Pro Fight Network

UFC 145 IN REVIEW

ChrisGreenman — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:42:18 +0000

Another weekend of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) dominance has come and gone, as UFC 145: “Jones vs. Evans” blew the doors off the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, with a fight card topped off with a thrilling championship bout on Sat. April 21, 2012.

Jon Jones proved that he is not only the man to beat in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, but it’s starting to look like he may just be the best mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter on the planet.

Looking forward, it’s highly likely “Bones” will be slated to take on Dan Henderson in his next title fight, as rising star Alexander Gustafsson lurks in the wings waiting for his big chance at greatness.

That much appears to be inevitable, but what about the rest of the pack?

After the jump, we’ll talk about the matches to make for the winners from UFC 145’s main card.

Can we really call Rory MacDonald a prospect anymore? This kid is running through a “who’s who” of fighters in the welterweight division. It’s not title shot time, but it’s not as far away as he made it sound in his post-fight interview.

Certainly, the UFC will be careful in bringing him along, but he’s got to get a big name in his next fight. No disrespect to Che Mills, who is a very serviceable fighter and a guy who was made to look worse than he actually is in his fight against MacDonald. It’s just time for “Ares” to fight the upper echelon of the division.

In a couple of weeks, Johny Hendricks will face Josh Koscheck at UFC on Fox 3, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. I’d love to see MacDonald get the winner. Truthfully, I think he beats either guy, but it’s a test that needs to happen. If he wins and does it convincingly, he’d have to be considered a top five guy, and maybe even a fight or two away from a title shot.

Ben Rothwell made his re-emergence to relevance with a very nice KO win over Brendan Schaub on Saturday night. He looked great, not just in how he fought, but his physique and conditioning were unlike we’ve ever seen of “Big Ben.”

I’d love to see him fight a fellow UFC 145 winner in Travis Browne. So much size and raw power in one cage. It would be potentially fantastic. Someone’s going to sleep in that one.

Michael McDonald is a guy who is causing quite a stir in the bantamweight division. His perfect mixture of speed, power and grappling make him a serious force to be reckoned with at 135 pounds.

Miguel Torres is, by far, the biggest name he’s fought and defeated in the UFC, so he needs an opponent who is a level up, but not too far up the ladder. Not yet, anyway.

How about T.J. Dillashaw? He’s coming off a nice win over Walel Watson and is continuing to improve with each outing. He’s a strong wrestler, so I think it makes for an interesting stylistic match up. Truthfully, it would be nice to see the UFC to go out and grab some more talent for this somewhat thin division. With that said, I don’t hate this match up. It’d be fun to watch.

Eddie Yagin won a close decision victory over veteran Mark Hominick. I have to say, his toughness and the absolute bombs that he throws had me super impressed. From a well-roundedness perspective, he has plenty of room to grow, but this guy throws haymakers with bad intentions. That’s the kind of thing that sells tickets and makes any fight interesting.

I think Erik Koch makes for an interesting potential opponent. He’s riding a four fight win streak and is also fairly new to the UFC. He is more of a submission specialist than anything else, so both fighters would be tested by each other’s opposing background.

Mark Bocek scored his second consecutive win with a nice decision victory over John Alessio at UFC 145. Call me lazy, but I’d like to see him in there with another fellow UFC 145 winner, Mac Danzig. They both are at similar places in their careers. Each fighter is solid on the ground, though the nod probably goes to Bocek in that category.

Danzig is an explosive fighter who, when at his best, he’s going to give anyone in the division a tough time. A win puts either guy in contention to land a big name opponent. A loss is not earth chattering or career ending. It makes sense to me.

Jon Jones and Rory McDonald are on a different level for MMA

ChrisGreenman — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:30:03 +0000

on Jones Could End Up The Best Ever In MMA

By Jon Lane - Contributor

Jon Jones has smashed four former UFC light-heavyweight champions over his last four fights. At this rate, he’ll wind up the best MMA has ever seen.

Apr 22, 2012 - This was supposed to be a severe test for Jon “Bones” Jones. Even though the UFC light-heavyweight champion was still the prohibitive favorite in his title defense against teammate/friend-turned-adversary, ex-champRashad Evans, there were some in the media who were picking “Suga” to produce the first cracks of the Jones monolith and put an end to an era before it truly began.

Jones isn’t just a champion. He became the first UFC-sponsored fighter, and earned admiration from a few A-listers including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and LeBron James. Either a perfectly placed punch or Evans’ superior wrestling had a chance to declare the Jones party over.

The best you can say about Evans Saturday night is that he became the first to go the distance with Jones since January 2009 (Stephan Bonnar) and (if you agreed with two cage-side judges) he won the first round.

Praising Evans isn’t evaluating his five-round unanimous-decision loss at UFC 145 wearing rose-colored glasses. A lesser man would have been planted to the mat and/or picked apart by Evans’ swag. The problem for Evans – and every fighter weighing 205 pounds – is that Jones is neither a lesser man nor an ordinary fighter. Even if he wasn’t at 100 percent capacity, Jones still dominated this fight and made it a rout. He used a wicked 84 1/2 –inch reach to neutralize Evans’ wrestling and elbows as sickles to systematically carve up his adversary.

“I thought it was great,” said UFC president Dana White. “I thought [Jones] fought a great fight. He threw elbows like they were hands. I thought he fought a great fight and I thought Rashad did, too.”

Great simply isn’t good enough to beat Jones, 16-1 in his MMA career – that one loss came via a controversial disqualification when he used illegal 12-to-6 elbows to brutalize Matt Hamill in a fight that had no business lasting as long as it did. This is how incredible – not great – Jones was Saturday night: CompuStrike numbers had him owning a 112-56 edge in strikes and a 52-12 advantage in power shots.

And here’s proof of why in this writer’s view Jones is now the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world: Each of his last four victories have come against former UFC 205-pound champions (Maurcio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Evans). None of them were close. Jones destroyed Shogun, became the first in history to submit Rampage, choked the Dragon into unconsciousness and pounded Suga for five rounds. To further emphasize what Jones has done to the light-heavyweights, his second-round submission of the previously unbeaten Ryan Bader, combined with an injury to Evans, began his journey to the title.

That has Bones on the track to becoming the best MMA has ever seen. One hundred percent guaranteed? No, but when you consider he’s 24 years old and yet to peak, 10 years from now we may be placing him on MMA’s Mount Olympus. His next challenger is Dan Henderson, one who belongs in the sport’s Pantheon of Excellence and is thirsting for his first UFC championship belt. On paper this isn’t easy. Henderson is former Olympic wrestler capable of becoming the first to take Jones down. There’s also that patriot missile, in other words a right hook that blasted Michael Bisping from Las Vegas to the United Kingdom at UFC 100.

Alas, Hendo turns 42 in August. He’s been chocked out by Anderson Silva and nearly defeated by Shogun. He’ll have a legit chance, and win or lose will make it interesting, but Father Time will also likely have his say. Hendo’s reaction time may be a second or two slower, and that’s more than enough for Jones to kill when he knows the time is right.

Henderson is actually fighting for the future of the light-heavyweight division. An upset and the top contenders wiped out by Jones get second life. But upon reading the tea leaves, Jones will have reached his next stage of evolution by the time the two touch gloves, which means he’ll have the 205 club cleaned out while placing MMA more prominently on the radar of the rich and famous.

Greenmans UFC 143 picks

ChrisGreenman — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:08:56 +0000

Greenmans UFC 143 picks

By ChrisGreenman on Feb 05, 2012 with Comments 0

From Radio to HDNET, Chris Greenman’s UFC and StrikeForce predictions have racked up the highest win percentage among all known and documented MMA experts. The difference is that when you train among some of MMA’s elite, inside information surfaces that don’t quite make it to ESPN, FOX, Spike, and others.

We underlined the best picks of the night that we know 90% of all bookies will give odds on

Chris Greenman

For the last 3 years Greenman is 431 correct and 70wrong, that is 86% for those of you can’t do the math too well. We finally will publish as a service to our viewers.

For UCC , here it goes. I am Chris Greenman and here are my UFC picks for the much anticipated fight between Nate Diaz and Carlos Condit.

Nate Diaz is on a roll and so Carlos Condit, another great Joe Silva Matchup. I’m Going to go with Carlos Condit for one reason. Condit is a nice guy and Diaz is an idiot.

In reality and in the betting world I would say it’s 50-50 and would probably go in the direction of where the odds are, in other words if it’s a +250 for Diaz, go that way or if is +250 for Condit I would go that direction. if it is even go for

Condit

Another great flight of the evening and Co main event we see two heavyweights that will collide. The overweight non looking MMA guy that seems to never go away, big country Roy Nelson , will face Fabricio Verdum. I am going to have to go with Verdum. I base his decision on the caliber of opponents primarily and the athleticism, although Roy Nelson has proved he’s got incredible knocked out power he is also proving that he tends to get out of shape within minutes of the fight. For that reason, and because of the chin of Verdum, a betting man will have to go for

The Brazilian

Koscheck

versus Mike Pierce. Koscheck, my least second person in MMA, second only to Michael Pepper finally gets a opponent he can beat. Bet the house on this goofball and you will gain an extra house for your kid that just moved in with you “because of the economy.”

IJR STAFF

UFC sets the stage for Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro

hans burnett — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:21:40 +0000

UFC sets the stage for Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro

Posted by GC on January 12, 2012

UFC in Rio De Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO — The UFC’s traditional prefight workouts came to the fine sands of Barra beach without quite the same pomp and circumstance of the last company visit (which drew a 5,000-strong crowd to the touristy Copacabana beach). Given the low profile this event has had from day one, however, that was to be expected. Promotion has been negligible compared to UFC 134 in August: No TV ads, no magazine covers, nothing.

Tweet, tweet

Don’t miss a moment of the latest MMA coverage from around the world. Follow us on Twitter and stay informed. Join »

Fears that this event was being under-promoted and overlooked by press and fans alike were maybe somewhat unfounded. The media of the Northern Hemisphere might be using this time to prepare for the UFC’s upcoming jaunts to Japan and Australia, but the local press were out in force. TV cameras jostled with newspaper photographers for a shot of Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson. The buzz is picking up for Saturday’s event, albeit a little late in the day, but this is Brazil and time has a different quality here.

Aldo still seeking stardom in Brazil

AP Photo/Felipe DanaAlone at the top: Jose Aldo might be one of Brazil’s best, but he isn’t one of the best-known.

Featherweights have never been as big a draw as heavier fighters, and Jose Aldo is barely known by his countrymen regardless of his position as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Maybe this is why, as of Wednesday evening, UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro hasn’t sold out.

Aldo is a ghost in Rio. Anderson Silva or Vitor Belfort couldn’t hope to walk down a street without being flocked by fans, but it’s not uncommon to see Aldo anonymously strolling around the streets of Flamengo.

Will a win on Saturday night change that? Accomplished Brazilian MMA manager Ed Soares seems to think so.

“He’s not as well-known as other guys but it’s only a matter of time; he’s only been in the UFC for about a year and this is only his third fight in the UFC,” Soares says. “Anderson’s been champion for five years and has had 14 fights. I think, on Sunday, [Aldo’s] life will be totally different to [what it was] Saturday. He’ll be huge.”

Soares said the right things, but didn’t sound as convinced as his statement reads. Like a proud parent wishing the best for his child, it might be too much to expect one win in Brazil to elevate Aldo’s status.

Maynard lends Aldo a hand in wrestling

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty ImagesGray Maynard has done more than just soak up some sun while in Rio de Janeiro.

UFC 145-pound champion Jose Aldo has fought his fair share of hard-hitting wrestlers in Mike Brown and Urijah Faber, but Chad Mendes could be the strongest and most explosive yet.

Aldo’s not-so-secret weapon was enlisting the help of Gray Maynard, the boxer-wrestler who came oh-so-close to the 155-pound title not once, but twice.

They struck up a friendship late last year as they were shuttled from a UFC news conference in Houston, and kept in touch after. “There are some people you just click with,” says Maynard. “I thought he was a really nice, humble guy. I’m a fan too; he’s very talented.”

Maynard reached out to the champ upon hearing he would face Mendes and offered his services as a sparring partner. His three weeks at Nova Uniao gave him a taste of training with one of the most successful teams in Brazil, and he says he enjoyed it immensely.

“Nova Uniao is a close-knit family. They have fun; the timer starts, they beat each other up, and they go back to joking once it’s done. “The whole team works together. It’s not just about Aldo — they take care of each other.”

Maynard and Aldo trained together twice a day in the buildup to Saturday, a camp that Maynard describes as “smooth”and without incident. The American got a taste of Aldo’s unique style the very first day they trained together, as he described with a laugh: “I tried taking him down, I drove him up against the wall and he jumped off the wall and up over my head.”

Maynard is full of praise for Aldo and unsurprisingly predicts a victory for the Brazilian, but can’t call the manner in which it will end due to Aldo’s unpredictable nature. “He’s probably the most complete fighter I’ve ever trained with — across the board. A black belt in BJJ, unbelievable Muay Thai, and he’s almost impossible to take down.”

Since leaving Xtreme Couture, Maynard admits that he’s still looking for a ‘home’. While he’s undecided as to his future, when asked if he’d return to Nova Uniao his answer is immediate. “In a heartbeat,” he says.

Johnson enjoys new home at 185

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty ImagesBigger is better: Anthony Johnson is enjoying life at a higher weight class.

Everyone wants to know how Anthony Johnson looks at the new weight. The simple answer is: huge. Truthfully, he just looks happier and more comfortable. Cutting to 170 was a miserable experience for him, physically and emotionally, and the ability to eat what he wants has given his already considerable confidence a big boost.

“It makes a big difference; you thought I had power and speed at 170 when I was barely eating? [Now] the power is there, the energy is there and the speed is there. I’m excited.”

Johnson walks at around 210-215 pounds prior to cutting to fight weight. Between the weigh-in and fight night, he can put as many as 25 pounds back on. That will be no different for this fight, except he’ll now be walking into the cage at around 210 instead of 195.

The less demanding cut allowed him to avoid injury during camp (for the first time, he says), and his training partners have noticed a big difference in his performance in the gym.

“He was always explosive; he’s gained more strength,” says teammate Jorge Santiago. “He hits different — it’s not just heavy, but it’s sharp, too.”

While he hasn’t ruled out a permanent move to 185 pounds, right now Johnson has no desire to go back to welterweight. He envisions a bright future at his new weight, and enjoys his food too much.

UFC 141 Results

ChrisGreenman — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:52:31 +0000

UFC 141 Results

Posted by GC on January 2, 2012 | EDIT

UFC 141 results wrap: Brock Lesnar retires from MMA after losing to Alistair Overeem and Overeem gives his secret to MMA Strength and Conditioning

by Jesse Holland on Jan 2, 2012 8:01 AM EST in UFC Results

Brock Lesnar (right) winces in pain after eating a couple of knees to the breadbasket by Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 141 last Friday night in Las Vegas. Photo by Donald Miralle via Zuffa LLC/Getty Images.

Happy New Year!

For those mixed martial arts (MMA) fans who spent their Friday night pre-gaming for the inevitable drink-tank that consumes a majority of the male population of New Year’s Eve, you missed a pretty historic pay-per-view (PPV) event that closed out Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) 2011 fight campaign.

Brock Lesnar retired from active competition, Alistair Overeem made a successful UFC debut and Jon Fitch got KTFO by a guy with a bushy beard.

Nate Diaz also turned in a career performance against Donald Cerrone and shattered a CompuStrike record in the process. Oh, and if you never heard of Jim Hettes, you will.

Just ask Nam Phan.

UFC 141: “Lesnar vs. Overeem” went out with a bang, and hopefully you did too (literally and figuratively). Here’s what happened at the Friday night fights from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Check it all out (plus a few bonus links on Fedor Emelianenko) after the jump.

UFC 141: Nate Diaz rolls in ‘style’ with big win over Donald Cerrone in Las Vegas

by Jason Probst on Jan 1, 2012 2:00 PM EST in UFC Results

Nate Diaz boxes up Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 with his Stockton striking style, which is “vexing and paralyzing” for opponents who decide to stand and trade with him. Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting.

Nate Diaz’s performance Friday night (Dec. 30, 2011) at UFC 141 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, was a reminder of the reason(s) the Diaz brothers look often-beatable on paper, yet consistently deliver above expectations.

I’m firmly in the camp that while both of them can be decisioned, it’s going to take one hell of a fighter to make either of them openly admit they flat-out lost.

And while Diaz’ three-round, record-setting battering of Donald Cerrone doesn’t erase the memories of fights he’s lost because of better wrestlers, it’s a reminder of how vexing and paralyzing the “Stockton Style” really is. I won’t be surprised if Diaz is decisioned by the elite grapplers at lightweight, but even in the five UFC fights he’s dropped — all via decision — a similar template was followed in three.

Nate was simply held down by Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida and Dong Hyun Kim.

UFC 141: Alistair Overeem’s Octagon debut like few others, sets up blockbuster showdown with Junior dos Santos

by Jason Probst on Jan 1, 2012 12:35 PM EST in UFC Results

Alistair Overeem “hit the ball out of the park” with his Octagon debut performance, defeating Brock Lesnar via technical knockout and UFC 141 and sending him into retirement. Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting.

In a smashing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut this past Friday (Dec. 30, 2011), Alistair Overeem introduced himself with a bang, dispatching Brock Lesnar in just 2:26 in the UFC 141 main event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the history of the game’s biggest promotion, there have rarely been bigger stages for an Octagon first-timer, and the Dutchman’s larger-than-life showing landed him a shot at heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos. This was no figurative double lined into the right-center gap.

Overeem hit the ball out of the park.

There was much ground to cover for him, recognition-wise, with casual fans. Given his years of fighting in other organizations, compiling a highlight-reel list of victims, the soft-core mixed martial arts (MMA) aficionado may well have known little to nothing about him. And facing a known commodity in Lesnar, Overeem had a huge risk-reward prospect — 266 pounds’ worth — across the cage.

Equal parts patient and lethal, he dominated Lesnar with the kind of big-man fury that makes heavyweight fights an animal all their own.

UFC 141 results recap: Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem fight event wrap up from Las Vegas

by Geno Mrosko on Jan 1, 2012 9:01 AM EST in UFC Results

Brock Lesanr (left) lost to Alistair Overeem (right) at UFC 141 on Fri., Dec. 30, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo via ESPN.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back on pay-per-view this past Friday night (Dec. 30, 2011) withUFC 141: “Lesnar vs. Overeem,” featuring Alistair Overeem earning his shot at Junior dos Santos and his heavyweight title by sending Brock Lesnar into retirement with a first round technical knockout stoppage.

Nate Diaz also impressed with his three-round unanimous decision win over Donald Cerrone in a 15-minute war of attrition that resulted in everyone going home happy. That’s probably because the “Fight of the Night” bonus they earned netted them a cool $75,000.

And that’s not even mentioning Johny Hendricks, who put himself on the welterweight map with a 12-second knockout of Jon Fitch.

In cased you missed any or all of it — or just want to keep the discussion alive — below are links to all the major storylines borne from Friday night’s event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In we go.

UFC 141 results: Reflecting on Brock Lesnar’s short MMA career

by Jason Probst on Jan 1, 2012 8:01 AM EST in UFC Results

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC – Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

It was a grim tableau. Slumped against the cage after absorbing a frightful assault to the body, Brock Lesnarwore the dejected look of a fighter done with the sport. Imagine realizing your career in a given vocation was obviously something you suddenly no longer wanted to pursue, with the impetus for that decision being a public beating like the one Alistair Overeem delivered at UFC 141 this past Fri., Dec. 30, 2011, in Las Vegas. It was one of the most poignant moments you’ll see, yet painfully public at the same time.

His post-fight retirement announcement wasn’t a surprise. In moments of adversity, you find out what a fighter is about, and Lesnar handled his interview with Joe Rogan very well.

Brevity goes a long way when making an announcement that will change the short-term landscape of the sport; he’s done with MMA, and he did one hell of a lot to bump the game up to the next level in a mere eight fights, five of which were against guys who were former or current champions. He could have ranted about how he just got caught, how he wanted a rematch, and all the expected posturings that come straight from the “Beaten Fighter Playbook.”

Those are the easy sells and juicy rationalizations. But Lesnar took his medicine like a man and reminded us that life goes on outside the game, with a quality precisely defined by how much you put into it. Family is key to him and MMA simply isn’t worth the investment, especially considering his diverticulitis, which has been a recurring issue in the past two years.

His short, frank speech was a graceful exit given the tumultuous emotions he must have been feeling, and went a long way toward showing his real side, that of a family man who simultaneously accepted the need, at times, to play the heel, something he’d become proficient at during his pro wrestling days. He was certainly adept at it, sometimes pushing the envelope to strange places where the envelope seemingly ended, and unclassifiable viewer weirdness ensued.

His inimitable post-fight meltdown after battering Frank Mir into submission at UFC 100 was a Holy Trifecta of sorts, as he simultaneously offended the guy he’d just smashed, the promotion he smashed him in and a major sponsor (Bud Light) for the event he smashed him at.

In the history of the sport, there may have been no equivalent moment where a guy had the audience so ready to eat from the palm of his hand, willingly accepting him as the newly crowned champ. But Lesnar delivered a gleeful verbal smack to the face instead.

Johny Hendricks knockout of Jon Fitch a reminder of bittersweet nature of quick stoppages

by Jason Probst on Jan 1, 2012 7:00 AM EST in UFC Results

Johny Hendricks (right) brutally knocks out Jon Fitch (left) at UFC 141 on Fri., Dec. 30, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.

Johny Hendricks’ booming left cross gave him one heck of a career boost, as he dispatched longtime welterweight contender Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds at UFC 141 this past Fri., Dec. 30, 2011, in Las Vegas. The win elevates “Big Rig” into the elite of the 170-pound weight class, a division suddenly in flux with championGeorges St. Pierre’s knee injury and the Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit bout for the interim title.

It was a stunning end, given Fitch’s hard-earned reputation for durability. And it left the same taste in my mouth as Jake Ellenberger stopping Jake Shields did: we saw an elite welterweight get starched so quickly that we really didn’t learn a lot about the victor in what was expected to be a hard-knocks-style test of his overall game.

Quick knockouts happen in MMA, with a frequency I’ve roughly estimated at 10-15 percent. They are the kind of fights where you merely find out one guy can strike hard, but you don’t learn anything else regarding how the winner’s overall game matched up in any other phases.

That’s not to take anything away from Hendricks or Ellenberger, both of whom delivered the goods in a manner no one predicted. But I’ve always had a special place for the “step-up” fight like this, where a guy takes on a proven commodity to show if he’s got the goods to compete at the next level.

Quick endings leave me feeling like we were served dessert first, got stuffed, and were kicked out of the joint without getting a taste of the main course.

UFC 141 results: Brock Lesnar may have suffered a broken rib in loss to Alistair Overeem

by Adam Guillen Jr. on Dec 31, 2011 10:00 PM EST in UFC Results

Alistair Overeem (left) delivers a powerful knee to the midsection of Brock Lesnar (right) at UFC 141 on Fri., Dec. 30, 2011 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ouch!

After receiving a devastating left kick to the mid-section from heavy hitting heavyweight Alistair Overeem last night (Dec. 30, 2011) at UFC 141: “Lesnar vs. Overeem,” the 6‘3? 265-pound Brock Lesnar crumbled to the mat, wincing in visible pain.

Following up with a few strikes to the downed behemoth, Overeem delivered one final body blow that forced referee Mario Yamasaki to step in and save the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion from further damage in the opening frame of a scheduled five round main event.

The dominating performance not only kick-started “The Demolition Man’s” UFC career in impressive fashion; it also marked the end of Lesnar’s career with the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

Contrary to the belief of the WWE’s Chris Jericho, Lesnar wasn’t simply looking for a way out by ”taking a dive.”

According to UFC President Dana White, Lesnar told him after the bout that he feels he may have suffered a broken rib, a message White passed along to reporters at the UFC 141 post-fight press conference:

UFC 141 results recap: Review of Friday night’s gigantic ‘Lesnar vs. Overeem’ fight card in Las Vegas

by Kevin Haggerty on Dec 31, 2011 9:00 PM EST in UFC Results

UFC 141?s Alistair Overeem emerged as the next number one heavyweight contender after smashing Brock Lesnar in the main event. Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting.

Looking for live UFC 141: “Lesnar vs. Overeem” results?

Sorry, you’re a little late to the party. That’s because Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) impressively completed another crowd-pleasing pay-per-view (PPV) event last night (Fri., Dec. 30, 2011), knowing that most of its young mixed martial arts (MMA) audience would be out ringing in the New Year this evening.

Fear not, because we’re here to give you a complete rundown of what you missed — or simply want to revisit — with UFC 141: “Lesnar vs. Overeem,” which came through in the clutch for the fans in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and those of us who watched it remotely.

Alistair Overeem proved that his stand up skills really are as good as promised when he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a devastating first round technical knockout triumph, while in the co-main event, Nate Diaz put on a boxing clinic against Donald Cerrone en route to a very dominant decision win.

If you like submissions, this was not the event for you. Each and every fight was either finished by (technical) knockout or went to a judges’ decision. Indeed, there was not one solitary submission on the entire card.

After the jump, MMAmania.com reviews the highlights of the weekend that comprised UFC 141:

New Years Eve Eve and the month of January will be a MMA frenzy

ChrisGreenman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:25:56 +0000

The next 30 days in the MMA world will deliver some great MMA fights, ProFightNetwork looks at the rumored cards below

ProFightNetwork buys original MMABAY

UFC 141:

Lesnar vs. Overeem: – December 30 (Las Vegas, NV)

Strikeforce:

Rockhold vs. Jardine: – January 7 (Las Vegas, NV)

UFC 142:

Aldo vs. Mendes – January 14 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

UFC on FX 1:

Guillard vs. Miller – January 20 (Nashville, TN)

UFC on FOX 2:

Evans vs. Davis – January 28 (Chicago, IL)

UFC 143:

Diaz vs. Condit – February 3 (Las Vegas, NV)

Below Subject to change

UFC on FUEL TV 1: Ellenberger vs. Sanchez – February 15 (Omaha, NE)

UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson – February 25 (Saitama, Japan)

UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann – March 3 (Sydney, Australia)

UFC 145 – March 24 (Montreal, Canada)

Overeem

UFC 141 Main event:

265 lbs.: Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem

UFC 141 Main card

170 lbs / Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks

155 lbs / Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone

145 lbs / Jim Hettes vs. Nam Phan

205 lbs / Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

Spike TV Prelims:

145 lbs / Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao

155 lbs / Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Njokuani

Preliminary Facebook

155 lbs / Efrain Escudero vs. Jacob Volkmann

170 lbs / Luis Ramos vs. Matt Riddle

170 lbs / Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson

145 lbs / Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes

UFC 141

ChrisGreenman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:58:44 +0000

Click Play Below to watch

Jon Jones is unbeatable as UFC 140 was a bad night for Brazil

ChrisGreenman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:05:06 +0000

UFC’s Joe Silva can’t even find the right kryptonite for Jon Jones

Achilles had his heel, Superman had his kryptonite, but what on earth can the MMA do to find a formable opponent for Jon Jones?

(IJR News 12/12/2011) The answer might be, “Absolutely nothing”, if Joe Silva can’t do it how the world anybody else? Joe Silva is by far the best matchmaker in MMA. but even he couldn’t help Loyota Machida at UFC 140.

John Jones displayed his ability and command of jujitsu, even against a Brazilian black belt, by choking him completely out in front of a whole lot of Canadians and Pay Per Viewers. To make matters worse, he even had referee veteran big John McCarthy fooled as it was done in stealth.

As the UFC often does, it tried to put the one person at 205 weight division that could beat its current champion. Unfortunately for the UFC, this is not going to be an easy task. John Jones has fought the best of the best. and has really no losses in the UFC. All UFC fans remember a very controversial disqualification as his only defeat.

UFC 140 can definitely go down as one of the most memorable MMA fight ever showcased. Light heavyweight champion John Jones had a slight scare as he was tagged a few times, but realistically nothing to worry about as he choked out Loyota Machida who arguably has the best stand-up besides Jones in the UFC.
In other breath taking fights, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would not tap out, so Frank Mir just broke the Brazilians arm in order to get the fight to stop. Nogueira’s twin brother who is also named Nogueira, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, sent “Tito Ortiz” into retirement. Chana Song John also known as the “Korean Zombie” started off UFC 140 by tying the fastest knockout in UFC history, and it took him to seven seconds to knockout Mark Hominick. Hominick made a very disastrous decision when he decided not to take the stand up of the Japanese fighter seriously.

Other fights of UFC 140

Claude Patrick

WIN Brian Ebersole by Decision – Split

Mark Hominick

WIN Chan Sung Jung by KO/TKO

Krzysztof Soszynski

WIN Igor Pokrajac by KO/TKO

Jared Hamman

WIN Constantinos Philippou KO/TKO

John Makdessi

WIN Dennis Hallman by Submission

Walel Watson

WINY ves Jabouin by Decision – Split

WIN Mark Bocek

Nik Lentz by Decision – Unanimous

Rich Attonito

WIN Jake Hecht by Ko/TKO

Mitch Clarke

WIN John Cholish By KO/TKO
Unfortunately for the fans of the UFC they will probably have to watch one more fight of Tito Oritz. However, much like his former best friend, Chuck Liddel,it is probably best for him to quit the sport of mixed martial arts before another KO.

Richard Dent (IJR News Intern)

ContactIJRnews@gmail.com

This was probably the best UFC fight in history. UFC 140 pay-per-view card included Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera vs. Frank Mir, Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Chan Sung Jung vs. Mark Hominick.

GSP’s injury adds weight to Nick Diaz’s accusations

ChrisGreenman — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 10:14:35 +0000

Georges St. Pierre out with knee injury

For the first time since 2006, the UFC will promote a welterweight championship fight without the considerable star power of Georges St. Pierre.

St. Pierre has been forced from a Feb. 4 title defense in Las Vegas against Nick Diaz after injuring his knee, the second time in less than two months the Canadian has faced such adversity.

On a conference call Wednesday, St. Pierre’s doctor said the fighter suffered a completely torn ACL in his right knee and is expected to need 6 to 9 months to recover following surgery.

St. Pierre instead will sit on the sideline as Diaz meets Carlos Condit for an interim UFC welterweight belt, White announced on his Twitter page Wednesday.

Trainer John Danaher said St. Pierre attempted to train through recent injuries to both knees, but that one of the knees felt unstable.

“It did not appear to heal and training suffered,” Danaher said in a text message. “He went in for MRI and it clearly revealed (an) ACL tear and MCL damage. We are now weighing surgery options. He is obviously very disappointed — he is used to training every day, so this long layoff will be difficult to endure.”

The news caps a frustrating year for St. Pierre, who’s fought just once, a decision victory over Jake Shields in April.

St. Pierre was scheduled to face Diaz in October, but the UFC removed Diaz from the fight for failing to fulfill his promotional duties. Condit was to take Diaz’s place, but that bout was sideswiped when St. Pierre’s knee gave way while training.

After Diaz defeated B.J. Penn in a revamped main event at UFC 137, he was reinstalled as St. Pierre’s next challenger.

Diaz and Condit will now fill the void as headliners on UFC 143, scheduled for Super Bowl weekend at the Mandalay Bay.

Diaz steps into the interim title fight on the strength of 11 straight wins, including an impressive showing against Penn in late October. Condit, meanwhile, has captured 12 of his last 13 fights, and established himself as one of the sternest tests in the UFC welterweight division.

Diaz-Condit will be the second interim UFC welterweight title fight in the division’s history. The first came in 2007, when St. Pierre fought Matt Hughes while the sitting champion, Matt Serra, recovered from injury.

Josh Gross is a mixed martial arts writer for ESPN.com.

Xtreme Couture Founder, Randy Couture is not on the Jon Jones Bandwagon

ChrisGreenman — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 10:05:46 +0000

UFC Hall of Famer and former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, has been giving his thoughts on the upcoming 205-pound title fight pitting Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, which will go down tomorrow night (Dec. 10, 2011) at UFC 140 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

According to “The Natural,” Jones has made it look easy throughout his young mixed martial arts (MMA) career, walking through each of his opponents with relative ease. But he won’t have it easy when he steps inside the Octagon to take on the always crafty Machida.

Couture has firsthand experience when it comes to “The Dragon,” as he went to-to-toe with Brazilian buttkicker at the record-breaking UFC 129: “St. Pierre vs. Shields” event that went down this past April 30.

“Captain America” was on the receiving end of a flying front-kick to the face that would have made Mr. Miyagi proud. The loss ended Couture’s three fight win streak and ultimately marked the final fight of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

Speaking to ESPN.com, Couture says that while Jones is on a roll at the moment, he will have trouble dealing with the elusiveness of Machida: