UFC 141: The UFC Closes Out 2011 With Style

I love an event that truly reminds you why you're an MMA fan. From the first minute of the main card, I was in awe of what I was seeing, and it never slowed down.

Going into tonight, I didn't think Jim Hettes had what it took to take on an experienced fighter like Nam Phan. He was able to wrap up the wily Alex "Bruce Leroy" Caceres at UFC on Versus 5, but I didn't think it would be enough. Boy was I wrong, and totally happy about it. Hettes looked unstoppable from the opening bell. He punished Phan with brutal ground and pound from every position while simultaneously attacking with submissions. My hat is off to Phan for persevering through that beating where many fighters would have given up. But the Featherweight division picked up a contender tonight and his name is Jim "The Kid" Hettes.

Has there ever been a more apt nickname than Alexander Gustaffson's "The Mauler"? The way he controls distance with his footwork is absolutely amazing. Gustaffson absolutely impressed me with the way he completely dominated Matt Hamill at UFC 133 on a short notice fight and I expected him to do no less against Matyushenko with a full camp behind him. The Mauler did not disappoint and completely exceeded my expectation. He stayed far out of the reach of The Janitor waiting for his opportunity. When Vladimir tried to close the distance with a stepping jab, Gustaffson countered expertly with a straight lead left, that left Matyushenko seeing stars. If Phil Davis (the source of Gustaffson's only loss) can develop his defensive wrestling, The Mauler will become a serious force at the top of the Light heavyweight division.

UFC 141 will forever mark one of the most surprising fight outcomes I've ever seen. Jon Fitch has been the established #2 of the Welterweight division for as long as it matters. Many thought the only person who could beat him was pound for pound great Georges St. Pierre or maybe his teammate Josh Koscheck. All of them were proved wrong tonight, when Johny Hendricks through a huge, lunging left hook that left Fitch waking up in the guard of referee Steve Mazzagatti. Coming off a draw to BJ Penn and now a KO to Hendricks, this is devastating to Jon Fitch an enormous victory for Hendricks. With GSP out with an injury, and Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit fighting for the interim title in February, one more win could put Hendricks in position to fight for the title in a scenario nobody could have predicted.

I have never made it any secret that I've never been a fan of the Diaz brothers. But, both of them are doing their best to change my mind. Nick Diaz broke my heart when he defeated BJ Penn in a way no other fighter ever has. And Nate Diaz came out the same way tonight. Donald Cerrone came out exactly like he promised he would. He sprinted across the cage to engage his new-found nemesis. Diaz responded by wrapping The Cowboy up in a standing arm triangle attempt followed by a double-leg takedown attempt against the cage. I can't help but think this attack affected Cerrone's decisions later in the fight. From here on out the fight was all Diaz. He battered Donald with the "Stockton Slap" while mixing in power punches to the head and body. The Cowboy found mild success in the 2nd round with leg sweeps, but refused to follow the Cesar Gracie protege to the ground. Nate was unrelenting, cocky, and pure Diaz throughout the rest of the fight en route to a unanimous decision. I find it completely impossible not to support a fighter who always brings it the way Diaz does. I don't know if he'll be able to find success against the powerful wrestlers at the top of the division, but he's going to be a tough fight for any and everyone who steps in to The Octagon with him.

I've never been so conflictingly shocked and unsurprised at the same time as I was watching Alistair Overeem decimate Brock Lesnar. This was the epitome of a perfect style match up and when Brock first grabbed onto Overeem for an attempt at a single-leg takedown, I though he had the fight in the bag. But Ubereem recovered perfectly and completely dominated the rest of the short fight. He landed absolutely devastating knees to Lesnar's body from the Muay Thai Clinch and finished "The Baddest Man on the Planet" with a brutal liver kick and some rudimentary ground and pound.

It really doesn't matter whether or not you were a fan of Brock Lesnar; tonight MMA lost its biggest star. It's a bittersweet moment where we lose someone who has always given his all and been in nothing but exciting, high-profile fights, but we don't have to watch a legend devolve like so many of his predecessors. Here's to you Brock and everything you've done to help advance the UFC and MMA as a whole.