UFC 141: Who Could Take the Place of Alistair Overeem Should He Not Compete?

With fans buzzing about UFC 140, the big story leading into the UFC 141 pre-fight hype has been rumors that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has suffered an injury and will not be able to compete against Brock Lesnar in the December 30th, No. 1 contender's match.

With Overeem possibly out, who could take his place in the main event of what could possibly be the most purchased PPV event of 2011?

These three men would all pose a great fight and a tough challenge for Lesnar.

And, here we go:

1. Cain Velasquez

Where better to start than the last man Lesnar fought in the UFC, the man who took his UFC heavyweight championship away from him?

Back at UFC 121 in October of 2010, Velasquez caught Lesnar early, then pounded away on him until the fight was stopped 4:12 into the first round.

That PPV drew 1,050,000. What's to say that wouldn't happen again, ending the year with the biggest PPV of the greatest year in the history of the UFC?

2. Frank Mir

Last time I checked, these two were tied 1-1.

Mir welcomed Lesnar to the UFC by submitting him in 90 seconds during their first fight back in February of 2008.

A year and a half later, Lesnar returned the favor by man-handling Mir en route to retaining the heavyweight championship at UFC 100.

Mir showed in his submission victory over Minotauro Nogueira that he is as dangerous as ever and a force to be reckoned with.

If he wants to possibly make a 20-day turnaround, this is as intriguing a fight as one can possibly ask for.

This would be the ending to a fantastic UFC rivalry.

3. Cheick Kongo

This is the biggest pull of the group. It also shows the lack of depth among top-level UFC heavyweights at the current time.

Kongo is unbeaten in his last four fights (three wins, with one draw). Kongo showed his ability to take a punch in his dramatic victory over Pat Barry in June, and his win over Matt Mitrione at UFC 137 in October gave him another claim as to being considered a top-level heavyweight.

Putting Kongo in a PPV main event might not be the smartest move, but if it's there, it may be the best (and only) move.

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