UFC 141 Post-Fight Reactions

Overeem Forces Lesnar into Retirement

Last Friday night(December 30,2011), we saw two of the biggest heavyweights collide in what was a brief affair. Alistar Overeem needed only 2 minutes to beat down the former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Alistar Overeem controlled the center of the octagon and refuted any of Brock's take down attempts. Every time Brock came in Overeem landed vicious knees and kicks to the body. Brock eventually fail to the canvas in pain, which Overeem then got on top and started to unload uncontested puches. The bout was stopped and Lesnar was left in considerable amount of pain claiming that his ribs were broken. Lesnar shortly announced after the fight that he would retire from mixed martial arts. His time spent in the octagon was brief, but left quite an impressive resume with wins over veterans like Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and Shane Carwin. Lesnar accomplished a lot in mma and had a meteoric rise to the top. Once has to wonder what Lesnar would of looked like had he started early in his career. Regardless of the outcome, Lesnar was one of the best heavyweight prospects to ever compete in mixed martial arts. His sheer size and athleticism striked fear into almost every opponent he faced, but there was a bigger bully in the fight. Overeem came in and did what he said he was going to do against the less experienced Brock Lesnar. His striking proved to be the difference leaving many clamoring to see Overeem face Junior Dos Santos for the Heavyweight Championship of the world.

Diaz Punishes Cerrone

The co-main event was just as exciting where we saw Nate Diaz take on rising star Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. The fight won fight of the night honors where we saw a dominant display of boxing for Nate Diaz, which earned him a unanimous decision. Coming into this fight, Nate and Donald had a bit of bad blood and exchanged heated words. This only added fuel to the fire, but each of their skills speak for themselves. Donald Cerrone said, "the bigger badder dog won tonight", describing Nate Diaz's dominant boxing during the fight. Nate picked apart Cerrone on the feet leaving Cerrone bloodied and confused. The only real offense that Cerrone managed to get off were his leg kicks. This fight is a true testament to the toughness that Diaz possesses and the great skills he continues to develop.

Where the Fighters Go From Here

• With this win, Overeem is now set to take on Junior Dos Santos for the heavyweight championship of the world. This is going to be one of the best heavyweight match ups that we have seen in a long time.
• Lesnar is obviously done with mma and may turn his talents to pro-wrestling. He had a brief but great career and put are some exciting fights to be remembered for a long time!
• Diaz showed why he is a serious threat to anyone in the lightweight division. His boxing and ground skills make him one of the most dynamic lightweights in the game. An intriguing match to make for him is the winner of the Pettis vs Lauzon fight. This win gets him on step closer to challenging for the title.
• Cerrone didn't have an answer for Diaz crisp boxing attack. He might not have been ready for the upper tier fighters in the lightweight division and has to make some adjustments. He possesses the skills and just needs to have a better strategy when things don't go his way.