The UFC has outdone themselves once again. The long awaited return of Brock Lesnar will finally occur at UFC 141 where he will take on newly signed mixed martial arts veteran, Alistair Overeem.Lesnar who hasn’t fought in nearly a year will arguably fac…
The UFC has outdone themselves once again. The long awaited return of Brock Lesnar will finally occur at UFC 141 where he will take on newly signed mixed martial arts veteran, Alistair Overeem.
Lesnar who hasn’t fought in nearly a year will arguably face his toughest opponent yet. While many have already began to doubt Lesnar’s chances at UFC 141, you shouldn’t be so quick to follow the crowd.
While Alistair hasn’t lost since September of 2007, he hasn’t fought the competition of Lesnar. At least not lately. Sure he’s had recent impressive victories over Brett Rogers, Todd Duffee, and Fabricio Werdum but still not the caliber of Lesnar’s victories.
UFC 141 will be more than just another fight for Lesnar. He has something to prove. Lesnar needs to prove to himself and the fans that he’s capable of fighting on a championship level. If he’s not, then it will soon be the end of the road in terms of his UFC career.
In a sense, it’s almost as if Lesnar is fighting for his career while also proving himself as a legitimate Heavyweight contender.
One key component in Lesnar getting back in the win column is getting past the 1st round. If Lesnar can do this he will be at a much greater advantage for a couple reasons.
Getting past the 1st round will give Lesnar the confidence he needs as well as shed off some remaining ring rust from not having fought in nearly a year.
Even tough Lesnar’s been off for a year he has a much greater chance of winning the fight simply because Overeem has yet to be fully tested conditionally.
9 of Overeem’s ten fights have not made it out of the 1st round.
While many believe being off a full year is a disadvantage to Lesnar, it could be a blessing in disguise. This will be the healthiest Lesnar has ever been.
If Lesnar can make it out of the 1st round and get back to the Brock Lesnar we know he can be, look for him to walk out of UFC 141 the victor.
The announcement that former UFC champion Brock Lesnar will fight former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem has set the MMA world aflame. Many are excited and think this will be the fight of the year. They are wrong. This fight will be one of the mo…
The announcement that former UFC champion Brock Lesnar will fight former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem has set the MMA world aflame. Many are excited and think this will be the fight of the year. They are wrong. This fight will be one of the most epic fails in MMA history.
Why will such a hyped up fight be such a disappointment? How can a fight between such strong fighters be a let down? Read and find out, but keep in mind you may lose your enthusiasm for the upcoming bout!
The UFC continues to outdo themselves. Fresh of the heels of announcing that a Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos heavyweight title fight would headline their first fight card on FOX, Dana White & Co. stunned everyone with a fight that fans may a…
The UFC continues to outdo themselves.
Fresh of the heels of announcing that a Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos heavyweight title fight would headline their first fight card on FOX, Dana White & Co. stunned everyone with a fight that fans may anticipate even more then the aforementioned title fight.
Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem is a fight that fans have been drooling over for some time now, but it was simply filed under “fantasy fight” as most held out little hope of Overeem ever signing with the UFC. But fantasy is now reality and we even have a date and location: December 30 and Las Vegas.
Dana White also said that the Lesnar-Overeem winner would be a front runner to take on the Velasquez-dos Santos winner, setting up a mini Heavyweight Grand Prix of sorts akin to when the booked Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir vs. Antonio Nogueira back in 2009. Lesnar ended up beating Couture and Mir beat Nogueira to set up the Lesnar-Mir title fight at UFC 100.
There have been some BIG heavyweight fights in UFC history, but Lesnar vs. Overeem and Velasquez vs. dos Santos is the biggest thing to hit to heavyweight scene since…ever.
It begs the question: Which fight is bigger…which fight is more important to the UFC?
Declaring which fight is bigger is almost as impossible as picking a winner in the respective fights:
You have a heavyweight title fight headlining the first ever UFC fight card on FOX squaring off against the second career return of Brock Lesnar, a man who has generated more PPV buys then any other fighter in UFC history and he just happens to be taking on the mythical figure that is Alistair Overeem in his UFC debut.
Which is more important?
How can you argue against the heavyweight headliner on national television? It could single handily move the needle on the sport becoming more mainstream, embraced by sports fans who usually only follow mainstream sports. It could be a game-changer.
How can you argue against the man that took the sport into the stratosphere? Brock Lesnar is a game-changer in and of himself. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir at UFC 100 was the 2.0 version of Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz at UFC 66. The ripple effect of his return could be seismic, unless he loses and retires?
In the short run, it is likely that fans will anticipate the Lesnar vs. Overeem more so then Velasquez vs. JDS but there is no question which fight is bigger and more important and that is the one that people wont have to pay to see.
All the speculation over the future of Brock Lesnar’s UFC career ended on Tuesday, September 6 when news broke that the former UFC heavyweight champion would be facing Alistair Overeem on December 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.Befor…
All the speculation over the future of Brock Lesnar‘s UFC career ended on Tuesday, September 6 when news broke that the former UFC heavyweight champion would be facing Alistair Overeem on December 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
Before the LA Times broke the news of the fight, a fight between Lesnar and Overeem had been dreamed about by many MMA fans, but not many ever held out hope that it would ever come to fruition.
Lesnar has not fought since losing his title to Cain Velasquez in October of 2010. He had been scheduled to face Junior dos Santos at the conclusion of their coaching stint on season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter, but that fight was scratched due to medical reasons, as Lesnar was suffering from diverticulitis for the second time in his career.
In May, Lesnar underwent surgery for the condition, leading to an extended rehab.
Overeem’s MMA career had been on hold as he was recently released from the Strikeforce promotion with one fight remaining on his contract. That holding pattern ended when “The Reem” put his name to a UFC contract on Tuesday, paving the way for the fight with Lesnar at UFC 141.
The LA Times story also reported that the winner of this fight would be first in line to face the winner of the Cain Velasquez versus Junior dos Santos heavyweight title bout that will headline the first UFC on Fox card on November 12 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
Please check back often for news as it pertains to the upcoming Brock Lesnar versus Alistair Overeem matchup.
Filed under: UFCBrock Lesnar has only been in the UFC for three-and-a-half years, yet he’s already had a pair of one-year layoffs in his short career. His second will come to an end on Dec. 30, when he faces Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. By that time, L…
Brock Lesnar has only been in the UFC for three-and-a-half years, yet he’s already had a pair of one-year layoffs in his short career. His second will come to an end on Dec. 30, when he faces Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. By that time, Lesnar will have been on the sidelines for 26 of his 43 months on the UFC roster due to a pair of bouts with diverticulitis.
Lesnar has always been a physical marvel, but you have to wonder at what point those wonders will cease. It was amazing when Lesnar signed with the UFC after one pro fight and captured the heavyweight title within 10 months. It was stunning when he returned from his first bout with diverticulitis to withstand a ferocious first-round beating at the hands of Shane Carwin and rebound with a win.
But at some point, it seems likely that his inactivity, advancing age and opponent level will no longer be surmountable obstacles.
That’s not to say that the 34-year-old Lesnar can’t beat Overeem on Dec. 30. In fact, the early line on the fight saw the matchup as a pick ’em. On the other hand, Lesnar has reportedly not done any training since bowing out of a scheduled bout with Junior dos Santos back in early May.
Despite his pedigree as a former UFC champion, it has become painfully clear in Lesnar’s last two fights that he has shortcomings that need to be addressed. In particular, his striking and comfort level in the standup game have been trouble spots for him.
Both Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez badly battered Lesnar in the standup portion of their respective fights with Lesnar. The only difference in the bouts was that Velasquez was able to find a finish while Carwin couldn’t.
Unfortunately for Lesnar, Overeem might be the scariest striker of the three. At 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, he is at least the physically imposing equal of Lesnar, with a cartoon superhero build. He also happens to have an extensive kickboxing record, including success at the highest level as a winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix.
Among Overeem’s best weapons are his knees in the clinch, but he’s dangerous with his hands as well, and Lesnar has not reacted well under the fire of top strikers.
Overeem’s powerful strikes are also a disincentive to shoot for a takedown, which is a crucial part of Lesnar’s game. Lesnar’s inability to take the fight down or keep it down hurt him in both the Carwin and Velasquez matchups.
Against Carwin, he went 0-for-3 in the first round as Carwin out-struck him 57-15 and nearly finished him. Against Velasquez, he did manage a takedown in one of his two tries, but could only hold the fight down for a flash before Velasquez returned to his feet and overwhelmed Lesnar in the standup.
Unlike Carwin and Velasquez, Overeem does not have a wrestling pedigree, but he has historically exhibited strong takedown defense. According to FightMetric, he’s stuffed 76 percent of takedown tries against him. Of course, it must also be noted that Overeem has never faced anyone with Lesnar’s wrestling pedigree. At any rate, Overeem is probably experienced enough to stop a takedown without a setup. And given Lesnar’s fairly basic striking game, Overeem might not have a great deal of difficulty seeing his setups coming.
The more worrisome fact for Lesnar is his prolonged inactivity. Given the fact that Lesnar hasn’t been in the gym for months, how much time has he really had to correct his problems and improve his striking game?
Lesnar has surprised us before with his aptitude for the game and his fairly immediate success, but you have to wonder if this time, he bit off more than he can chew. It is a gamble with a great potential reward; the winner gets a UFC heavyweight championship opportunity. But it’s also a risk of the highest order. After a second one-year layoff, his body has only three months to get into fighting shape and prepare for one of the best heavyweight strikers in the world. If he can’t put the fight on the ground, he’ll likely have no solution.
Aura only lasts for so long. In fight sports, it erodes with each loss. Lesnar still moves the needle in the national sports conversation — one of the few MMA fighters to do so. But there are already plenty of doubters.
Let it be said that his courage is in no doubt. Off the injury list, he took the toughest available fight, and asked for no extra time to prepare. Lesnar has asked for no quarter, and he’ll get none. If he wins, it’s another epic chapter in an already amazing story. But if he loses, his supporters don’t get to use his illness as an excuse for another bad performance.
If he loses for the second time in a row, what then?
It was only a matter of time before Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (35-11-1) signed with the UFC. Today it was finally announced that the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ signed with the UFC and will take on its biggest star, Bro…
It was only a matter of time before Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (35-11-1) signed with the UFC.
Today it was finally announced that the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ signed with the UFC and will take on its biggest star, Brock Lesnar, at UFC 141.
Casual MMA fans my only know Overeem for the hype surrounding his name, but here are five things you should know about the Reem.
All the speculation over the future of 