Junior dos Santos had a brief exchange in the cage with Lesnar following his crushing defeat at the hands (and legs) of Overeem, and according to the UFC heavyweight kingpin, his newly-retired peer was rattled by the sheer power of the former DREAM, K-1 and Strikeforce champion’s kicks and knees and couldn’t get back on track after absorbing such an immense amount of damage.
Junior dos Santos had a brief exchange in the cage with Lesnar following his crushing defeat at the hands (and legs) of Overeem, and according to the UFC heavyweight kingpin, his newly-retired peer was rattled by the sheer power of the former DREAM, K-1 and Strikeforce champion’s kicks and knees and simply couldn’t get back on track after absorbing such an immense amount damage.
“I thought Brock would move forwards. I hoped more of him. But he told me in the Octagon he felt the knees and kicks of Overeem and that he thought he broke his rib. I saw it and it was really red,” JDS told Tatame following the event. “He told me the last couple [kicks] destabilized him. And then he wished me good luck on this title defense and that was it.”
As for his eventual meeting with “The Reem,” dos Santos doesn’t see it going the same way as Overeem’s Octagon debut and says he isn’t afraid of Alistair’s K-1-level striking.
“Each fight is different and you gotta be prepared for your next opponent the best way you can. I got to the title with much effort and I’ll do my best to remain as the champion,” he says. “Overeem is a very strong fighter, but there’s no easy fight when you’re fighting a title fight. He’s big, but he ain’t two”, concluded.
When we next see Brock Lesnar, will it be in the Octagon or the squared circle? What did “Cowboy” Cerrone do with the beanie Nate Diaz handed him? Where in the world did this Jimy Hettes guy come from? None of these questions will be answered in this forum. Instead, you’ll learn which UFC 141 fighters’ stock to buy more of, sell off, or hold. Even if you’re still too hung over to remember what happened Friday night, you’ll still need to make a few fiscal moves to stay ahead of the curve. Remember, money never sleeps, kid. Now go make yourself a Bloody Mary then keep reading to kick off the New Year with sage advice about the MMA stock market.
It makes no difference whether you think “The Reem” is completely unstoppable or flat out overrated — when he fights, people watch. Casual fans will be enamored with Alistair Overeem because he looks good with his shirt off (at least that’s why I think Arianny make that face) and the hype that can be drummed up by Zuffa thanks to his Strikeforce, DREAM, and K1 titles. For the next few years, as long as he doesn’t piss hot for some tainted horsemeat, the “Demolition Man” will be a main event attraction that will only make him more valuable with time.
(Hey Mario, is that some Jacks Links in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?)
When we next see Brock Lesnar, will it be in the Octagon or the squared circle? What did “Cowboy” Cerrone do with the beanie Nate Diaz handed him? Where in the world did this Jimy Hettes guy come from? None of these questions will be answered in this forum. Instead, you’ll learn which UFC 141 fighters’ stock to buy more of, sell off, or hold. Even if you’re still too hung over to remember what happened Friday night, you’ll still need to make a few fiscal moves to stay ahead of the curve. Remember, money never sleeps, kid. Now go make yourself a Bloody Mary then keep reading to kick off the New Year with sage advice about the MMA stock market.
It makes no difference whether you think “The Reem” is completely unstoppable or flat out overrated — when he fights, people watch. Casual fans will be enamored with Alistair Overeem because he looks good with his shirt off (at least that’s why I think Arianny make that face) and the hype that can be drummed up by Zuffa thanks to his Strikeforce, DREAM, and K1 titles. For the next few years, as long as he doesn’t piss hot for some tainted horsemeat, the “Demolition Man” will be a main event attraction that will only make him more valuable with time.
Brock Lesnar – Hold
Maybe it’s because of his pro wrestling background or because he wouldn’t be the first fighter to say one thing and do another, but I’m not sold that Brock Lesnar is retiring from competition. Some have suggested that once the larger-than-life beef jerky spokesman’s body and ego heal, he may decide otherwise and squeeze into his 4XL gloves one last time. Others, like UFC president Dana White, have pointed out that with the money he’s made over the years and what he has accomplished in such a short amount of time, Brock has nothing left to prove. Whatever side of the fence you sit on, don’t make any moves. If he comes back, you’ll be happy you didn’t bail, and if he shows up on RAW some Monday night in the not too distant future, I’m sure some booger-eating wrestling fan would be more than happy to take that stock off your hands.
Nate Diaz – Buy
What did I tell you? After dominating Donald Cerrone for three full rounds, people might start taking the Stockton native a bit more seriously. Nate Diaz played New York Giants to “Cowboy” Cerrone’s New England Patriots by spoiling a 5-0 run in 2011, and he enjoyed every minute of it. To borrow a line from his UFC 141 opponent, “The dude’s a warrior.” Look for Diaz to appear on a few broadcast TV events in 2012, as the UFC needs to showcase exciting fighters, which is the only kind Nate knows how to be. Winner of five FOTN and three SOTN bonuses, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt is the type of guy who’s always in high demand, driving the price up. Get in now before he throws his beanie “in the mix” (or, you know, just hands it to someone after destroying them).
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone – Buy
Since Donald Cerrone first stepped foot into the cage, only one guy has had his number, which is hardly a fault considering Ben Henderson is now heading to Japan where he’ll face UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. In 2011 alone, the Jackson’s MMA product fought four times more than GSP, winning all but one of his matches. So when he says he’s down to fight whenever, you know he honestly means it. You shouldn’t let a bad night in the Octagon shake your confidence in the future professional bull rider.
Jon Fitch – Zzzzzzzzz (Now he’s the one sleeping!)
It’s about time Jon Fitch was in an exciting match. According to the latest UFC Magazine, Fitch has landed 1,973 strikes in UFC competition — more than anyone in the promotion’s history. After his fight Saturday night in Vegas, he’s still landed 1,973 punches. Pay no attention to those who tell you, “He got caught, that’s all.” A loss is a loss here. He’ll never be a UFC champion, although he’s a superb talent. He won’t fight his teammates nor will he and Dana White ever go catch a movie together. Dump everything you have.
With an impressive 12-1 record, Hendricks is headed in the right direction at the right pace. Buy a few hundred shares of Hendricks Fight Sports at a modest price and watch for the dividends to mount. KO’ing John Fitch is a win he can hang his hat on, something that adds a welcome pop to his highlight reel for PPV trailers. 2012 will bring a wild range of match ups in the Welterweight division with GSP nursing his wounds. It’s not incredibly out of the realm of possibility for the two-time NCAA National champion to get a title shot.
The most notable thing about “The Kid” is that he looks a helluva lot like that guy from ‘The Social Network’. The second thing that stands out about Jimy Hettes he possesses superior judo skills for a brown belt. Rogan commented that he is probably “sandbagging at purple belt” referring to his BJJ. Holding a perfect 10-0 record, Hettes completely annihilated Nam Phan, bashing him time and again on the ground. This may be your first chance to truly buy into a commodity while the groundwork is still being laid. UFC Champion, 2012?
Nam Phan – Dump it like your autographed picture of Carrot Top
Sorry, I guess an Asian brother can’t get no love, Nam. You may have beat Leonard Garcia twice, but you fail to execute a logical gameplan against almost everyone and just can’t seem how to get a win against an opponent worthy of mentioning. It was fun while it lasted, but we can’t keep our money tied up in your services any longer.
Ariel Helwani caught up with Dana White ahead of tonight’s UFC 141 event and he asked the UFC president where about the growing opinion that Jon Fitch is being overlooked in the UFC welterweight title picture. According to White, who says he’s in the mix, regardless of Fitch’s current streak and the fact that he only has one loss and one draw in his past 20 fights, unless he makes some drastic changes to his game, he likely won’t main event on a pay-per-view let alone fight for the welterweight strap any time soon.
“You hear the same thing from everybody about Jon Fitch: ‘If I want to get to sleep and I can’t get to sleep at night, I’ll put in a Jon Fitch fight.’ Whatever you think, Jon Fitch is one of the best 170-pounders in the world. And yes, he’s in the hunt for a title again, but everybody… find one person that will tell you they love a Jon Fitch fight, it’s the most exciting thing they’ve ever seen and they just get so excited for it. So when you say that you have a fight like Cerrone and Diaz on the card and a guy with a record like his is on and people aren’t jumping out of their seats for that fight, I think Jon needs to have a little bit of a… he’s got to be a little honest with himself and have a little bit of a reality check when he talks about stuff like [fighters talking their way into title fights.”
(The Interweb never lies.)
Ariel Helwani caught up with Dana White ahead of tonight’s UFC 141 event and he asked the UFC president where about the growing opinion that Jon Fitch is being overlooked in the UFC welterweight title picture. According to White, who says he’s in the mix, regardless of Fitch’s current streak and the fact that he only has one loss and one draw in his past 20 fights, unless he makes some drastic changes to his game, he likely won’t main event on a pay-per-view let alone fight for the welterweight strap any time soon.
“You hear the same thing from everybody about Jon Fitch: ‘If I want to get to sleep and I can’t get to sleep at night, I’ll put in a Jon Fitch fight.’ Whatever you think, Jon Fitch is one of the best 170-pounders in the world. And yes, he’s in the hunt for a title again, but everybody… find one person that will tell you they love a Jon Fitch fight, it’s the most exciting thing they’ve ever seen and they just get so excited for it. So when you say that you have a fight like Cerrone and Diaz on the card and a guy with a record like his is on and people aren’t jumping out of their seats for that fight, I think Jon needs to have a little bit of a… he’s got to be a little honest with himself and have a little bit of a reality check when he talks about stuff like [fighters talking their way into title fights.”
Check out the entire interview that includes Dana’s explanation of what led to Miguel Torres being re-hired and his thoughts on the top two fights on tonight’s card, after the jump.
Come back to CagePotato.com tonight for our liveblog of “Overeem vs. Lesnar,” beginning with the Spike TV prelims at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT; the pay-per-view card kicks off an hour later at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. UFC 141 weigh-in results are below. After the jump: GIFs of Brock Lesnar’s post-weigh-in rage-pose and Joe Rogan‘s search for meaning in the eyes of the main eventers.
MAIN CARD Brock Lesnar (266) vs. Alistair Overeem (263) Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Nate Diaz (156*)
Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Jon Fitch (171)
Alexander Gustafsson (203) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (205)
Jim Hettes (145) vs. Nam Phan (146)
SPIKE TV PRELIMS
Junior Assuncao (145) vs. Ross Pearson (145)
Anthony Njokuani (154) vs. Danny Castillo (156)
FACEBOOK PRELIMS
Sean Pierson (171) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171)
Efrain Escudero (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Luis Ramos (171) vs. Matt Riddle (170)
Diego Nunes (145) vs. Manny Gamburyan (146)
* Diaz originally weighed in at 157. From Cagewriter: “Diaz missed the lightweight limit at 155 pounds and then cut to within one-quarter pound. Instead of taking 20 percent of Diaz’s purse, as is normally mandated by state commissions, Cerrone agreed to re-work the contract. He also said Diaz didn’t have to cut any more weight. Cerrone’s camp told its fighter to pipe down and asked Diaz to go lose the weight. After two tries Diaz got it done and the most heated fight at UFC 141 is a go.”
Come back to CagePotato.com tonight for our liveblog of “Overeem vs. Lesnar,” beginning with the Spike TV prelims at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT; the pay-per-view card kicks off an hour later at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. UFC 141 weigh-in results are below. After the jump: GIFs of Brock Lesnar’s post-weigh-in rage-pose and Joe Rogan‘s search for meaning in the eyes of the main eventers.
MAIN CARD Brock Lesnar (266) vs. Alistair Overeem (263) Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Nate Diaz (156*)
Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Jon Fitch (171)
Alexander Gustafsson (203) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (205)
Jim Hettes (145) vs. Nam Phan (146)
SPIKE TV PRELIMS
Junior Assuncao (145) vs. Ross Pearson (145)
Anthony Njokuani (154) vs. Danny Castillo (156)
FACEBOOK PRELIMS
Sean Pierson (171) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171)
Efrain Escudero (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Luis Ramos (171) vs. Matt Riddle (170)
Diego Nunes (145) vs. Manny Gamburyan (146)
* Diaz originally weighed in at 157. From Cagewriter: “Diaz missed the lightweight limit at 155 pounds and then cut to within one-quarter pound. Instead of taking 20 percent of Diaz’s purse, as is normally mandated by state commissions, Cerrone agreed to re-work the contract. He also said Diaz didn’t have to cut any more weight. Cerrone’s camp told its fighter to pipe down and asked Diaz to go lose the weight. After two tries Diaz got it done and the most heated fight at UFC 141 is a go.”
Just a friendly reminder that we’ll have the video feed for tonight’s UFC 141 weigh-ins starting at 7:00 pm ET.
It’s worth tuning in to just to see what shenanigans the Diaz brothers get into.
In the meantime, make your predictions for tomorrow night in the comment section and we’ll revisit them next week and check out the video feed after the jump.
(Faces will be punched tomorrow night.)
Just a friendly reminder that we’ll have the video feed for tonight’s UFC 141 weigh-ins starting at 7:00 pm ET.
It’s worth tuning in to just to see what shenanigans the Diaz brothers get into.
In the meantime, make your predictions for tomorrow night in the comment section and we’ll revisit them next week and check out the video feed after the jump.
But starting with Friday night’s UFC 141 main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem — promoted as the “biggest” fight of the year — and continuing on to Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier in March, the action among 265’ers is about to start heating up. With that mind, we decided to pay tribute to the greatest and most important heavyweight MMA fights from this past year. Enjoy, and let us know if we left out any of your favorites…
What happened: The smaller man fought like a giant. Cormier landed his punches at will and easily shrugged off Silva’s attempts to take the fight to the ground. Entering the tournament as an alternate, Cormier punched his ticket to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals with a hook/uppercut combo that stiffened the Brazilian Frankenstein. What we learned: Undersized doesn’t always mean outgunned — and a big chin doesn’t always mean a strong chin.
(Will Lesnar vs. Overeem bash out a place on the list, or will it inevitably fall short of the hype?)
But starting with Friday night’s UFC 141 main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem — promoted as the “biggest” fight of the year — and continuing on to Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier in March, the action among 265′ers is about to start heating up. With that mind, we decided to pay tribute to the greatest and most important heavyweight MMA fights from this past year. Enjoy, and let us know if we left out any of your favorites…
What happened: The smaller man fought like a giant. Cormier landed his punches at will and easily shrugged off Silva’s attempts to take the fight to the ground. Entering the tournament as an alternate, Cormier punched his ticket to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals with a hook/uppercut combo that stiffened the Brazilian Frankenstein. What we learned: Undersized doesn’t always mean outgunned — and a big chin doesn’t always mean a strong chin.
#5. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA vs. BRENDAN SCHAUB UFC 134, 8/27/11
What happened: After smashing Mirko Cro Cop in his previous outing, Brendan Schaub was looking to put another aging veteran out to pasture. But with Brazil’s adoring fans at his back, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira stayed calm and confident until his found his opening, blitzing Schaub’s jaw with power-punches. And the crowd goes wild… What we learned: Never count out an MMA legend against a TUF finalist.
#4. JUNIOR DOS SANTOS vs. CAIN VELASQUEZ UFC on FOX 1, 11/12/11
What happened: A historic five-round fight on network television that only lasted 64 seconds. Once JDS connected on an overhand right to Cain’s ear, Velasquez’s title reign quickly entered “one and done” status. What we learned: Nobody, except for maybe Alistair Overeem, should try standing and trading with Junior Dos Santos. The UFC heavyweight belt is one seriously hot potato.
What happened: Riding a late-career surge, Dan Henderson decided to challenge a heavyweight icon. The frantic one-round thriller ended with Henderson slipping in a knockout uppercut from behind. Hendo picked up one of the greatest wins of his career, and the once-invincible Russian increased his losing skid to three. What we learned: When legends decline, they decline fast. But as long as Dan Henderson has his H-Bomb, he’s a danger to anybody in the sport, from middleweight to heavyweight.
#2. FRANK MIR vs. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA UFC 140, 12/10/11 What happened: Looking to redeem himself from his previous TKO loss to Mir in December 2008, Nogueira came out strong and managed to rock Mir standing. But instead of going for the kill with follow-up strikes, Big Nog tried to finish on the ground with a submission. Mir reversed him and snapped his arm with a kimura at 3:38 of the first round. What we learned: Hubris can sink even the most experienced fighters, and Frank Mir still enjoys a good bone-breaking.
What happened: Pat Barry knocked Kongo out twice — then Kongo knocked Barry out for good. One of the greatest “back from the dead” fights in MMA history What we learned: Referee Dan Miragliotta knows what he’s doing sometimes. Growing a Kimbo-beard can give you brief periods of invincibility.
