UFC 141 was an exciting card to be sure, but just how good was it?
It was a good card, but it didn’t have the electricity of a UFC 139.
For starters, some fans complained about the preliminary bouts. Comments sections and MMA forums across the Internet blasted the prelims as boring, dull and uneventful.
Manny Gamburyan and Diego Nunes started off the card with a decent enough fight that saw Nunes’ arm raised at the end.
Jacob Volkmann vs. Efrain Escudero was relatively uneventful—until Escudero nearly choked out Volkmann late in the third round. This fight also ended in a decision (as would the next four fights), with Volkmann coming out on top.
Korean grappling standout Dong Hyun Kim and Canadian Sean Pierson were up next and they engaged in a less-than-perfect striking exhibition in which the only highlight was a crane kick that Kim used to nearly knock out Pierson.
Kim was awarded the decision.
Fans were disappointed with the result of the next fight—Anthony Njokuani vs. Danny Castillo—booing loudly when Castillo was given the split decision nod.
The fight was exciting and was a great showcase of mixed martial arts, but it left a bad taste in the mouths of the fans. The next fight between Ross Pearson and Junior Assuncao didn’t help matters—it was another lackluster decision.
The pay-per-view portion of the card “saved” the event.
Jim Hettes put on an amazing grappling clinic against Nam Phan. There were two great knockouts (Alexander Gustafsson knocked out Vladimir Matyushenko while Johny Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch), a great scrap between Donald Cerrone and Nick Diaz and a dominant performance by Alistair Overeem in the main event.
So how does the card, overall, rank?
Fans got their money’s worth. The free preliminaries weren’t the best of 2011, for sure, but they are free so who cares?
The PPV portion of the card had entertaining fights and it was enjoyable to watch, making the event not a disappointment but not the epic clash of the titans that was promised since the Lesnar-Overeem fight wasn’t even close.
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