The UFC has recently been on an incredible stretch of fights as of late.Whether it was Ben Henderson’s impressive victory over Clay Guida in his “Fight of the Night” performance at UFC on FOX, or Dan Henderson’s absolute war with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua …
The UFC has recently been on an incredible stretch of fights as of late.
Whether it was Ben Henderson’s impressive victory over Clay Guida in his “Fight of the Night” performance at UFC on FOX, or Dan Henderson’s absolute war with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua this past weekend, the organization is continuing to deliver big fights to the masses.
Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar is no different.
The two heavyweight juggernauts meet this December at UFC 141, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, where the two will battle it out in a No. 1 contender’s bout.
While the winner moves on to fight for the prestigious title, there also exists a bevy of bouts that need your attention that much more.
UFC 141 features one of the biggest matchups in UFC history, as former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar makes his long awaited return to the Octagon against the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, in a No. 1 contender matchup for…
UFC 141 features one of the biggest matchups in UFC history, as former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar makes his long awaited return to the Octagon against the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, in a No. 1 contender matchup for the UFC heavyweight title.
However, the co-main event could steal the show, as it will feature a lightweight matchup between The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner, Nate Diaz, and a two-time challenger to the WEC lightweight belt, Donald Cerrone.
Diaz recently made his return to the lightweight division at UFC 135, where he submitted former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi in the first round, and earned submission of the night.
Many who saw the fight said it was the best Diaz had ever looked and that he could now be a force to be reckoned with at lightweight.
However, he’s nothing but a stepping stone to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Cerrone (17-3 [1 NC]) has been on a tear since entering the UFC, having racked up four straight wins inside the Octagon (six in a row total going back to his last WEC fights), and in his time in the Octagon, he has picked up a submission, knockout and fight of the night award.
In his last fight, Cowboy faced off against the dangerous German striker, Dennis Siver.
Many expected Siver to have the edge in the stand up department, but Cerrone was able to rock him—more than once—in the first round.
Then, when he rocked him the last time, Cerrone was able to get his back and sink in the rear-naked choke at 2:22 of the first round.
Cerrone is without a doubt one of the most dangerous fighters in the lightweight division. His combination of Muay Thai kickboxing and top-notch jiu-jitsu makes him a handful for any fighter to deal with.
In fact, two of his three losses have come at the hands of the current No. 1 lightweight contender, Benson Henderson.
Not only does he have enough tools at his disposal to be a threat to anyone, but Diaz’s last foray into the lightweight division didn’t pan out all that well, as he went 1-3 in his last four fights in the division, dropping decisions to Gray Maynard, Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida, with the lone win being over Melvin Guillard—pre Jackson.
Cowboy will walk right through Diaz as he works his way closer to a shot at the UFC lightweight title, and potentially a third fight with Benson Henderson, which you can be sure he’s looking for.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on twitter @tmt2393.
UFC 141 will mark the return of the biggest star in MMA when former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar steps back into the cage after a 14-month layoff due to complications with the intestinal disease diverticulitis. The heavyweight juggernaut will …
UFC 141 will mark the return of the biggest star in MMA when former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar steps back into the cage after a 14-month layoff due to complications with the intestinal disease diverticulitis. The heavyweight juggernaut will go head-to-head with former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in the main event on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.
The long-awaited collision between these mammoths will be the second time that two consensus top-five heavyweights will headline a UFC event in the final two months of 2011, the first being the UFC on FOX main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos earlier this month.
Initial estimates for the ratings of the inaugural UFC on FOX event saw the event checking in with a disappointing 4.6 million viewers. This number was later updated to over 5.5 millions and finally stuck at an impressive 8.8 million fans who tuned in to see the heavyweight main event.
UFC president Dana White heard from critics who disliked the concept of the first show only having one fight, but responded by informing fans that there would be a full fight card for the second UFC on FOX event.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a title fight, but I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed in what you’re going to see,” White told Heavy. “We’re giving you some good fights.”
Being that Lesnar is already booked to fight only about a month before UFC on FOX 2, it seems highly unlikely that the former champion will headline the next event on network television.
However, there will obviously be future UFC on FOX events and while Lesnar is unquestionably the company’s biggest pay-per-view draw, the reality is that his popularity may actually fit the company best when it comes to attracting new fans in the form of a future main event fight on FOX.
The former WWE superstar has overtaken everyone in the sport as the most recognizable face in mixed martial arts history. His brick-like physique and entertaining skills on the microphone are a perfect mixture to stir up controversy. But whether you love him or hate him, there is no doubt that everyone who has heard of him has an opinion on Lesnar.
Velasquez and Dos Santos did a great job of carrying the flag of the UFC into the mainstream with their fight on Nov. 12, but the truth is that neither of them have quite broken into the mainstream yet. They are both growing in popularity, but certainly neither has become a household name like Lesnar.
Lesnar’s incredible popularity and ability to reach the masses is something that the UFC could make great use of on FOX. As the promotion attempts to pull in more of the casual audience and entice them to become long-term fans of the sport, they will eventually need to promote an already-established superstar in the main event.
Who would fit that bill better than Lesnar?
It seems unlikely that the UFC will make use of free television to promote too many championship fights from here on out, but it would make for a perfect place to promote large non-title fights such as a rematch between Lesnar and Velasquez or a third fight between Lesnar and Frank Mir.
If the UFC was happy with the 8.8 million fans who tuned in for the first event on FOX, they would be ecstatic to see the ratings skyrocket as well over the 10 million fans tune in to watch the biggest star in mixed martial arts.
With Lesnar being the biggest pay-per-view draw for the UFC, they may opt to avoid putting him on free television. However if the company takes a chance, the short-term loss in pay-per-view revenue could be greatly outweighed by the long-term gain in fans that could come from putting Lesnar on network television.
If you don’t know who NickTheFace is by now, then allow us to introduce you to the man behind so many amazing fight promos and trailers that he deserves to be ranked among the likes of Ghengis Con. His video preview of the upcoming heavyweight number one contender clash between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 is no different, offering some of the slickest editing this side of The French Connectionthat we’ve ever seen. We got goosebumps too Joe, we got goosebumps too.
UFC 141 goes down December 30th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
You know the deal, who you got for this one and how?
-Danga
If you don’t know who NickTheFace is by now, then allow us to introduce you to the man behind so many amazing fight promos and trailers that he deserves to be ranked among the likes of Ghengis Con. His video preview of the upcoming heavyweight number one contender clash between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 is no different, offering some of the slickest editing this side of The French Connectionthat we’ve ever seen. We got goosebumps too Joe, we got goosebumps too.
UFC 141 goes down December 30th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
You know the deal, who you got for this one and how?
The Alistair Overeem-Golden Glory saga just opened a new chapter on Wednesday when Bas Rutten made his opinion known.In Part I of this story, we covered the background of the issue and presented the main reason why Overeem has made the choice to …
In Part I of this story, we covered the background of the issue and presented the main reason why Overeem has made the choice to separate from his former management.
What many people considered to be a business deal gone wrong, just touched a nerve on the pathos side of the argument.
According to Rutten, he believes “Overeem disrespected Golden Glory.”
Besides cutting ties with Golden Glory, a gym/company Overeem had been a part of for over 10 years, Rutten describes a conversation he had with Overeem.
When Rutten attempted to remind Overeem that these people (Golden Glory) had been there through his ups and downs and helped contribute to his success, Overeem’s response was disrespectful indeed of his former trainer.
“Yeah, if we have to talk about people who contributed to my success, then I also have to mention my cleaning lady who cleans my house for eleven and a half Euros an hour,” said Overeem.
Rutten explains that the idea that Overeem would put the words “trainer” and “cleaning” lady in the same sentence was very disrespectful. He also claimed that Overeem made a new offer to Golden Glory, Overeem offered them less than one percent.
In what has become a clouded picture as the days go on, Rutten explains that like most issues in life, it comes down to money.
“It’s a money thing. He simply doesn’t want to pay the people who made him. When he lost three fights in a row…well, like pretty much 5, I mean, he lost, won, lost three times in a row, won, and lost again…and nobody wanted to have him.” (paullazenby.com)
Besides money, the main problem presented by Rutten is one of loyalty. If you have a minute, check out the entire interview and you can see that Rutten, likely along with other members of the Golden Glory team, feel like Overeem has “left them out to dry” so to speak.
When Overeem was going through a tough stretch, the people at Golden Glory stood by him and did all they could to get organisations to get a fight for him.
An interesting point presented by Rutten is when he explains that Golden Glory would use Semmy Schilt (a much bigger name at the time) as leverage.
“If you want Semmy Schilt to fight, then you have to take Alistair as well,” said Rutten.
Perhaps this sheds light on why Dana White made such a galiant move in releasing some prominent Golden Glory fighters when Zuffa bought out Strikeforce.
Rutten is a highly respected MMA commentator so his opinion will be considered fact by a good number of fans. Is he right though?
Is Overeem wrong for simply wanting to better his life?
As with any argument, the idea of right and wrong is subjective to each individual.
If someone offered you a better paying job with more perks, odds are you’d leave your current company. But nobody would fault you for being loyal to the company you’re with either.
Overeem certainly owes Golden Glory a great deal as they’ve helped his career grow. At the same time though, I can’t fault the man for trying to find a better deal for his fight contract.
Overeem has since moved his camp to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and that is a move that will likely make him a better MMA fighter. He seems content on putting Golden Glory behind him and moving to the United States in time.
Perhaps it is best for Golden Glory to move on from Overeem as well? If the Golden Glory team truly did make Overeem into what he is today, they should be able to make the next “MegaReem.”
The two sides are likely to engage in bit of slandering to damage each other’s image to the public which likely mean fans will have to make an even tougher choice as to who is right, and who is wrong.
Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out other articles from Kyle here.
UFC newcomer Alistair Overeem has a colossal challenge ahead of him at UFC 141 when he takes on Brock Lesnar.Overeem now has a huge challenge in the court system as well. He’s decided that he wants out of his managerial contract with Golden G…
Overeem now has a huge challenge in the court system as well. He’s decided that he wants out of his managerial contract with Golden Glory and is asking for a court order to break the contract, according to MMAjunkie.com.
The article says Overeem claims Golden Glory misled him with their contract and that he ceded 35 percent in pre-tax earnings. He is also looking for a reported $151,000 in back pay.
If you’re new to the situation let’s back track a little to catch you up to speed.
When news broke that a handful of Golden Glory fighters were released from their Zuffa contracts, many fans were left puzzled by the move. It wasn’t as if the UFC was letting go of some no-name prospects.
They were releasing a fighter who won “Fight of the Night” honors in his bout along with the former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion.
A lot of fans felt the “bad blood” between the UFC and Golden Glory would prevent the arrival of Alistair Overeem to the UFC. Those fears were put to rest when Overeem signed a contract and then was revealed to be facing Lesnar in a title eliminator bout at UFC 141.
Besides the main storylines of “Is Overeem as good as we think?” and “Can he deal with Brock Lesnar’s takedown?”, Overeem has made headlines with his departure from Golden Glory.
In a recent video of his popular documentary series, “The Reem,” Overeem shed light on why he left the gym he had made his home for so long.
Overeem explains that he and a lawyer went over his contract and discovered “some things” that benefited Golden Glory but didn’t benefit Overeem.
He described how he felt when he and the lawyer discovered how the contract was laid out.
“I think it’s the management’s duty to explain stuff to the fighter…(and) to negotiate to explain things to me, and clarify things for me, and they were not doing their job. Not only that, it was such a big disadvantage that it also caused a breach in trust. I like to work with people I can trust.” (via MMAJunkie.com)
Everyone can sympathize with Overeem on this issue. We’ve all felt betrayed by someone close to us at one point in our lives. So when Overeem made the decision to separate himself from Golden Glroy, most of us felt it was the right move.
Of course, throughout all of this we haven’t been presented with Golden Glory’s side of the matter. Now that the issue is going to court we aren’t likely to hear any official statements from Golden Glory.
But Bas Rutten is not scared to share his thoughts on the matter. Be sure to check out Part II of this story to see what “El Guapo” has to say about Overeem and Golden Glory.
