UFC 141 Picks And Predictions
UFC 141 opens up this Friday right here in Las Vegas, Nevada with the long-awaited title eliminator between pay-per-view blockbuster, Brock Lesnar, and highly touted Alistair Overeem. The event will also feature other events with possible title implications such as lightweight Nate Diaz taking on Donald Cerrone, welterweight Jon Fitch battling Johny Hendricks and light heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko squaring off against Alexander Gustafsson. Looking ahead, lets jump to predictions and how we see the fights going down.
BROCK LESNAR VS. ALISTAIR OVEREEM
Starting with the main event, this one is a little tough to call with too many unknowns. First of all, we have Lesnar's illness that almost ended his career. How well has he rebounded? His time in the cage has been few and far between while dealing with this ailment. On the other hand, so too has Overeem's time inside the cage in the US. Many people can count the amount of fights they've been able to see with Overeem on one hand minus two fingers. Simply stated, we just haven't seen enough to know his strengths and weaknesses. Certainly we haven't seen his wrestling tested, which is clearly Lesnar's advantage. Both of these fighters stamina could be questioned at this point, and we may see a five-round fight become very stagnant very early on. If Lesnar is able to take him down early and control the fight, I don't see a way that Overeem would be able to earn a one-up and Lesnar would likely lean his way to a five-round decision.
NATE DIAZ VS. DONALD CERRONE
Johny Hendricks is a winner of eleven of his twelve career fights, six of them by knockout. Fitch will prove to be Hendricks biggest test to date and a win could catapult him to the upper echelon of the division. Only one problem; Fitch is looking for another title opportunity himself. Jon Fitch's only loss since 2003 was delivered by the current champion, GSP. Fitch, a dominant wrestler, is often criticized for his lack of finishes in fights, but his resume is filled with impressive victories over several quality fighters such as Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago, Thiago Alves, and many others. Fitch holds a large advantage in experience and wrestling. He should be able to take this fight to the ground at will and work his way to another decision.
FULL PREDICTIONS:
Brock Lesnar def. Alistair Overeem by UD.
Donald Cerrone def. Nate Diaz by UD.
Jon Fitch def. Johny Hendricks by UD.
Alexander Gustafsson def. Vladimir Matyushenko by TKO.
Jimy Hettes def. Nam Phan by submission.
Junior Assunção def. Ross Pearson by submission.
Danny Castillo def. Anthony Njokuani by UD.
Dong Hyun Kim def. Sean Pierson by TKO.
Jacob Volkmann def. Efrain Escudero by UD.
Matt Riddle def. Luis Ramos by TKO.
Diego Nunes def. Manvel Gamburyan by UD.
