Ennis' Take
ENNIS: Unconventional predictions for UFC 141 "Lesnar vs. Overeem" and its aftermath
Dec 29, 2011 - 9:45:09 PM ENNIS: Unconventional predictions for UFC 141 "Lesnar vs. Overeem" and its aftermath

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By: Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist

UFC 141 is tomorrow night, and with all the anticipation of the big happenings next year for the UFC, the card is taking a bit of a backseat. This is strange, considering the card is on a Friday night and it only has the UFC's biggest draw in the main event, but then again it could just be that no one is watching TV or getting online this week. I know I've mostly been loafing and taking care of things around the house rather than keeping up with current events and other things I usually do. But that's all beside the point. This event has a chance to be one with far-reaching consequences. I've got some predictions about the fallout of UFC 141 and what it could all mean if it goes down the way I think it will. Here's what's going to happen (in my mind, at least):

1.) Danny Castillo's stock will rise considerably with how good he looks in dismantling Anthony Njokuani. He'll get a shot against a top 10-15 lightweight in his next fight but end up getting rolled over after everyone says what a good shot he has at taking the leap.

2.) Jacob Volkmann will remind everyone why Efrain Escudero was cut.

3.) Diego Nunes will roll over Manny Gamburyan, but "The Anvil" will stay on the roster and get a more friendly matchup, perhaps against a debuting fighter, his next time out.

4.) Jim Hettes will become the first fighter to submit Nam Phan.

5.) At least one fight on the Facebook prelims will be great, followed by approximately 240 tweets about how that fight should have been on the PPV card over Hettes-Phan.

6.) Junior Assuncao will spoil a lot of picks when he takes out Ross Pearson in Pearson's featherweight debut. Pearson holds his own on the feet early but Assuncao gets into a rhythm and pulls away late.

7.) Alexander Gustafsson will lay the lumber on Vladimir Matyushenko and earn a shot against a big time light heavyweight his next time out. We'll start hearing buzz about a title shot with one or two more wins.

8.) Donald Cerrone-Nate Diaz will be the Fight of the Night, but it won't be close. Cerrone will stifle Diaz at every turn and batter him en route to a decision win.

9.) Jon Fitch will dominate Johny Hendricks after Hendricks takes the first round. It will not be pleasant to watch, but it will be effective.

10.) During Fitch-Hendricks, everyone who hasn't seen Fitch countless times will see Hendricks get up after the second and third round and say, "How is he bleeding so much? I haven't seen any offense at all!"

11.) Fitch will get his long-awaited title shot after this fight, but it won't be against GSP. The Interim Champion will fight Fitch for the chance to unify the titles against the returning champ.

12.) Brock Lesnar will look better taking a punch than he has in his past two fights, but he still won't look like he enjoys it.

13.) Lesnar will take some punishment in the first round but not as much as he did against Shane Carwin. He'll come out in the second and third round, take Overeem down, take his gas tank, and pound him out.

14.) This will be Overeem's only UFC loss for quite some time as he embarks on a path of destruction through the heavyweight division. Between this fight and his next, however, the rhetoric will be that Overeem's quality of opponents has been lacking and he was never that good to begin with. This rhetoric will end after he smashes Frank Mir in his next fight.