If a video game knows anything, Overeem is headed for an easy win over Lesnar

UFC Undisputed 3 is due out soon and the game makers teased us a bit by releasing a preview of what the Brock Lesnar-Alistair Overeem fight could look like.

Who knew Overeem was in even the game? The massive Dutchman is actually a bonus character you can unlock here on THQ's Facebook page.

[Related: Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem plan to win quickly in UFC 141]

In this simulation, Overeem is a beast. He thwarts a takedown and kicks out of another. He wins the clinch game along the cage and delivers a devastating knee. Lesnar didn't have a shot to run from this standing strike. He goes down in a heap. Mike Goldberg goes crazy and Junior dos Santos better prep for "The Reem."

Watch UFC 141 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/If-a-video-game-knows-anything-Overeem-is-heade?urn=mma-wp11065

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

Miguel Torres Back in the UFC

Miguel Torres is back in the UFC less than a month after the former WEC bantamweight champion was released for making a joke about rape on Twitter. UFC President Dana White announced at today's UFC 141 press conference that Torres had rejoined the promotion after he "handled his business like a man."

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/26999/miguel-torres-back-in-the-ufc/

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

Video analysis: Johny Hendricks sprints into the welterweight title race

Video analysis: Johny Hendricks sprints into the welterweight title race

It's likely that no one will get their hands on Georges St-Pierre's UFC welterweight title belt before the end of 2012, but the race for the interim strap could be epic. The contenders lining up behind Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit should make the 170-pound division the most entertaining in the sport in 2012.

With his devastating victory over Jon Fitch, Johny Hendricks made sure he got a spot in the race.  Hendricks, who's only career loss is a close decision against fellow contender Rick Story, pleased some in UFC management by making quick work of Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds.

Yahoo! Sports' MMA expert Kevin Iole joined myself following the festivities at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to talk about Hendricks' place in the division and what may be next.

After undergoing surgery for a torn ACL, GSP is out until late-2012. Condit and Diaz will fight for the interim UFC welterweight title belt at UFC 143 in early February.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-analysis-Johny-Hendricks-sprints-into-the?urn=mma-wp11422

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

UFC 141 Live Blog: Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks Updates

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Jon Fitch faces off with Johny Hendricks at UFC 141.LAS VEGAS -- This is the UFC 141 live blog for Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks, a welterweight bout on tonight's UFC pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Fitch (23-3) fought B.J. Penn to a majority draw at UFC 127 in February. Fitch has only lost once (against Georges St-Pierre) in the last eight years. Hendricks (11-1) won both his fights this year against T.J. Waldburger and Mike Pierce.

The live blog is below.




Round 1: Steve Mazzagatti starts us off, and no glove touch for these two. Fitch tries a little lunging right hand that comes up short. Hendricks comes forward and blasts him with a big left that stiffens Fitch up and drops him to his back. Hendricks jumps on him as Fitch sits up into another punch, and Mazzagatti steps in to stop it. That was quick. The kind of fight where they can show the whole thing rather than highlights. Hendricks parades around the Octagon with a wide grin showing through his beard. He looks just a little bit surprised, too.

Johny Hendricks def. Jon Fitch via TKO (punches) at 0:12 of round one

Round 2:

Round 3:

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/30/ufc-141-live-blog-jon-fitch-vs-johny-hendricks-updates/

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

UFC 141 postfight video: Confidence and big knees got the job done for Alistair Overeem

Those UFC jitters you hear about all time? Alistair Overeem didn't feel them. Nor was he intimidated by the a 270-plus pound beast standing across the cage. Overeem went toe-to-toe with Lesnar and came out the easy victor.

During the UFC 141 posfight press conference, a very relaxed Overeem explained that he laid out the path to victory a few days and it played out exactly as he had seen it.

"It just came up to me. It's weird, I know. I'm not usually the guy who believes in aliens and UFO's, superstitious stuff, but I say 'tomorrow, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this ... and it just turned out that way."

Overeem thought the early knees in the clinch changed Lesnar's mindset.

"After that he didn't come for the takedown as he would [normally]. After that, we could in the clinch and he would disengage," Overeem said. "And usually Brock is a guy who comes for you straight forward, but he was not doing that. So I knew, the knees bothered him."

Overeem admitted he had to put his foot on the gas pedal early in the fight. Lesnar cut him with his first jab and blood was leaking in his eye. He didn't want to allow anything like a doctor's stoppage to get in the way of a victory.

He's targeting late spring or early summer for his title shot against Junior dos Santos. Overeem spoke about a very difficult 3-4 months leading up to UFC 141 and that he needs a vacation and some time to get things in order following the break.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-141-postfight-video-Confidence-and-big-knee?urn=mma-wp11433

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks Slated for UFC 143

Middleweights Ed Herman and Clifford Starks are slated to square off on Super Bowl weekend at UFC 143 on February 3 in Las Vegas, the UFC announced today. UFC 143 is headlined by an interim welterweight title fight between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/26995/ed-herman-vs-clifford-starks-slated-for-ufc-143/

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Alistair Overeem Crushes Brock Lesnar and Silences Critics, Dana White Included

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Alistair Overeem vs. Brock LesnarLAS VEGAS -- If Alistair Overeem ever feared Brock Lesnar -- or even respected his skills -- he never let it show. From the moment he walked out into the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday night, the former K-1 and Strikeforce heavyweight champion looked supremely confident. Moments after the main event bout at UFC 141 began, it became clear that he had good reason to be.

The Dutch kickboxer stalked Lesnar across the cage, shrugging off takedown attempts and digging away at the former UFC heavyweight champ's body with short knee strikes that quickly took their toll. At around the two-minute mark of the first round Overeem slammed a swift left kick into Lesnar's gut, prompting a delayed collapse to the mat from the ex-WWE wrestler.

From that moment on, the end couldn't come soon enough for Lesnar. He sat down on the mat with his back to the fence, covering up and offering no response as Overeem peppered him with right hooks from a standing position. When referee Mario Yamasaki finally called a halt to the bout at 2:26 of round one, it seemed almost like an overdue act of mercy.




After the bout, Lesnar declared himself officially retired from MMA and promised fans that they'd never see him in the Octagon again. That news came as a surprise to UFC president Dana White, he said in the post-fight press conference, but then again, so did the result of the fight itself.

"Let me say, in front of everybody here, that I was wrong," White said. "I said it before Alistair came into the UFC and I said it leading up to this fight to myself because I never give predictions, but I thought Brock Lesnar was going to beat Alistair Overeem tonight. I did, and I was wrong. He looked damn good tonight. He made quick work of Brock Lesnar."

But while the outcome might have seemed unexpected to White, who publicly questioned the quality of Overeem's recent competition before signing him to the UFC, Overeem could not have been any less surprised with the way the fight went down, he told reporters.

"A funny thing was, I predicted it the evening before to my fiancee. ...I said, 'First I'm going to do this, then I'm going to do that, then I'm going to finish it with a liver kick.' I don't know if it's luck or if it's strategy, but it turned out that way and I'm just happy that it did."

Despite the quick ending to the bout, Overeem didn't escape completely unscathed. He was cut over his right eye early on by a Lesnar punch and came late to the post-fight press conference after having it stitched up backstage. He gave no indication during the fight that the cut bothered him in the least, but he admitted afterward that it only made him more motivated to finish quickly.

"I had blood coming into my eye," Overeem explained. "I couldn't see in my right eye. So I had to adjust a little bit, but that also made me put more pressure because I didn't know how severe the cut was. I didn't know...maybe there's going to be a medical intervention, so then I knew I need to finish this fight before we get there. That made me step my game up."

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Assuming that Lesnar sticks to his retirement proclamations, the loss makes for a sour end to a whirlwind career. He began his MMA career just four and a half years ago, and racked up only eight fights, two of which were successful defenses of the UFC heavyweight title. Though there will undoubtedly be speculation about the possibility of him heading back to the WWE, White specified that Lesnar had retired "under contract," though he declined to get into the details of exactly how that will limit his future options.

For Overeem, on the other hand, the future appears to be wide open. Not only did he thump a former champion into an early retirement in his UFC debut, he also set himself up for a shot at current UFC heavyweight title-holder Junior dos Santos in 2012.

Beyond that, he also sent a message to detractors who questioned his abilities and his accomplishments in recent years. Though he touted the unprecedented accomplishment of winning a K-1 World Grand Prix in kickboxing while also holding a major MMA title, others wondered whether his wins over inexperienced or aging opponents really had much merit. Only when we saw him against the elite of the UFC, people said, would we truly know what to make of him.

On Friday night we got that chance, and Overeem made a lasting impression. He demolished a former champ and made it look easy. He did exactly what he said he would do, and if he was surprised at all it was only at the fact that his win seemed to surprise others.

When asked how he felt about silencing his critics -- the most powerful and perhaps the most vocal of which was now his employer, standing next to him -- both Overeem and White couldn't help but smile, though likely for different reasons.

"I'm satisfied," Overeem said with a sly grin. "Pretty satisfied."

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/31/alistair-overeem-crushes-brock-lesnar-and-silences-critics-dana/

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

UFC 141 Post-Fight Press Conference Video

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Dana White and the UFC 141 fighters will answer questions from the media at the UFC 141 post-fight press conference.The UFC 141 post-fight press conference is the last piece of business to take care of after the action is over in the Octagon, and we have the live video below at MMAFighting.com.

UFC President Dana White will announce the winners of the Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses, and the post-fight press conference is the place to hear from the fighters for the first time after they exit the Octagon.

The post-fight press conference will begin about half an hour after the main event ends. The video is below.


More Coverage: UFC 141 Results


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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/31/ufc-141-post-fight-press-conference-video/

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

?King Mo? interview: Former international grappling star breaks says Lesnar might have trouble getting Overeem down

?King Mo? interview: Former international grappling star breaks says Lesnar might have trouble getting Overeem downThere's little mystery about what happens Friday night when Brock Lesnar faces Alistair Overeem at UFC 141.

If the fight hits the mat for an extended period of time, Lesnar wins it. If Overeem stays on his feet and it's a battle of strikes, Lesnar's in for a long night.

Lesnar says no one has been able to avoid his takedowns, but that's not entirely true because both Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez did so in spots and battered Lesnar. They're also both former high level college wrestlers. Overeem is not, but he is powerful and very experienced.

Muhammed Lawal, a light heavyweight with Strikeforce, knows his wrestling and says that Lesnar can't just run across the cage and tackle Overeem.

"He has to Chael Sonnen or Jon Fitch him, and close the distance right away with a jab or a fake. Just keep him guessing," Lawal told "The MMA Insiders" on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas (0:40 mark). "He has a tough task with Overeem. All he has to do is be Overeem, He can keep the fight close and use his knees or keep his distance with leg kicks and a good 1-2."

?King Mo? interview: Former international grappling star breaks says Lesnar might have trouble getting Overeem down

Lawal, a former star on the international wrestling scene after a decorated career at Oklahoma State, further explained the fakes.

"If I were Brock, I would establish a good jab, fake ... jab, fake ... fake, jab. Look to shoot off the fakes. You know in wrestling. if the person doesn't respond to your fakes then you shoot next time. If the person responds to your fakes then you throw punches," said Lawal.

If Overeem can read those fakes, Lesnar is going to be left with few options.

"It's going to be very important for Brock to set up his takedowns because without the setups, he's getting knocked out or hurt," Lawal said. "Overeem is the wrong person to shoot on out of the blue."

Watch UFC 141 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/-King-Mo-interview-Former-international-grappl?urn=mma-wp11098

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt AndersenÂ