Brock Lesnar Vs Alistair Overeem: UFC 141 BREAKING NEWS
By Sean Farrell
Brock Lesnar makes his return against arguably his toughest opponent to date this weekend, Alistair Overeem. Lesnar has been out of action since his second bout with diverticulitis and it is yet to be seen which man will show up for this fight.
However, Lesnar’s game plan is obvious: get Overeem down on the mat. Lesnar has a little over 30% chance of doing so, since the sports only Triple Crown winner in Overem has a career 68% success rate against the takedown it won’t come easy. But, Brock doesn’t have much of a choice seeing how there is no way Lesnar could stand and strike with one of the World’s elite heavyweight strikers.
For Overeem the case is almost opposite, Overeem still has critics to silence, rumors of steroid use to swat down, and the pressure of making his UFC debut against one of the strongest men the promotion has ever seen. Overeem has the advantage in every facet of the fight game though(with the exception of wrestling) and will look to exploit those advantages. Who remembers Todd Duffee? Well many don’t, but almost exactly one year ago, the man ran across the ring and shot in for a takedown on Overeem and got shrugged off like a child only to eat a knee and hook that ended the fight in 19 seconds. Well I can see the same fate happening to Lesnar if he thinks he is going to bully Alistair around. Now I am not saying Alistair is going to decimate Lesnar, but if Lesnar isn’t careful he will be getting KO’d pretty quickly.
Overeem spoke on the bout stating “While he doesn’t have world-class technique, Mr. Lesnar is a big man who can punch, and I have trained to avoid Lesnar’s strikes like I would any opponent,” says Overeem. “I will never give an opponent a chance he cannot create for himself by not preparing for any situation. It is not only about respecting Mr. Lesnar, but also respecting myself and the sport. This fight is scheduled for five rounds, and I have trained for five, but I personally think I will win in the first round, I will knock Brock Lesnar out. Second round at the latest. I never underestimate anyone, and Mr. Lesnar is a former UFC world champion, but this is it, the chance to send a message to my fans, my critics and to UFC fans who maybe haven’t seen too much of me yet. All the talk, all the would-be distractions, all the training and the hours in the gym and on the mat – it all comes down to Friday night. He wants it, I want it, One shall stand, one shall fall.”
Lesnar had some choice words as well “I don’t know why people question the desire,” said Lesnar. “What do I have to go through? What do I have to do? I like it. I like doing it. I’m not ready to be done. I’ve made a little bit of money here and there but at the end of the day, I think it’s my identity. It’s who I want to be. I think I am one of the best heavyweight fighters out there. I can honestly say that because I wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t true, Junior has the belt but he’s one power punch or one submission away from losing it. I’m going to go out and do the best job I can to put me in position to face Junior.”
Only time will tell how this will play out, and the time is near as UFC 141 takes place on Friday 12/30/2011 LIVE on Pay-Per-View.
