The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 141: “Lesnar vs Overeem.” The promotion’s year-end card was headlined by a heavyweight contender’s bout between former UFC champion Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem.
In the night’s co-feature, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone looked to take a step closer to the UFC Lightweight Championship when he faced TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz, and Jon Fitch faced rising star Johny Hendricks in welterweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC card.
Alistair Overeem vs Brock Lesnar
Round 1:
Lesnar landed a leg kick and a jab to open the fight and ducked under a right hook. Overeem closed in and stepped out of a takedown attempt. Overeem began to bleed from above the right eye from Lesnar’s jab, but he landed hard knees to the body. Lesnar looked to be hurt, but stayed on his feet. Overeem kicked him in the stomach and landed another big knee. Overeem folded Lesnar to the mat with a kick to the body and swarmed with right hands until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Alistair Overeem by TKO (Kick To The Body & Punches) at 2:26 of round one. He improves to 36-11-0, 1 NC.
Nate Diaz vs Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone
Round 1:
The fighters immediately traded punches and Diaz took Cerrone down for a brief moment against the cage. Cerrone stood and Diaz landed a flurry. Cerrone answered with a right hand. Diaz peppered Cerrone with a solid combination and backed him up with more jabs and left hands. Diaz mixed in knees to the body and continued to snap Cerrone’s head back with punches.
Cerrone found success with leg kicks, but only for a fleeting moment until Diaz began to batter him with punches again. Two consecutive combinations of punches backed Cerrone up and he fell after missing with a head kick. Cerrone stood and Diaz resumed punching. Cerrone began to bleed from the mouth and Diaz targeted it with a three-punch flurry. 10-8 Diaz.
Round 2:
Cerrone tripped Diaz with a leg kick in the second round, but Diaz stood and remained aggressive with his punches. Again, Cerrone dropped Diaz with a leg kick and he followed with knees after Diaz stood. Diaz took Cerrone’s back, but Cerrone scrambled away. Diaz flurried with punches and Cerrone landed another knee. A lengthy flurry of punches scored for Diaz, but Cerrone knocked him down with a head kick.
Cerrone’s face continued to swell up, but he was able to keep Diaz at bay with kicks. The fighters traded power punches and Cerrone retreated. Cerrone tripped Diaz and walked away. Diaz stood and landed an elbow. Diaz threw a three-punch combo and Cerrone tripped him with a leg kick again. Diaz rocked Cerrone with punches, but Cerrone recovered and landed a knee. Diaz punched to the head and body late. 10-9 Diaz.
Round 3:
Diaz connected with an early right hook in the final round and quickly followed with three more punches. Diaz flurried to the head and body and Cerrone took a step backwards. He fell while throwing a kick, but got to his feet. Diaz kicked to the body and jabbed. A nice knee to the body and two leg kicks landed for Cerrone, but Diaz fired off five punches in a row.
Cerrone swept Diaz’s leg out from under him, but allowed him to stand. He landed a knee to Diaz’s stomach and Diaz answered with one of his own. Diaz punched away and Cerrone swept him to the mat with another kick. Diaz targeted the body and landed a left hook that opened a cut below Cerrone’s swollen right eye. Diaz scored with a lengthy flurry, but Cerrone managed to land a head kick. The fight ended with an exchange of punches. 10-9 Diaz.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-7-0.
Johny “Big Rig” Hendricks vs Jon Fitch
Round 1:
Hendricks avoided a three-punch flurry from Fitch in the opening seconds and floored him with a devastating left hook. Fitch fell flat to the mat and referee Steve Mazzagatti dove in for the stoppage as Hendricks landed one more punch to the downed Fitch.
Winner: Johny Hendricks by KO (Punch) at 0:12 of round one. He improves to 12-1-0.
Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko
Round 1:
Matyushenko missed with a lunging right hook in the opening minute and Gustafsson countered with two punches and a leg kick. Gustafsson kicked to the body and escaped a clinch, but not before Matyushenko landed a quick flurry. Matyushenko walked into a stiff jab from Gustafsson and fell to the mat. He rolled to his stomach and Gustafsson threw non-stop punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Alexander Gustafsson by TKO (Punches) at 2:13 of round one. He improves to 13-1-0.
Jimy “The Kid” Hettes vs Nam Phan
Round 1:
Hettes tripped Phan to the mat right away and landed punches from a partial back control, but Phan managed to work back to his feet against the cage. Hettes dragged him down with a guillotine choke and absolutely teed off with punches. Phan barely hung on as Hettes bombed him with punches and took his back again. Phan rolled over right into more big punches.
Phan finally stood and the fighters clinched. Phan pushed Hettes away and landed a nice combination. Hettes tossed him to the mat and landed in side control, then moved to mount. A big elbow cut Phan near the right eye and Hettes spun into an armbar. Phan clinched his hands together as Hettes punched him in the face and ribs. Hettes returned to mount and punched until the bell. 10-8 Hettes.
Round 2:
Hettes ttied to sweep Phan’s leg out for a takedown in round two, but Phan stayed up. Hettes dragged him down on the second try and resumed punching from the top. He postured up and scored with three hard shots, then tried for a rear-naked choke. Phan spun into it and stood. Hettes took him down with a guillotine choke, but Phan wound up on top landing elbows. Phan stood and dropped down with punches.
Hettes latched onto a leg and got back to his feet. He peppered Phan with punches and a knee against the cage. Hettes swept Phan’s leg out and tripped him to the mat. Phan stood and landed a knee. Hettes answered right back with a one-two and clinched. Hettes threw Phan to the ground and landed in side control. He tried to move to mount, then looked for a guillotine choke. The fighters stood before the bell. 10-9 Hettes.
Round 3:
Punches were exchanged in the final round and Phan began to find success with his jab, but Hettes promptly took him down against the cage. Phan worked back to his feet and Hettes dumped him on his back again. Phan stood and ate a knee. He circled away and connected with a right hook. Phan jabbed and targeted the body with a left hook. Hettes took Phan down and moved to S-mount.
Hettes pinned one of Phan’s arms down and punched with his free hand. Hettes locked on an arm-triangle choke, but Phan defended well and Hettes let it go. Hettes postured up with punches and elbows and bounced Phan’s head off of the cage with three particularly nasty elbows and a follow-up right hand. He punched all the way until the bell. 10-9 Hettes. Excellent performance.
Winner: Jimy Hettes by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 10-0-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)