UFC 141: 10 Things We Learned from UFC's Last Event of 2011

The UFC has concluded its most active year in history in thrilling fashion that saw one of its biggest stars announce to the world that he was calling it quits after getting thoroughly dismantled by Alistair Overeem. 

While the main event and Lesnar's subsequent retirement will dominate the headlines, there was a lot of drama and action that took place at UFC 141.  From upsets to knockouts to the emergence of new talents, the last big event of 2011 had it all.

Let's take a look at 10 things we learned from UFC 141. 

10. Dong-Hyun Kim Deserves To Be on the Main Card

One thing I was happy to see was that Dong-hyun Kim ended up being on the main broadcast last night.  For some inexplicable reason, Dana White and the UFC put this man on a Facebook match that wasn't even a live prelim.

Kim is 6-1-1 in the UFC with his lone loss coming earlier this year when he lost to No. 1 contender Carlos Condit.  He's one of the biggest Asian draws in all of mixed martial arts and uses an exciting stand up fighting style that makes fans happy.

His skills were displayed in a dominant win last night over Sean Pierson, which proved once again that Kim may not be a top contender, but he's a guy that should be able to make one of the top five fights of any card. 

9. Jimy Hettes Makes a Name for Himself

I wont lie.  Heading into the Hettes/Pham fight tonight, I really had no clue who Jimy "The Kid" Hettes was, nor did anyone else at the establishment where I saw the pay-per-view.  But after 15 minutes of absolute dominance, Hettes made himself known to everyone that saw UFC 141 last night.

When people ask what mixed martial arts is, you should put in the tape of this match as Hettes showed what a modern day UFC fighter is.  He displayed good boxing skills and punching power, used effective judo throws, trapped Pham in numerous submissions and also used a devastating ground and pound.

No one knows how good Hettes really is as Pham is nowhere near a top contender, but "The Kid" certainly earned himself more time on the top of any fight card in the future. 

8. Steve Mazzagatti Needs To Be Fired

UFC 141 was thankfully devoid of much controversy, but the quick bout between Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks had some as referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout in just 12 seconds after Hendricks clobbered the perennial top contender with a huge punch. 

It was shocking to see this occur considering Fitch, who was 13-1-1 in the UFC has never been stopped, much less by a single punch.  Despite Fitch's ability to withstand punishment, Mazzagatti swooped in to stop the fight the second Fitch hit the canvas.

In Mazzagatti's defense, Fitch was hit quite hard but upon looking at several replays, it looked like Fitch was already starting to regain a sense of alertness.  But before Hendricks could land another shot, Mazzagatti came in and stopped the fight.

It is always a fine line for officials to stop a fight as you don't want to see a fighter sustain unnecessary trauma, but you also don't want to stop a fight prematurely.  Too many times Mazzagatti has made the wrong call.  Last night was just another example.

Perhaps Hendricks would have finished Fitch off with another punch.  But let's remember the punishment Fitch absorbed from the hands of George St. Pierre several years back, but yet he kept coming back for more. 

I for one am tired of seeing fights get altered by the consistent controversial calls by Mazzagatti.  As Dana White said in a 2009 interview.

"This guy shouldn't even be watching MMA on TV, let alone refereeing it. I think he's the worst ref in the history of any fight business, ever. He's horrible. We don't pick the refs. The athletic commission does. Those guys are picked by the government. It's not that I don't like him, he's a nice guy. He's an absolute nice guy, he has no business whatsoever being anywhere near mixed martial arts."

7. Kiss Any Jon Fitch Title Shot Goodbye for at Least 2 Years

For some reason, UFC fans and even people within the organization never have appreciated Jon Fitch's fighting ability.  Sure it may not have the pizazz of some of the best strikers in the UFC but his wrestling and ground and pound methods have been very effective.

Still, despite a 13-1-1 record, with his only loss coming against GSP, Fitch was nowhere near a title shot and instead was only the middle fight of the card taking on Johny Hendricks.  You could get the sense the UFC was just looking for a reason to knock Fitch out of the title picture.

Well with his devastating loss last night, the UFC now has its excuse.  Most fighters who have only two loses in 16 UFC bouts gain the credibility to be a top threat for a title shot, but I could honestly see Fitch being stuck in a position where he's co-main eventing some event on "UFC on Fuel" in the next six months.

As an aside, I really don't know what to make of Johny Hendricks.  He is now 7-1 in the UFC and could well take on the winner of the upcoming Carlos Condit/Nick Diaz title fight.  However, I don't know how much we can take away from his performance against Fitch other than the fact he can throw a hard punch. 

6. Welcome to the Big Leagues Alexander Gustafsson

While all of the talk about new blood in the UFC's light-heavyweight division has been directed at the phenom that is Jon Jones, Alexander Gustafsson has quietly ascended the rankings and after his performance last night, is deserving of some stiffer competition.

Gustafsson put away his opponent Vladimir Matyushenko with relative ease last night with a stiff jab right into Matyushenko's face.  The former Swedish kickboxer is now 5-1 in the UFC including three wins in 2011.  His lone blemish came against Phil Davis, a top contender at the light-heavyweight class.

A spring 2012 fight against someone like Stephan Bonnar could be very entertaining.  Bonnar these days seems to act as a gatekeeper for the division, as Jon Jones himself beat the American Psycho nearly two years ago. 

5. The Cowboy Bit off More Than He Could Chew

No one will argue for a second that Donald Cerrone possesses the kind of talent that can one day see him fighting for the UFC's lightweight title.  He had an incredible 2011 that saw him win four fights and he looked to make it five against UFC veteran Nate Diaz.

Last night didn't go Cerrone's way though as he lost in what was the most competitive bout of the night, which is why it was no shock both men took fight of the night honors.

The fight was largely determined in the first round as Cerrone ate well over a dozen combinations to the face.  Frankly, Cerrone looked tired after about 30 seconds as his blood filled mouth seemed to be open for the vast majority of the fight.

Perhaps this shouldn't come as a shock though.  Considering many top flight UFC fighters only have two or three fights per year, it could well be Cerrone's tank was simply on empty.

At 28-years-old, Cerrone will be in the title hunt in short order.  A fight between he and Clay Guida in the spring of 2012 could be a very, very entertaining fight. 

4. Nate Diaz Propels Himself to Contender Status

While much of the pre-fight talk revolved around his opponent, Nate Diaz showed the world last night that he's still improving as a lightweight and after his win last night, moved himself up to the cusp of top contender status.

At just 26-years-old, Diaz fought in already his 15th UFC bout, compiling a 10-5 record after last night.  He's been involved in some close wars as he earned his fifth "Fight Of The Night" bonus with Cerrone last night.

Despite all these fights and relative success, many UFC fans and insiders didn't take Diaz seriously.  Even Joe Rogan in last night's pre-match hype believed Cerrone had better striking, wrestling and power and was even with Diaz in terms of submissions.

Diaz also doesn't help himself with the way he acts, and frankly looked like he was desperately trying to emulate the Brock Lesnar we saw two and three years ago, routinely giving Ceronne the one finger salute.  Frankly, the place I saw the fight last night got loudest during this bout as everyone wanted to see Diaz get knocked out.

Well, Nate Diaz disappointed everyone while also impressing them at the same time.  He made Donald Ceronne's head look like a speed bag for much of the first round, hitting him at will with countless combinations.

That first round slowed down Ceronne to the point Diaz was able to pick him apart throughout the fight, though Diaz was caught with nearly 10 leg kicks that knocked him down.

Moving forward, a fight between Diaz and Gray Maynard makes sense.  The two have split their contests with Diaz winning on The Ultimate Fighter and Maynard winning a close split decision several years later. 

If Diaz could win that fight, he may indeed earn a title shot sometime in 2012 or 2013. 

3. Brock Lesnar Was Not Ready for Overeem

This may sound silly, but think back to the movie Rocky III.  As Clubber Lang, played to perfection by Mr. T entered the ring for the first fight, he had this look of anger, hatred and determination. 

Rocky meanwhile was not in the right mindset between his manager dying and the fact he hadn't had a real tough challenge in over 10 title fights.  What ensued was Clubber Lang destroying Rocky.

When I saw this fight last night, it made me think of that first bout in Rocky III. As Overeem calmly and confidently came to the octagon, Lesnar looked meek and almost disinterested. 

The fight itself really looked no different.  Lesnar was timid and looked visibly nervous (as we learned in the ensuing two minutes, for good reason!).  His punches lacked power and quickness and his takedown attempt was swatted away by Overeem like he was a fly.

About a dozen knees and a pulverizing kick to Brock Lesnar's liver later, and we saw the potential end to Brock Lesnar's UFC career. 

It looked quite clear that Lesnar should never have been in the same ring as Overeem.  He didn't look anywhere close to prepared to fight one of the most dangerous men on this planet.

Though Lesnar announced his retirement, I for one am skeptical this is the actual end for Lesnar.  At 34-years-old, he's still young enough to get himself back into shape after dealing with a very serious illness. 

The WWE may indeed look like greener pastures for Lesnar, but I would not be shocked to see a triumphant return sometime in the middle to late months of 2012.

2. The UFC Is Partly Responsible for Lesnar's Beatdown

One thing that makes the UFC so popular is the fact they will always put forth good bouts and not let any politics get in the way.  It's something that has led to the downfall of boxing and is a big reason I personally have become a huge fan of the sport.

With all of that said, the UFC should not have made this fight.  I understand the desire to get two of the bigger names in MMA and have them go at it, but there are times when there should be extenuating circumstances.

Brock Lesnar was coming off a very serious illness that forced him to have just one fight between July of 2010 and last night; a loss to Cain Velasquez.  With just six UFC fights under his belt and still obviously inexperienced, they had Lesnar go against one of the more polished heavyweights in MMA in Alistair Overeem, a man who had 29 more wins than Lesnar has had fights.

The result last night was really not surprising. 

Imagine being out of work for about five months due to a serious illness and on your first day back, being forced to give an important presentation to your boss and his supervisors from out of town.  Sounds a bit daunting, no? 

That's the type of hill Lesnar was asked to climb last night and it did not end well.

Maybe Dana White and the UFC knew that Lesnar planned to retire long before the fight happened or they were so worried about him defecting back to professional wrestling, they wanted to milk every penny out of their cash cow.

But the whole idea of Lesnar having to fight Overeem seemed very unfair. 

1. Alistair Overeem Is a Scary Scary Man

While Brock Lesnar may not have been ready for last night, it should not take away from the fact Alistair Overeem is a very scary individual.

I have never seen him fight except for a few highlights here or there and let me just say I was impressed.  He managed to do something that I never thought possible...He made Brock Lesnar look small.

Perhaps it was due to his illness, but Lesnar, who was a man that towered over his previous competition, looked much smaller than Overeem.  The hands that Lesnar possesses are often talked about being almost grotesquely huge, yet Overeem's looked just as big.

The hulking muscles Lesnar has looked smaller.  Heck, Brock Lesnar looked flabby compared to the chiseled body of Overeem that looked like he had abs popping out of his abs.  

The ensuing two minutes of destruction showed Overeem treating Lesnar like he was a ragdoll.  He ate what few punches Lesnar offered with ease, tossed away his takedown attempts and easily got inside to deliver numerous knees to the body. 

If there is anything we have learned from the UFC, it's that every fighter has a weakness.  We once thought guys like Lesnar, BJ Penn and Lyoto Machida could not lose.  Even Jon Jones was put to the test last month and Anderson Silva narrowly escaped defeat.

Alistair Overeem will likely be bested some day.  But last night, he looked like an indestructible fighter and I believe he will beat Junior Dos Santos.  The one person I think could give Overeem issues is Cain Velasquez. 

But right now, Overeem has arrived in the UFC and he is here to stay.