{"id":47051,"date":"2011-12-30T11:07:10","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T19:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=47051"},"modified":"2011-12-30T11:07:10","modified_gmt":"2011-12-30T19:07:10","slug":"ufc-141-lesnar-vs-overeem-free-pick-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/fight-club\/ufc-141-lesnar-vs-overeem-free-pick-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 141 Lesnar vs. Overeem Free Pick & Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Are you excited about this one? Me too! Two of the biggest, baddest Heavyweights on the planet do battle in what should be a beauty!<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Friday, December 30, 2011, 9pm ET\/6pm PT<\/strong>
\n Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada<\/strong>
\n Broadcast: Pay-per-view<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Event<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong>Alistair Overeem (35-11-0): -135<\/strong>
\n Brock Lesnar (5-2-0): +105<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lesnar brings an incredible wrestling pedigree to the Octagon \u2013 Overeem is an elite striker with experience to spare.<\/p>\n

Lesnar has been out of action for some time but as we\u2019ve seen before, inactivity doesn\u2019t necessarily result mean bad things for Lesnar. Overeem has been relatively inactive himself!<\/p>\n

Overeem\u2019s only chance is to keep this fight standing and batter the former NCAA wrestling Champ \u2013 but how did that work for Shane Carwin? Expect a similar script in this one \u2013 Lesnar will weather the storm and eventually get this fight to the mat where he will have a huge advantage. Overeem is tough but there is no way that he can match the ruggedness and cardio of Brock Lesnar. Once on top, Lesnar is unstoppable!<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Brock Lesnar +105<\/p>\n

Main Card<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nate Diaz (12-7-0): +220<\/strong>
\n Donald Cerrone (16-3-0): -300<\/strong><\/p>\n

It seems that Donald Cerrone has been on every major card in the last six months doesn\u2019t it? Cerrone will look to continue his climb up the Lightweight ladder when he takes on the tough younger brother of Nick, Nate Diaz.<\/p>\n

Diaz will bring insane conditioning, superb boxing and a terrific jiu-jitsu background to the octagon against the extremely well rounded Donald Cerrone. Diaz will push the pace but expect Cerrone\u2019s Muay Thai credentials, speed and power to be enough to score him a decision victory. It should be a great fight but expect Cerrone\u2019s recent roll to continue.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Donald Cerrone -300<\/p>\n

Jon Fitch (23-3-1): -230<\/strong>
\n Johny Hendricks (11-1-0): +180<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two top Welterweights do battle as part of the Main Card at UFC 141 with Jon Fitch trying to remain in the Top Tier of talent in the division against up-and-comer Johny Hendricks. Both men are excellent wrestlers and both possess above average striking ability. What this fight will come down to is experience \u2013 there is not a whole lot that Hendricks can bring to the Octagon that Fitch hasn\u2019t already seen.<\/p>\n

Fitch is arguably a Top 5 Welterweight in the world right now \u2013 Hendricks can\u2019t even be considered in the Top 10 yet. Octagon savvy will be the difference \u2013 Fitch is just too tough and too much of a student of the game to be denied. In yet another boring grind-em-out fight, expect Fitch to prevail.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Jon Fitch -230<\/p>\n

Vladimir Matyushenko (25-6-0): +250<\/strong>
\n Alexander Gustafsson (12-1-0): -350<\/strong><\/p>\n

Veteran Vladimir Matyushenko takes on relative newcomer Alexander Gustafsson in Light Heavyweight action at UFC 141. Both of these fighters will be looking to get this fight to the ground \u2013 Matyushenko\u2019s needs to utilize his wrestling to gain Top Control and Gustafsson needs to use take downs so he can set up one of his patented submissions.<\/p>\n

Matyushenko is a crafty fighter and although Gustafsson is certainly an intriguing prospect, I like the experience and all around ruggedness of Matyushenko to prevail.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Vladimir Matyushenko +250<\/p>\n

Nam Phan (16-9-0): -240<\/strong>
\n Jim Hettes (9-0-0): +190<\/strong><\/p>\n

Karate and jiu-jitsu fighter Nam Phan squares off against one of the more dangerous submission artists in the Featherweight Division, Jim Hettes, as the first fight on the Main Card of UFC 141. Phan, despite being a Black Belt in jiu-jitsu may want to keep this fight standing where he will have an enormous edge over the somewhat one dimensional Hettes. Hettes does have some experience in boxing but his office is the ground where he has finished all nine of his combatants so far.<\/p>\n

While Phan has the standup edge and Hettes has the edge on the mat, perhaps the determining factor in this fight will be\u2026 here\u2019s that word again – experience. Phan has been fighting professionally for 10 years and has been inside the Octagon with some high caliber talent. Phan\u2019s experience and better all around balance should be enough for him in this bout. [ad-3573245]<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Nam Phan -240<\/p>\n

Spike TV Card<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ross Pearson (12-5-0): -280<\/strong>
\n Junior Assuncao (12-4-0): +210<\/strong><\/p>\n

This fight is a true contrast in styles. While Pearson would love to keep this fight standing in order to unleash his unrelenting Muay Thai style, Junior Assuncao will be looking to take this fight to the mat where he can utilize his incredible jiu-jitsu.<\/p>\n

This will be Pearson\u2019s first fight at Featherweight \u2013 he will be the bigger of the two but fears are that the weight cut may be too much. Take the upset in this one \u2013 Pearson\u2019s one dimensional style will be his downfall. Assuncao isn\u2019t spectacular but he is well rounded enough to pull the upset!<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Junior Assuncao +210<\/p>\n

Anthony Njokuani (14-5-0): +150<\/strong>
\n Danny Castillo (12-4-0): -180<\/strong><\/p>\n

Danny Castillo, fresh off an impressive, dominating win over Shamar Bailey at UFC 139 heads back into the Octagon after barely a month off to take on Striking Machine Anthony Njokuani. Njokuani is holder of an incredible MMA record \u2013 while a part of the WEC he had three consecutive Knockout of the Night pay checks. Since joining the UFC he is 2-0. Danny Castillo is no joke however \u2013 he is a very well rounded fighter and has already beaten the likes of Joe Stevenson.<\/p>\n

Castillo is the better rounded of the fighters but I like the power and confidence of Njokuani in this one. This could be a career defining fight for the Nigerian \u2013 look for a solid performance.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Anthony Njokuani +150<\/p>\n

Sean Pierson (11-5-0): +300<\/strong>
\n Dong Hyun Kim (14-1-1): -400<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dong Hyun Kim will be looking to avenge the only loss of his career (a KO loss to Welterweight Title Contender Carlos Condit) when he takes on another fighter that lost in his last bout, Sean Pierson (a KO loss to Jake Ellenberger). Kim is a top \u201cB level\u201d fighter while Pierson is barely a C+. Take Kim to bounce back and make his way onto a Main Card down the line \u2013 somewhere he belongs!<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Dong Hyun Kim -400<\/p>\n

Jacob Volkmann (13-2-0): -280<\/strong>
\n Efrain Escudero (18-3-0): +210<\/strong><\/p>\n

Efrain Escudero, one of the only former TUF challengers to ever get cut from the UFC makes his return to the Big Show as an injury replacement for TJ Grant. Jacob Volkmann has been incredible since moving down a weight class \u2013 undefeated since his heady move. Escudero went 5-1 outside the UFC to earn a second shot. But against a future Lightweight title contender, Escudero will have his hands full. Volkmann is better in absolutely every aspect of MMA \u2013 look for his wrestling to be the ultimate difference maker in what should be a fairly easy win for Volkmann.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Jacob Volkmann -280<\/p>\n

Matthew Riddle (5-3-0): -125<\/strong>
\n Luis Ramos (19-7-0): -105<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former TUF 7 participant Matt Riddle will look to bounce back after two straight losses inside the Octagon when he takes on Brazilian Luis Ramos who lost his only fight in the UFC. Riddle is a better fighter than his record suggests \u2013 he holds wins over Greg Soto and DeMarques Johnson. Take the American to hand the Brazilian his second straight loss in the UFC.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Matthew Riddle -125<\/p>\n

Manny Gamburyan (10-6-0): +220<\/strong>
\n Diego Nunes (16-2-0): -300<\/strong><\/p>\n

Manny Gamburyan has had a miserable time since finishing second on TUF 5 \u2013 he has not tasted victory in nearly 4 years! Diego Nunes brings a very well rounded game and a good amount of experience against top competition to the Octagon on Friday night. It is hard to imagine Gamburyan knocking off a fighter that took Kenny Florian to the brink and defeated the likes of Mike Brown.<\/p>\n

Pick:<\/strong> Diego Nunes -300<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a match for the ages, Lesnar vs. Overeem in a battle of MMA legends. Two of the biggest, baddest Heavyweights on the planet do battle in what should be a beauty! The MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada hosts Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem. We preview and pick the entire UFC 141 fight card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":47146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1436],"tags":[53251,4407,53250,10039,53252,53254,53253,1932,2105],"class_list":["post-47051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fight-club","tag-alistair-overeem","tag-brock-lesnar","tag-brock-lesnar-vs-alistair-overeem","tag-free-ufc-predictions","tag-lesnar-vs-overeem","tag-ufc-141","tag-ufc-141-lines","tag-ufc-odds","tag-ufc-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47051"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47148,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47051\/revisions\/47148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}