I'm right because I'm so sick and tired of Fitch and his lay and pray ways. He's also so whiny that I can't stand it. It's time for him to go down.

Alexander Gustafsson is my favorite prospect at 205, and I expect him to pick up another win here. The Janitor is a tough opponent, but Gustafsson should have no problem in this fight.

I couldn't care less about Nam Phan vs. Jimy Hettes.

And the only Prelim fight I give a damn about is Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes. These two legitimately don't like each other and as long as Manny doesn't get knocked out quick, then this is going to be a fun little war.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

What I find so interesting about the Lesnar vs. Overeem fight is that like Joe Rogan stated on the Countdown show, both guys excel where their opponents are completely weak. Overeem has devastating striking, and is weak on the ground. We all know how good of a wrestler Lesnar is, and how if he established top control, you're done. We also know that if Brock gets hit, he curls up and takes a beating.

Brock reportedly cut down from 295 for this fight. He didn't cut weight for the Carwin or Velasquez fights, so I think we see the version of Lesnar that we saw against Frank Mir and Randy Couture. Clearly, he's healthy now. I also would have to assume that he's been working on his striking, both offensively and defensively, during this long layoff. Overeem seemed very hesitant against Fabricio Werdum, and as much as I like Overeem, he's been feasting on cans for quite awhile now. Werdum was really the first non-can fighter he had fought as a Heavyweight. The other legit fighter at Heavyweight he fought was Sergei Kharitonov, who he got KO'ed against. I don't know, Brock has proven himself against, and beaten, the class of the Heavyweight Division, and the more I think of it, the more I see this fight being a lot like the second Lesnar/Mir fight. If Overeem was hesitant against Werdum, how will he react to Brock pressuring him the second the fight starts? I think Brock Ground and Pounds him out in the second.

Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone is a fight I've been looking forward to since it was announced, and it should definitely be the fight of the night. I think Nate has his way with Cerrone in the standup, however, Nate has also shown in the past that he is susceptible to the takedown and being held down. Cerrone is a Greg Jackson fighter. Needless to say, that is probably the gameplan. Nate will get taken down, and while he'll be active from the bottom, it won't be enough. Cerrone takes this by decision, and becomes the #1 Contender.

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks - I have nothing else to say about this fight other than the fact that Rick Story Jon Fitch'ed Johny Hendricks in their fight. Fitch has this by decision.

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko is going to be a fun fight where Gustafsson has his coming out party. Considering that the UFC has put Gustafsson on the exact same path that they put Jon Jones on (vs. Hamill and the Janitor), I think they have big plans for Gustafsson in 2012. Gustafsson has improved with each fight, and I think he's too athletic for The Janitor. Gustafsson takes this by whatever he wants, and he gets Little Nog his next fight.

Nam Phan vs. Jimy Hettes should be a good fight as well. Hettes looked really impressive in his UFC debut... although it was against Bruce Leeroy. Regardless, Hettes is a top prospect at 145, however Nam is really experienced, and is a really tough test here. That being said, I think Hettes finds a way to submit Phan.

Prelims: Ross Pearson wins via KO, Castillo represents Njokuani's worst nightmare and he should grind him out for a decision, Dong Hyun Kim picks up a decision over Sean Pierson, Volkmann sends Escudero back to the B-Leagues and goes 5-0 as a UFC Lightweight... and earns a fight against a top 10 fighter his next fight. Matt Riddle wins over Luis Ramos via Tai Bo Punches, and Diego Nunes should beat Manny Gamburyan soundly.

 

[Fizzy]

What a great way to end the year.

It's no surprise who i'm rooting for in this fight. I adore Brock Lesnar. The fact that he's constantly fought the best fighters in the world even after being an inch from death blows my mind. The guy is one of a kind and is a damn good fighter at that. Overeem on the other hand, I find incredibly overrated. People rate him at Heavyweight based on what he's done in K-1. It blows my mind that people out there believe he is truly the best Heavyweight in the world when he's crushed more cans than Fedor. Don't get me wrong, I know what Overeem is capable of and the amount of talent he has, but until he proves he is the best, I will always be skeptical.

Like others have said, both guys excel where the other is weak. Overeem is a world class Kickboxer and Brock is a world class wrestler. That alone makes this fight incredibly intriguing. The difference maker in this fight isn't if Overeem can stuff Lesnar, it's if he can get off his back when Lesnar takes him down. The question isn't if Lesnar can take him down, it's if he can hold him down after taking him down. Mark my words, Lesnar will take him down and if Overeem can get back up, he has a great chance of TKOing Lesnar. While this is the obvious difference maker in the fight that everybody talks about, there is more to it. Lesnar has heart, Overeem doesn't. Overeem wilts in fights that don't go his way which is what will happen against a wrestler of Lesnar's strength and caliber. We know Brock will take a beating and come out smiling the next round, Overeem won't.

How do I see this fight playing out? Overeem stuffs the first takedown and batters Brock standing for most of the round. Towards the end of the round, Overeem clearly loses most of his steam and gets taken down and pounded until the end of the round. Second round comes and Overeem is clearly flustered being unable to put Lesnar away and getting taken down and hammerfisted after knocking him around for much of the round. Second round starts, Brock lands a huge right hand, rocking Overeem, follows him to the ground, and pounds him out for a TKO. Yes, you read that right, Brock will knock Overeem down with a punch. Pretty much a replay of the Carwin fight without Brock being on the ground for most of the round. To quote Brock "Overeem doesn't understand the beast he's going to enter the Octagon with." This will hold true.

I don't have time to review the rest of the fights, but Fitch can't beat a fellow wrestler. He'll lose.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

UFC 141 definetly delivered, it's upsetting to know that was Lesnar's last appearance in the cage. But i don't know if it's just me, i felt during the fight Lesnar didn't have the drive or fire, or any resemblance of passion that we are accustomed to. He seemed to have that "what ever happens, happens" mentality it may be just me but thats how i felt watching Lesnar's performace. But you have to give Overeem credit because he deifnetly deserves the praise, i think he may have shrugged off the title of 'cancrusher' with that win. Overeem now has the claim he sent Lesnar into retirement. Overeem better be well prepared for JDS.

Jon Fitch all i have to say is, sucked in. A solid left hand from Johnny and he was knocked the fuck out. Good decision to stop the fight, no way was Fitch going to defend himself effectively after that.

Gufstaffson, was quite impressive against Matyushenko. Got a great tko win, i ve enjoyed following "The Mauler's" growth as a fighter. I'd like to see where Alexander goes from here.

And finally Nate Diaz, wow he looked very impressive. His boxing was crisp, accuracy was amazing and those combinations were just beautiful to watch. I really like the Diaz brothers they are just a joy to watch in that octagon. I like Cerrone but he was really outboxed, early on the second round "The Cowboy" was relying on those leg kicks, but Diaz just kept pushing the pace and coming forward with those lovely combinations. Diaz i believe is ready for a title shot. His chances of becoming are champion look very likely at this point in time.

So solid card, and a good way to end the year for the UFC.

 

[INDYjon22]

Pretty solid card for the most part. Can't say I was happy with all the outcomes, but it was definitely an enjoyable way to finish the year.

Jimy Hettes is the real deal. I fully expect this kid to challenge Jose, or whoever the champ is, by the end of 2012. He certainly has all of the skills to make a legit run at the belt.

Gustaffson is another guy I fully expect to be in a title fight come the end of the year. He is a very dangerous guy and has all of the tools needed. I also think he stands a legit chance against Jones. That may be my biggest dream fight for 2012.

No excuses, Jon Fitch got knocked the fuck out. Johny Hendricks needs to be put in a number one contenders fight, and soon. Now, I won't make any excuses for Fitch losing, but anyone who tries to argue that Fitch doesn't have a chin is just being stupid. I have heard people say this since the fight and it is simply not true. Fitch got caught with a clean shot on the chin. Anyone would be put to sleep if they were hit that way. No one on here has used this argument to my knowledge but I am just getting it off my chest anyways.

Diaz vs. Cerrone was a great war. Nate Diaz looked the greatest he has ever looked, and he looked that way against a legit contender for the belt. Cerrone is tough as nails, may not be a fan of the guy but he sure as hell can fight. Can't wait to see where Diaz goes next.

And finally, Overeem vs. Lesnar, I have nothing but respect for Lesnar. The man defied all odds in his UFC career. He beat top competition by his third fight and that is something I don't know will ever be duplicated. Reem on the other hand is a beast. I cannot wait to see him face JDS. Both guys are great strikes. Reems knees and length advantage may be enough to beat JDS, but JDS has beaten bigger fighters before. Should be a classic.