...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
Predict the outcome of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem - who wins and how?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
And I thought predicting Cerrone vs. Diaz was difficult? For weeks now I chalked this up to Overeem landing a knee or a guillotine as soon as Lesnar bullrushed, and that'd be all she wrote. Now, though, I'm not so sure. This is another coin flip fight for me. I still see Lesnar rushing in for the takedown ASAP. And I still think it's possible that Overeem lands a heavy knee or catches Lesnar's neck if his shot is a little sloppy (which is possible given the rust). It's also possible that Overeem doesn't land either of his two big weapons to counter a shot. If that's the case, either Lesnar will push Overeem against the cage and take him down, or Overeem will sprawl successfully and we'll reset in the middle of the cage.
So how do I see it playing out? I cannot go against my Alistair Overeem fanboy mancrush, although I love Lesnar. Overeem avoids the takedown once or twice, and eventually lands a knee which knocks Lesnar down. Overeem pounces and finishes on the ground late in the first round.
Or Lesnar takes him down and pounds him out. I don't know. Just let me watch the damn fight already.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I think Overeem comes roaring out of the gates, but he gasses out quickly. This will allow Brock to take him down and ground-and-pound him. I'm tempted to go with a decision win by Lesnar, but I think the ref will step in late in the fight and stop it. I think Lesnar puts a beating on Overeem to get the TKO finish in the fourth round.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Brock Lesnar wins via ultimate domination against Alistair Overeem. Kidding. But he does win, as Overeem doesn't seem to have the gas tank that Lesnar has and if (and when) Brock weathers the early storm from Overeem, Brock will have his way with a winded Overeem. Brock via TKO in the 2nd.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Alistair Overeem is the best kick boxer in the heavyweight division. Brock Lesnar's weakness is his chin and this has been exposed on multiple occasions. Overeem has fought every type of fighter in MMA. He has great takedown defense and is a large heavyweight. Brock has only had seven fights. He is a huge heavyweight with world class wrestling skills. His inexperience will hurt him in this fight. I feel Overeem can stop Lesnar's takedowns and keep the fight standing. I predict Overeem will knock out Lesnar in the third round. If Overeem wins this, he will get the next shot at the UFC heavyweight title.
JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I like Brock Lesnar to win this fight. If Lesnar can take down Randy Couture, Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, I see no reason why he can't do the same to Alistair Overeem. Stylistically, the guys that will give Brock Lesnar fits are guys who can stuff his takedowns and strike with him; Overeem can certainly strike with him, but defending Lesnar's takedowns are another matter entirely.
It's entirely possible that Overeem stuffs the first takedown, fires a knee off at Lesnar's face and ruins the man's life, but we've seen enough "striker vs. grappler" type matchups to understand that the grappler wins that battle more times than he loses.
[Brock Lesnar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.