Alistair Overeem has been a wrecking machine for the last few years, winning eight straight MMA fights and five straight kickboxing fights without really even being threatened. Overeem doesn’t just win, he wins in dominant fashion.
So after his most recent dominant win, over Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, Overeem has climbed another rung up the ladder of our heavyweight rankings, moving into the No. 2 position, behind only UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about Overeem: How will he react to fighting dos Santos, an opponent who hits just as hard as he does? How would he do if a good wrestler put him on his back? Does he have a good enough gas tank to last deep into a five-round title fight?
But what we do know about Overeem is that he has just concluded a 2011 in which he beat Fabricio Werdum and Brock Lesnar. Among heavyweights, only dos Santos beat better opponents than that last year, and only dos Santos ranks ahead of Overeem in our newest Top 10, after the jump.
Top 10 heavyweights in mixed martial arts (Editor’s note: The individual fighter’s ranking the last time we did heavyweights are in parentheses.) 1. Junior dos Santos (1): As great a striker as Overeem is, I favor dos Santos in their eventual heavyweight title fight because I think dos Santos will prove to be quicker to the punch and capable of out-landing Overeem. I don’t think Overeem is the man to take the title from dos Santos.
2. Alistair Overeem (3): The last time Overeem lost an MMA fight, it was to Sergei Kharitonov in 2007. Overeem is a completely different fighter now than he was then — physically he has undergone a transformation that has seen him put on about 30 pounds of muscle, and he’s a much more effective striker now. It’s remarkable how far Overeem has come.
3. Cain Velasquez (2): Although dos Santos quickly dispatched Velasquez in their November fight, Velasquez has the combination of wrestling pedigree, athletic ability and heavy hands that makes him a threat to take the title back from dos Santos, something I could easily see him doing in the coming year.
4. Frank Mir (8): After getting knocked around by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira early in their fight, Mir did a great job of holding on, waiting for his opportunity and finding the winning submission. A fight with Velasquez next would make a lot of sense for Mir, and if he wins that he’d be next in line for a title shot.
5. Fabricio Werdum (5): Werdum will make his UFC debut against Roy Nelson at UFC 143, in a fight I expect him to dominate. Werdum is better in every phase of the sport than Nelson.
6. Daniel Cormier (6): Cormier will fight Josh Barnett, likely in the spring of 2012, in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix final. Barnett will be Cormier’s toughest test to date, but I expect Cormier to pass that test with flying colors.
7. Brock Lesnar (4): If Lesnar is really retired I’ll remove him from the heavyweight rankings, but I’ll keep ranking him for now while we see if he changes his mind. It would be easy to view Lesnar’s MMA career as a disappointment considering how his losses to Overeem and Velasquez went down, but it was a lot of fun to watch this incredible physical specimen could dominate good opponents like Heath Herring, Randy Couture and Frank Mir, and I’ll never forget the heart he showed in his comeback victory over Shane Carwin. He’s been great for the sport.
8. Shane Carwin (7): Back injuries have taken a toll on Carwin’s career. He’s expected to return in mid-2012, but athletes in their late-30s with bad backs don’t often return to top form.
9. Josh Barnett (9): Barnett has a huge opportunity to show against Cormier that he still deserves to be considered among the truly elite heavyweights in the world — which he always was until his third failed drug test made him persona non grata in American MMA. Although the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix hasn’t gone quite as planned, the Barnett-Cormier final is a great, great matchup.
10. Antonio Silva (10): Bigfoot has been inactive since his knockout loss to Cormier, but he should be a great addition to the UFC heavyweight division. He’s currently recovering from shoulder surgery, and if the timing works out it would make a lot of sense to have him make his UFC debut against Carwin.
Alistair Overeem has been a wrecking machine for the last few years, winning eight straight MMA fights and five straight kickboxing fights without really even being threatened. Overeem doesn’t just win, he wins in dominant fashion.
So after his most recent dominant win, over Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, Overeem has climbed another rung up the ladder of our heavyweight rankings, moving into the No. 2 position, behind only UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about Overeem: How will he react to fighting dos Santos, an opponent who hits just as hard as he does? How would he do if a good wrestler put him on his back? Does he have a good enough gas tank to last deep into a five-round title fight?
But what we do know about Overeem is that he has just concluded a 2011 in which he beat Fabricio Werdum and Brock Lesnar. Among heavyweights, only dos Santos beat better opponents than that last year, and only dos Santos ranks ahead of Overeem in our newest Top 10, after the jump.
Top 10 heavyweights in mixed martial arts (Editor’s note: The individual fighter’s ranking the last time we did heavyweights are in parentheses.) 1. Junior dos Santos (1): As great a striker as Overeem is, I favor dos Santos in their eventual heavyweight title fight because I think dos Santos will prove to be quicker to the punch and capable of out-landing Overeem. I don’t think Overeem is the man to take the title from dos Santos.
2. Alistair Overeem (3): The last time Overeem lost an MMA fight, it was to Sergei Kharitonov in 2007. Overeem is a completely different fighter now than he was then — physically he has undergone a transformation that has seen him put on about 30 pounds of muscle, and he’s a much more effective striker now. It’s remarkable how far Overeem has come.
3. Cain Velasquez (2): Although dos Santos quickly dispatched Velasquez in their November fight, Velasquez has the combination of wrestling pedigree, athletic ability and heavy hands that makes him a threat to take the title back from dos Santos, something I could easily see him doing in the coming year.
4. Frank Mir (8): After getting knocked around by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira early in their fight, Mir did a great job of holding on, waiting for his opportunity and finding the winning submission. A fight with Velasquez next would make a lot of sense for Mir, and if he wins that he’d be next in line for a title shot.
5. Fabricio Werdum (5): Werdum will make his UFC debut against Roy Nelson at UFC 143, in a fight I expect him to dominate. Werdum is better in every phase of the sport than Nelson.
6. Daniel Cormier (6): Cormier will fight Josh Barnett, likely in the spring of 2012, in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix final. Barnett will be Cormier’s toughest test to date, but I expect Cormier to pass that test with flying colors.
7. Brock Lesnar (4): If Lesnar is really retired I’ll remove him from the heavyweight rankings, but I’ll keep ranking him for now while we see if he changes his mind. It would be easy to view Lesnar’s MMA career as a disappointment considering how his losses to Overeem and Velasquez went down, but it was a lot of fun to watch this incredible physical specimen could dominate good opponents like Heath Herring, Randy Couture and Frank Mir, and I’ll never forget the heart he showed in his comeback victory over Shane Carwin. He’s been great for the sport.
8. Shane Carwin (7): Back injuries have taken a toll on Carwin’s career. He’s expected to return in mid-2012, but athletes in their late-30s with bad backs don’t often return to top form.
9. Josh Barnett (9): Barnett has a huge opportunity to show against Cormier that he still deserves to be considered among the truly elite heavyweights in the world — which he always was until his third failed drug test made him persona non grata in American MMA. Although the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix hasn’t gone quite as planned, the Barnett-Cormier final is a great, great matchup.
10. Antonio Silva (10): Bigfoot has been inactive since his knockout loss to Cormier, but he should be a great addition to the UFC heavyweight division. He’s currently recovering from shoulder surgery, and if the timing works out it would make a lot of sense to have him make his UFC debut against Carwin.
For anyone that has followed the health of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for the past few years, his retirement following a loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 should come as no surprise. Lesnar’s battles with his health began in l…
For anyone that has followed the health of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for the past few years, his retirement following a loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 should come as no surprise.
Lesnar’s battles with his health began in late 2009. After man-handling Frank Mir at UFC 100, Lesnar was slated to lock horns with an undefeated Shane Carwin at UFC 106. However, the former national champion wrestler was forced to pull out of the fight due to what was believed to mononucleosis.
After the fight was again forced back at UFC 108, it was revealed that Lesnar’s health problems were more serious and that he would require surgery for the intestinal disorder diverticulitis.
At UFC 116, Lesnar returned to face Carwin and was battered for a full round before triumphantly retaining his belt with a submission in the second round. It appeared that Lesnar was fully back to health.
Later that year, Lesnar met another undefeated challenger in Cain Velasquez. Unlike the Carwin fight, Lesnar was unable to survive the first round and Velasquez was crowned champion.
Lesnar was then tabbed to coach on The Ultimate Fighter against Junior dos Santos in the spring of this year. The pair were expected to fight and determine who would challenge Velasquez for the belt. Once again, Lesnar’s health forced him out of a fight. While Lesnar underwent another surgery, dos Santos faced Carwin for the No. 1 contender slot.
During Lesnar’s absence, it became clear that his future in the sport was in jeopardy. Word out of his camp cast doubt on whether he would fight ever again.
When it was announced that Lesnar was selected to welcome Strikeforce and K-1 kingpin Alistair Overeem to the Octagon at UFC 141, many thought that Lesnar had again overcome his disease and would challenge for UFC gold yet again.
Based on Lesnar’s performance in the cage against Overeem, it was clear that the explosiveness and power that had propelled Lesnar to the top was a thing of the past. There was no bull rush or powerful takedowns. Lesnar was battered on the feet by his opponent.
As Joe Rogan approached Lesnar for an interview following the fight, it was clear that despite his competitive spirit, Lesnar’s body simply wasn’t capable of withstanding the demands of the sport. A dejected former champion revealed that he would not be stepping back inside the cage again, citing a promise to his family, and ultimately admitting that his health had cut his career short after only eight fights.
Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com. For anything related to MMA, Follow @RobTatumMMA.
Filed under: UFC, NewsAs isolated as Brock Lesnar is in his Minnesota training camp, and as successfully as he manages to avoid the internet most of the time, some criticisms still find their way out of the petri dish of MMA and into the former UFC cha…
As isolated as Brock Lesnar is in his Minnesota training camp, and as successfully as he manages to avoid the internet most of the time, some criticisms still find their way out of the petri dish of MMA and into the former UFC champ’s world. But as he told me when I spoke to him for a Sports Illustrated story this week, the key is not so much in avoiding those criticisms entirely, but rather in knowing what to make of them once they get there.
For instance, take the oft-repeated claim that Lesnar can’t take a punch.
“I think it’s a bunch of bulls—,” Lesnar said. “The fights that I’ve gotten hit, I’ve stood and banged with Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Frank Mir — I’ve taken a lot of shots. I mean, Shane Carwin. And I’ve yet to be knocked out. I had refs stop a fight for a submission and a TKO, which is a referee stoppage. I’ve never been knocked out cold.”
In fact, the ‘it’s a bunch of bulls—‘ response turns out to be Lesnar’s go-to move when confronted with MMA fans and media criticisms. It’s not that he doesn’t hear them — trust me, if you were around for the reception he got at the UFC on FOX event in Anaheim, you’d know there’s no way around it sometimes — it’s that he dismisses it as just another instance of haters hating. Not in those words, of course.
“Any time you’re on top, whatever it is, and I don’t care if it’s the business world or it’s in farming or fighting — and those are all things that I’m in — there’s people out to get you,” he said. “There’s criticism. I don’t know if it’s just that people don’t like to see other people succeed, or just if they want to see them fail.”
Which is, according to Lesnar, exactly what’s happening with Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow right now.
“There’s a stand-up guy who’s doing a lot of good things, a stand-up role model for kids, and this guy is taking a lot of criticism,” Lesnar said. “I guess it comes with the territory. When you’re in the spotlight and you’re one of the best people in your division, you better have some heavy armor.”
People can say his chin was exposed in the Cain Velasquez fight, Lesnar said, but as he pointed out, “in the heavyweight division, if guys are putting leather in the right spots, it’s hard to come back from that.”
As for Alistair Overeem, who has vowed to take Lesnar apart “piece by piece” at UFC 141, there’s no ill will there, according to the former WWE star.
“I don’t hardly even know him,” said Lesnar. “…He’s an opponent. He’s a guy I’m facing next Friday night, who I will have no remorse for, and who I will show no mercy to. I don’t have any emotions when I fight, for myself or anyone else.”
Frank Mir has been on the rebound ever since he lost to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. Mir had a chance to get back into the mix when he took on Shane Carwin at UFC 111. Once again for Mir it would not be his night, as he lost to Carwin by KO. …
Mir was not only the first man to beat Nogueira in the UFC, he was the first man to defeat him by TKO. If Mir can repeat his performance, he could very well be on his way to title contention once again.
Mir is still one of the most well known fighters in the heavyweight division. That, as well as the heavyweight division being top heavy, are reasons why Mir is always a couple of wins away from a title shot.
Mir will have to get an impressive win over another top heavyweight, though.
Dana White has shown in the past that he does not reward just anybody with a title shot.
No matter how good Mir’s record is, if he doesn’t win fights in impressive fashion, he will be just another fighter with wins against mediocre opponents.
Mir will have to show that he can still pull off the big wins and hold his own with other top contenders.
UFC on FX to air in January 2012 with 2 bouts announced: Duane Ludwig vs. Josh Neer and Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft. MMA Junkie website (which was newly acquired by USA Today) will debut.
UFC on FX to air in January 2012 with 2 bouts announced: Duane Ludwig vs. Josh Neer and Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft.
MMA Junkie website (which was newly acquired by USA Today) will debut a live MMA news magazine show on Spike TV in January 2012.
Shane Carwin is recovering from back surgery which was necessary to keep him from “feeling paralyzed” when he competes.
UFC 141 books Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes for December 30th event in Las Vegas.
Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio added to UFC 142 event on January 14th in Rio.
UFC 143 receives Dustin Poirier vs. Eric Koch in February.
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch and Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis set for UFC 144 in Japan.
Justin Bieber paternity suit is dismissed by Mariah Yeater.
*UPDATE: The Bieber paternity case is still on. Reports earlier from TMZ indicated Mariah Yeater had dismissed the case but her lawyer says Yeater “believes Justin Bieber is the father.” In other news, judging by these recent pics both Yeater and Bieber look like excellent parental figures:
(The only less popular piece of gold in MMA is Kimbo’s licensed signature fist necklace.)
Considering that every one of the six men who has worn it since this day three years ago has fallen to illness or injury, the UFC heavyweight belt could soon become the least desired trophy in sports.
The latest victim of the ill-fated gilded strap is Junior dos Santos, who went into his UFC on Fox heavyweight title bout with Cain Velasquez with a torn meniscus which will probably require surgery and an extended recovery time, making his first title defense unlikely until the second half of 2012. Somebody needs to bring the belt to a priest and have him perform an exorcism on it. Otherwise, we may only see one heavyweight title bout per year.
Check out the breakdown of the unlucky timeline of the cursed hunk of leather and gold after the jump.
(The only less popular piece of gold in MMA is Kimbo’s licensed signature fist necklace.)
Considering that every one of the six men who has worn it since this day three years ago has fallen to illness or injury, the UFC heavyweight belt could soon become the least desired trophy in sports.
The latest victim of the ill-fated gilded strap is Junior dos Santos, who went into his UFC on Fox heavyweight title bout with Cain Velasquez with a torn meniscus which will probably require surgery and an extended recovery time, making his first title defense unlikely until the second half of 2012. Somebody needs to bring the belt to a priest and have him perform an exorcism on it. Otherwise, we may only see one heavyweight title bout per year.
Here’s the breakdown of the unlucky timeline of the cursed hunk of leather and gold for those of you who aren’t buying what we’re selling:
• Brock Lesnar beat Randy Couture at UFC 91 on November 15, 2008 via second-round TKO and was to defend his belt against recently-crowned interim champ Frank Mir at UFC 98, but the fight had to be pushed to UFC 100 after Mir suffered a knee injury in training.
• Mir won the interim belt from former title holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 in December 2008 and it was later revealed that “Big Nog” fought with a severe staph infection.
• Minotauro has since pulled out of a UFC 108 bout against Cain Velasquez due to another bout of staph and a Mir rematch at UFC 119 because he underwent double knee surgery.
• Shortly after successfully defending his strap for the first time against Mir in July 2009, Lesnar was diagnosed with diverticulitis and was put on the DL for nearly a year.
• Shane Carwin took the vacant interim title against Mir in March 2010 at UFC 111 and has been sidelined with a back injury since his UFC 131 decision loss to Junior dos Santos.
• Cain Velasquez made short work of Lesnar in Brock’s third title defense in his two-year championship reign at UFC 121 in October 2010 and was unable to defend his title for 13 months.
• Junior dos Santos spoiled Velasquez’s first title defense in just over one minute. Following the bout he revealed that he fought with a torn meniscus and will likely require surgery, likely forcing him out of action for anywhere between five to eight months.
Alistair Overeem has been a wrecking machine for the last few years, winning eight straight MMA fights and five straight kickboxing fights without really even being threatened. Overeem doesn’t just win, he wins in dominant fashion.
For anyone that has followed the health of former UFC heavyweight champion 
As isolated as 
