UFC 141 Fight Card: Power Ranking the Best Bouts on the Card

UFC 141 will conclude the best year in UFC history and it boasts some very entertaining fights.

For the UFC, 2011 was filled with brilliant comeback victories like Cheick Kongo defeating Pat Barry and Frankie Edgar knocking out Gray Maynard, along with the best submission victory I’ve ever seen with Chan Sung Jung putting Leonard Garcia in the twister and brilliant front-kick knockouts by Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva.

But 2011 will always be remembered for one of the greatest fights in MMA history between Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

So it’s fitting the year ends with a fight that has potential to top everything we’ve already seen this year. This fight card is sure to spoil fight fans, and these are the power rankings for the best fights on UFC 141.

11. Kim vs. Pierson

Dong Hyun Kim is not the most exciting fighter out there, and unfortunately for Sean Pierson, Kim will most likely control this fight from the first horn to the last.

Kim and Pierson were on impressive winning streaks before losing their last fights to Carlos Condit and Jake Ellenberger respectively.

Kim will be the stronger fighter in this fight though, and I look for him to take this fight to the ground and hold Pierson there for the duration of the fight.

That will make this fight the least entertaining of the night.

10. Fitch vs. Hendricks

This is one of the more important fights on the card, but it’s a Jon Fitch fight.

In recent years, Fitch has become the butt of MMA fans jokes for his underwhelming performances inside the Octagon. Because of Fitch's win/loss record, anytime he fights there's title implications on the line.

He’s won 21 of his last 23 fights, but he’s basically taken his opponents down and just held them there without doing a lot of damage. It’s a part of the sport, but it’s not going to win over fans and for that his fights create very little hype.

This fight against Johny Hendricks is getting hardly any attention for that reason, and I expect these wrestlers to go at it on the feet as well as on the ground

9. Njukuani vs. Castillo

This fight has potential to be one of the best fights on the card, but I don’t see it going that way.

Anthony Njukuani’s striking is always a joy to watch because of his lethal Muay Thai strikes, but his ground game is sub par at best.

Danny Castillo is a great wrestler and will most likely take this fight to the ground and try to finish it there, or he could try and make a statement by trying to out-strike Njukuani.

If he chooses to do that, then this fight will be exciting, but that wouldn’t be a smart move from Castillo because he's clearly outclassed.

Expect Castillo to take this fight to the ground and have his way with Njukuani there.

8. Gamburyan vs. Nunes

Manny Gamburyan needs a win in a bad way, and he’s going to have to scratch and claw his way to a victory against Diego Nunes.

Nunes had a setback against Kenny Florian at UFC 131, but he’s still one of the best fighters in the featherweight division.

Nunes possesses some great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills to go along with some lethal strikes. As for Gamburyan, well he’s on a two-fight losing streak and in this era of the UFC, that means you’re in danger of getting cut.

I look for Gamburyan to go for broke in this fight, and Nunes to fight a smart fight and pick his spots.

7. Volkmann vs. Escudero

Jacob Volkmann’s most memorable moment as an MMA fighter might be him calling out the President of the United States, but don’t get it twisted--he’s still an extremely talented fighter.

Volkmann’s on a four-fight win streak, and he’s going up against a fighter that has had his fair shares of ups and downs in his MMA career.

Efrain Escudero showed promise on season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but was released by the UFC after going 2-2.

After picking up a few victories around the MMA circuit, Escudero is back and he’s fighting to impress his bosses and show them that he’s evolved since his departure.

For that reason and the way these two fighters’ styles match up, I can’t wait to see these fighters go at it.

Escudero holds an advantage in the striking department, but they’re both well-suited in the grappling department.

Both are great on the ground, and once they hit the ground, I expect to see a lot of transitions and textbook BJJ being shown.

If you’re into submissions and submission attempts, don’t miss this fight.

6. Riddle vs. Ramos

Matthew Riddle might not be the most talented fighter in the UFC, but he’s definitely one of the most exciting.

Riddle goes in to slug it out with whoever he’s in the octagon with, and I expect him to do the same in this fight against Luis Ramos.

Ramos is coming off a TKO loss to Erick Silva at UFC 134, but he showed that he possesses some skills on the feet. He simply got caught, and that happens. I think this fight will be a fight that will go everywhere and be exciting from start to finish.

This fight is lacking as far as importance and becoming a contender at lightweight, but it makes up for it with Riddle’s relentless pace.

5. Pearson vs. Assuncao

Those that are fans of striking battles, Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao is the fight you’ll want to tune into.

Assuncao will look to use his array of striking to out-strike Pearson with his Muay Thai but that’s easier said than done.

Pearson has lost two of his last three fights in the UFC, but he still possesses some of the better boxing  in the division.

Pearson will want to keep this fight standing up and knock out Assuncao, and Assuncao will try and do whatever he can to get his second victory in the cage.

I expect this to be a chess match between two lethal strikers, and that usually makes for an entertaining fight.

4. Matyushenko vs. Gustafsson

The Janitor is going to get his chance to clean up whatever mistakes Alexander Gustafsson makes, but this young prospect will be a handful without a doubt.

Vladimir Matyushenko is a veteran and has looked good in his last two fights. Both fights didn’t make it out of the first round as Matyushenko knocked out Alexandre Ferreira and Jason Brilz.

But Mayushenko will have to deal with the unorthodox striking from Gustafsson this Friday, and Gustafsson has taken his game to the next level since losing to Phil Davis at UFC 112.

Gustafsson is on a three-fight win streak all ending by way of stoppage. Gustafsson’s latest victim just so happened to be another veteran in Matt Hamill, and we all know how that played out.

Gustafsson stopped Hamill in the second round with a TKO, and Hamill announced his retirement following the fight.

With both fighters possessing lethal striking skills, I look for this fight to avoid going the distance.

3. Phan vs. Hettes

It’s time for Nam Phan to become a superstar.

Phan’s what I like to call a fan-friendly fighter, and his fights in the UFC backup my statement.

Phan’s fights with Leonard Garcia and Mike Brown were action-packed with Phan pushing forward nonstop and showing impressive striking.

Phan is one of the few MMA fighters that throw body shots throughout the fight and it lead to his success over Garcia at UFC 136.

With Phan stepping into the cage against another exciting fighter, this fight could easily steal the show.
Jim Hettes is an undefeated prospect that had a brilliant debut against Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceras.

Hettes has won all nine of his professional MMA fights by submission and he showcased well-rounded skills against Caceras.

I think this fight is going to catch a lot of fans off-guard because of how unknown Hettes is, and it’s a brilliant way to kick off the last Pay-Per-View of the year.

2. Lesnar vs. Overeem

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem feels like a fight between two comic book superheroes. Both are larger than life figures with physiques that mirror Bane from Batman and The Incredible Hulk.

The best part about this fight is these guys have skills, and this isn’t just a freak show between two huge tough guys.

Lesnar is arguably the best wrestler in MMA, while Overeem is arguably the best striker. Lesnar has already shown his wrestling skills in the UFC with takedowns on Randy Couture, Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez.

While Lesnar was fighting in the UFC, Overeem was overseas winning the Dream Heavyweight Championship and won a K-1 Grand Prix, and not to mention he was Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion.

Overeem is the only fighter that can make a claim of winning a K-1 Grand Prix and being an MMA champion, and that speaks volumes about his striking skills. This fight will have an incredible atmosphere surrounding it because of how accomplished both of these athletes are.

It might not last long because of the knockout power possessed by Overeem and vicious ground-and-pound attack that Lesnar possesses, but it will be exciting nonetheless.

1. Diaz vs. Cerrone

If you’re not excited about Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone, then you might better check your pulse.

Both fighters always come to the Octagon willing to throw down and are well-rounded fighters. With all the great fights that have taken place this year, this fight has the potential to top them all.

Diaz looked fantastic in his first round submission victory against Takanori Gomi, as he showed the evolution of his boxing skills along with his deadly BJJ.

So Diaz will be coming into this fight confident and ready to scrap as he always does, but Cerrone is on a roll. Since his fight with Chris Horodecki at WEC 53 on December 16, 2010, Cerrone has won five fights in a row and is undefeated in the UFC.

With the way these fighters’ styles matchup, it’s almost a given that this fight is going to be the fight of the night. It’s not two 260 pound-monsters fighting each other, but it’s two of the most skilled fighters in the lightweight division throwing down in exciting fashion.

It’s the Diaz way, and if you’ve been a follower of Cerrone’s career, you know he’s never shy to mix it up with any opponent in MMA. Look at Cerrone's wars with Ed Ratcliff, Rob McCullough, Ben Henderson and Jamie Varner in the past, and it's quite evident that Cerrone is one of the most exciting fighters out there.

Diaz fights just like his brother does and that's aggressive on the feet and on the ground. When both of these exciting fighters meet Friday, there's only one possibility and that's for this fight to be entertaining.

This fight has show-stopper written all over it.