Lesnar vs. Overeem and the UFC's 5 Most Anticipated Fights Left in 2011

Today it was announced that Alistair Overeem not only signed with the UFC but will be facing Brock Lesnar on December 30th.

Overeem is perhaps best known for holding the Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 heavyweight championships at the same time, making him one of the biggest stars outside the UFC.

Lesnar is the former UFC heavyweight champion and MMA’s biggest draw who has been recovering from a second bout with diverticulitis.

This will be one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Here’s a look at some of the other highly anticipated fights left in 2011.

Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz

Falling right behind Anderson Silva in the pound-for-pound debate is Georges St-Pierre.

St-Pierre has defended the UFC welterweight title six times, defeating names like BJ Penn, Jake Shields and Jon Fitch.

Diaz, on the other hand, defended his Strikeforce welterweight title three times and is currently on a 10-fight winning streak.

Although St-Pierre and Diaz are dangerous in many aspects of the game, they are polar opposites.

St-Pierre plays it straight, while Diaz is one of the bad boys of MMA. Diaz recently no-showed a press conference with St-Pierre.

The two are set to meet at UFC 137.

Update: Thanks to his no-show, Diaz has been replaced by Carlos Condit at UFC 137.

Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will be looking to get his light heavyweight title back against Jon Jones at UFC 135.

Jones is MMA’s top rising star because he has looked dominant in every single fight. When Jones beat Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128, he became the youngest fighter to become UFC champion.

Jackson, on the other hand, has been in the sport since 1999. Jackson is known for his work both inside and outside the Octagon and is looking for one last title run.

Both fighters only took small jabs at each other until "Spygate" recently broke out.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

Nobody likes to see a draw in MMA.

But if there was ever a fight that was hard to call, it was Edgar vs. Maynard II.

After nearly being KO’d by Maynard in the first round, Edgar showed a ton of heart and bounced back to take control of the fight.

Although their fight was the first UFC main event of the year, it is still arguably the best fight of 2011.

Both men will look to settle the score at UFC 135.

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos

The UFC’s announcement that it would have a fight on FOX in November was major news.

It got even bigger when Dana White made the announcement that UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez would defend his title against Junior dos Santos.

Velasquez and dos Santos are the UFC’s top heavyweights and are both known for exciting knockouts.

This could go down as the UFC’s most important fight, and it will be brought to you live and free.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem

The same day that Dana White announced Velasquez vs. dos Santos on FOX, he announced that Brock Lesnar would not be retiring.

We now know who Lesnar will face in his return bout—none other than Strikeforce’s former heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Overeem officially signed with the UFC today after much talk of him coming to the company.

Lesnar has been MMA’s biggest draw since he entered the UFC, and Overeem was arguably the best fighter outside of the company.

It will be interesting to see how Lesnar handles the striking of one of the best strikers in MMA.

It will also be interesting to see how Overeem handles the best competition he’s seen in years.