By Ryan Kester

UFC 141 Lesnar vs. Overeem
Aired live on PPV from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

1. Nam Phan (3-1) vs. Jimy "The Kid" Hettes (9-0) [Featherweight Division]

Round One: 10-8 Hettes. Hettes scored several takedowns and lit up Phan with ground and pound. Hettes went for a late armbar but Phan defended well, so Hettes was content to go back to a full mount to continue raining shots. Phan did nothing but survive.

Round Two: 10-9 Hettes. Rinse and repeat from the first round. Hettes had plenty of takedowns and ground and pound, but Phan managed to defend better than the first.

Round Three: 10-9 Hettes. For third round straight, Hettes had his way with Phan. Several more takedowns, near flawless transitions, and relentless ground and pound.

Official Decision: 30-25, 30-25, and 30-26 for the winner by unanimous decision, Jimy Hettes.

Ryan's Rant: For the majority of that fight, Hettes made Phan look like an amateur. That is by no means the case, which is just a testament to how good Hettes was tonight. I can't wait to see more from Hettes.

2. "The Janitor" Vladimir Matyushenko (26-5) vs. Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson (12-1) [Light Heavyweight Division]

Round One: Both men felt each other out for most of the round, but Gustafsson caught Matyushenko with a counter jab that buckled Matyushenko. Gustafsson pounced on top of Matyushenko and didn’t stop punching until the ref pulled him off.

Official Decision: Winner by TKO at 2:13 of the very first round, Alexander Gustafsson.

Ryan's Rant: Impressive showing from Gustafsson. A quick knockout is always a nice surprise, but I was looking forward to a little bit more of war between these to.

3. Jon Fitch (23-1-1, 1 NC) vs. Johny "Big Rigg" Hendricks (11-1) [Welterweight Division]

Round One: Hendricks walked across the octagon and knocked Fitch out with a left cross. When Fitch came to, he started wrestling Mazigotti.

Official Decision: Winner by KO at 0:12 of the very first round, Johny Hendricks

Ryan's Rant: Holy crap, that was a beautiful cross. One punch and it was all over.

Prelim. Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson [Welterweight Division]

Round One: 10-9 Kim. Very even matched round but Kim landed more strikes and controlled where the fight went.

Round Two: 10-9 Kim. Another even round right up until the end when Kim landed a crane kick that rocked Pierson bad. Kim went to end the fight, but the horn blew before Kim could finish Pierson off.

Round Three: 10-9 Kim. Pierson was extremely gassed and Kim managed to take Pierson to the ground. Kim continued to land more strikes than Pierson.

Official Decision: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for the winner by unanimous decision, Dong Hyun Kim.

Ryan's Rant: Pretty boring fight that killed my excitement after Hendricks' quick KO victory. Really felt like the time filler that UFC used this fight as.

4. Nate Diaz (14-7) vs. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (17-3-0, 1 NC) [Lightweight Division]

Round One: 10-8 Diaz. Diaz put on a striking clinic, landing strike after strike to Cerrone's jaw. Cerrone survived, but he did almost nothing in this round.

Round Two: 10-9 Cerrone. Much closer round. Cerrone tripped Diaz numerous times with leg kicks and he landed several solid kicks and knees. Diaz landed mores trikes, but he did not have the control he had in the first round.

Round Three: 10-9 Diaz. Diaz defended against the leg kicks better this round and kept the striking pace that he's had for the entire fight.

Official Decision: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Nate Diaz.

Ryan's Rant: What a war. Wow. I thought we were going to see a three-round mauling after what Diaz did in the first round, but Cerrone came back and gave an excellent display of talent and resilience. This is one of those fights that I can't wait to rewatch once the show is over.

5. Brock Lesnar (5-2) vs. Alistair "Ubereem" Overeem (35-11-0, 1 NC) [Heavyweight Division]

Round One: Lesnar traded strikes with Overeem, which led to Overeem pounding away. Overeem landed a stiff shot to the body and attempted to finish with punches to the head. Lesnar turtled up, so Overeem sent another shot to the gut, and the referee had seen enough.

Official Decision: Winner by TKO at 2:26 of the very first round, Alistair Overeem.

Ryan's Rant: Lesnar retired after the fight, and I couldn't support him more. He wouldn't have had much of a career after this fight anyway, but it's best to get out before you really destroy your body. Lesnar's guy just could not take those missiles from Overeem.

Overall Show: This was a pretty good show that was marred a bit by all of the stalling they did throughout the show, especially towards the upper card. If you're watching this on delay, that won't be a big deal, but they killed a lot of the momentum this show had after Hendricks' flash KO and the Diaz and Cerrone war, and it made the show feel like it was dragging on and on.

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