UFC 141 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

The UFC 141 heavyweight showdown is over.

Alistair Overeem smashed Brock Lesnar into retirement in spectacular fashion and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone was out-gunned by a ferocious Nate Diaz. 

There were other fights throughout the night that answered lingering questions or taught the MMA world a valuable lesson or two.

What were they and what was learned? Read and find out!

Jacob Volkmann Is Talented and Tough as Nails, Escudero Is Just a Journeyman

Jacob Volkmann dominated the grappling and positioning against Efrain Escudero. 

"Christmas" even survived a gut-wrenching choke attempt in the final moments of the third round that would've put a lesser man into the realms of unconsciousness. 

But being a superior grappler and a superlatively tough fighter, Volkmann got through it and earned the decision victory. 

While Escudero did have the close choke attempt, he showed little else in the fight. He's just a journeyman-level fighter.

Dong-Hyun Kim Is Only Above-Average, Crane Kick Notwithstanding

Dong-Hyun Kim is a grappling standout but his striking isn't up to par, his crane kick against Sean Pierson notwithstanding. 

He wasn't all that fluid in his stand-up and his chin was there to be hit. If he tried that strategy against a fighter with a little more technical striking and power, he'd have been knocked out. 

Pierson, too, is just a decent fighter. He's got some good wrestling but a questionable chin and mediocre striking.

Judging Still Isn't Perfect, nor Is What Constitutes Winning a Fight

From the boos after the fight, it appeared that the judges got the decision of Danny Castillo-Anthony Njokuani wrong. 

But did they?

The world will never know. 

Truthfully, a case could be made for either man winning the fight. Castillo controlled the grappling and pulled Njokuani into his world on the mat a few times while Njokuani manged to batter Castillo on the feet several times as well. 

The judges apparently didn't know who won, but did the fans know?

The MMA world needs to sort out what exactly constitutes "winning" a fight. A great definition of "winning" has yet to be found, regardless of "aggression" and "Octagon control."

Jim Hettes Is an Animal, Nam Phan Is One-Dimensional

Jim Hettes outworked Nam Phan so badly that he earned a score of 30-25 on two of the judges' scorecards. 

Hettes controlled the fight throughout the entire 15-minute affair in one of the worst beatdowns in modern MMA history—it was that dominant of a performance. 

With the win, Hettes has shown the MMA world that he's a legitimate prospect at featherweight and that he can kick serious a**.

Meanwhile, Phan showed that he's only average when he's not fighting a brawler like Leonard Garcia. He couldn't keep a distance from Hettes in order to pepper him with strikes and he had much difficulty in blocking takedowns (specifically throws).

Fitch Can Put on an Exciting Fight...When He Loses

Many grappling-ignorant fans chided Jon Fitch for his "lay and pray"-based style and asked whether or not the Purdue wrestler was capable of putting on a good fight. 

At UFC 141, it was shown that he could...but only when he lost.

The only word that could sum up what happened in Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks is "Wow!" (and I'd also accept "whoa").

In a shocking turn of events, Hendricks knocked out Fitch (a man who hadn't been finished in 15 UFC fights) in only 12 seconds, showing that Hendricks has incredible power and can take out anybody with one of his punches.

Nate Diaz Has Reached a New Peak

Nate Diaz made Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone look like an amateur, and that's no easy task. 

According to compustrike, Diaz landed 82 percent of his strikes (landing 258 total) against Cerrone and the only offense "Cowboy" could muster were a few Muay Thai leg sweeps that amounted to little in the context of the fight. 

Diaz's "Stockton Slap"-type boxing style that he borrows from his brother seems to be an enigma. 

With the win, Diaz has answered all questions about how legitimate his skills are: He is the real deal.

Nate Diaz Isn't as Much of a Punk as People Think

In addition to proving he is a talented fighter, Nate Diaz proved he is also more of a sportsman than he lets on. 

He was all middle fingers and rude behavior at the weigh-ins and during the fight, but once it was over he didn't hesitate to shake Cerrone's hand and give him a pat on the back. 

The rude, crass, Stockton brawler also can be respectful. 

Donald Cerrone Isn't the Next Big Thing

Many were asking (or telling) themselves that Donald Cerrone was the next big thing at lightweight. 

This didn't pan out. 

Cerrone was badly outclassed on his feet and the only positive thing he was able to do throughout the fight was land a few sweeps. While these looked cool, they didn't help him win the fight.

MMA Is Always Evolving

We saw many under-utilized weapons in MMA during the UFC 141 fight card. 

Jim Hettes used an array of wonderful Judo throws to bring Nam Phan to the canvas and Donald Cerrone used Muay Thai sweeps to perfection in his brave but losing effort to Nate Diaz.

Brock Lesnar Isn't an Unstoppable Demi-God and He Never Was

Brock Lesnar was humiliated by Alistair Overeem. 

Lesnar couldn't keep hold of him, couldn't take him down and didn't push the pace enough; he let Overeem get off on his strikes too much. 

Sadly, Lesnar was fighting from the '90s era, meaning that he was good at one aspect and barely proficient at the others. 

His striking and striking defense simply weren't there and his wrestling (which was talked up to the point where you thought he was some sort of god among men) wasn't that great. 

When he couldn't hold down Cain Velasquez, people said it was because of Velasquez's wrestling background. 

What is the excuse for the Overeem fight? Lesnar didn't come close to taking him down.

Brock Lesnar was always just a wrestler and never a proper mixed martial artist. Now that he's retired, his mystique will fade; like Kimbo Slice, Lesnar was just a marketing ploy.

But in Lesnar's defense, he came back from a life-threatening disease two times while most normal men would've crumbled. For that alone he deserves the respect of MMA fans and pundits, even more so for taking on the level of competition he did when being so green in MMA.

Alistair Overeem Looked Good, but Will Face His First Test with JDS

Alistair Overeem looked great against Lesnar, but that only means he looked great against a one-dimensional wrestler with atrocious striking. 

His first real test in the Octagon will be against UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. Only then will we know just how good Overeem really is.

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