Mailbag: Hettes is a featherweight fighter to watch

LAS VEGAS – Alistair Overeem and Nate Diaz scored victories with the most buzz last Friday at UFC 141, but the fighter on that card who really caught attention was featherweight Jim Hettes.

Hettes dominated Nam Phan and won a unanimous decision in a bout that opened the main card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Hettes' win showcased what is great about mixed martial arts, as he used just about every technique imaginable.

He had several good judo throws, incorporated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, ground-and-pound, standup and wrestling into his game. He never quit looking for the finish and has nothing to apologize for after not being able to get the stoppage.

"I was wondering what it takes to put Nam Phan away," Hettes said. "I was giving him all I could."

Hettes is 24, but is so youthful-appearing that a security guard at the MGM Grand would not allow him into the hotel gym because she didn't think he was 18.

But Hettes fought like a seasoned veteran, transitioning from move to move in a performance that captured the critical eye of UFC president Dana White.

"Very, very impressed by him," White said.

Hettes isn't a particularly powerful striker, and that's perhaps why Phan survived his barrage on the ground, but he never quit going for the finish.

[Related: Lesnar to retire after losing to Overeem]

If he adds a bit of strength, he's the kind of fighter the UFC can get behind and promote into a star. He's got a good sense of humor and clearly has the fighting chops.

In only his second UFC fight – he debuted with a win over Alex Caceres in Milwaukee, Wis., in August – Hettes was in control of his emotions the entire time. He was expending a great deal of energy trying to finish Phan, but he didn't let himself burn out.

"All that went through my head was watching the Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin fight [from UFC 116, when Carwin gassed out after having Lesnar in trouble]," Hettes said. "The last thing I wanted to do was possibly gas out and get Nam on top of me."

He did a good job of that and Phan never got close.

• Five guys who could become big draws for the UFC in 2012 are Overeem, heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, welterweight Nick Diaz and lightweight Benson Henderson.

• The biggest problem Brock Lesnar had as a UFC fighter was not a poor chin. It was poor striking defense. He was far too easy to hit, and when you're hit flush on the chin by a man weighing more than 200 pounds wearing only four-ounce gloves, you're going to be hurt and you're going to go down.

• I hope the UFC gives Tito Ortiz one more fight before he retires, but I certainly hope that UFC president Dana White doesn't talk Chuck Liddell out of retirement to face him. Liddell is an executive with the UFC and that's where he belongs, not in the cage.

• With his length and his striking ability, Alexander Gustafsson can one day become a difficult challenge for light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. He needs at least three more fights, though, if not more, before thinking about that.

[Related: Lyoto Machida offers to fight Chael Sonnen with one arm]

• For a guy who says he doesn't care what anyone thinks, White certainly kept talking about the public and media reaction after he reinstated Miguel Torres last week. White came off poorly in that episode. He made the decision and explained his rationale. He didn't need to continue to say, "I don't give an [expletive] what anyone thinks." It was too much.

• UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said the company is looking to do two fewer pay-per-view shows in 2012 than it did in 2011, when it put on 16 pay-per-views. "I don't like doing two [PPVs] in the same month," he said. In 2011, the UFC put on two pay-per-views in February, August, October and December.

Can WWE fill UFC's star void?

With the retirement of Brock Lesnar, there is a star-power vacancy in the UFC, as you reported last week. Do you think there is another viable WWE crossover star who could be annexed and accepted by the MMA community? There is Bobby Lashley, who has had modest results, but he wasn't a real draw in the WWE when he was there. And there is Kurt Angle, but he is old and untested.

Ramses
Brooklyn, N.Y.

They're not going to look to the WWE, Ramses, it's that simple. Lesnar was a unique case. He was a world-class amateur wrestler who probably would have gone straight into MMA when he left the University of Minnesota in 2000 had it been a viable business at that time. It wasn't, and WWE chairman Vince McMahon offered him a boatload of money to become a pro wrestler. But the UFC will find its fighters in the future by traditional means and not from the pro-wrestling world.

Sonnen on verge of stardom

I liked your article on the impact Brock Lesnar had on the UFC, and I agree that he'll be missed. However, I feel like you missed the most exciting replacement, Chael Sonnen. He is a man with a real chance of beating middleweight champion Anderson Silva and is better at generating interest than even Brock was.

Woody
Raleigh, N.C.

Woody, the numbers don't back up your claim. Sonnen isn't close to Lesnar's stature in terms of selling tickets and pay-per-views. Sonnen is great at trash talk and drawing attention, but he's not near Lesnar's league as a ticket-selling attraction.

[Related: UFC making inroads in China one fighter at a time]

MMA will never surpass basketball in China

I have lived in China at least four months every year since 2001 and spent the entire year here last year. I am not a fan of MMA and I hope it fails in China because the people here are a peaceful group, for the most part. It is certainly a pipe dream to expect it to become more popular than basketball. Basketball courts are everywhere in China and there is nothing similar that MMA can hope to set up. It isn't only about Yao Ming, either. For example, his jersey sales were not in the top 10. MMA will be seen by most Chinese as exactly what it is, the mongrel Western offspring of Eastern martial arts. I do love boxing, though.

Michael Beauchot
Zhuhai, China

You're not an MMA fan, Michael, and that's fine, but given your bias against it, you're not exactly the person I'd seek out for whether it can make it or not. Your point about failing to surpass basketball is well taken, however. The UFC isn't the only sport organization attempting to make inroads into China. Basketball is already huge there, and the NBA is working hard to make it bigger. I suspect, though, there is room for both.

PPVs far too frequent in the UFC

The UFC seems to put on pay-per-view cards every two weeks. I like MMA, but I can't afford to buy every show. Doesn't it hurt MMA to have so many pay-per-views?

Guy Layzie (via Twitter @Layzie_Guy)
Washington, D.C.

As noted above, the UFC held 16 pay-per-view shows in 2011 and will cut that to 14 in 2012. I don't think it's an issue, because PPV is a very democratic source of television. If you want to see the show, you buy it. If you're not interested in the card, you don't put your money down. If enough people choose to pass, the UFC brass will get the message and adjust. But business is good and they are putting plenty of shows on free television, so there is no danger that fans who want to see it are going to miss out.

"People in China know the UFC already and every day, more and more people are becoming interested in [MMA]." – UFC fighter Zhang Tiequan, regarding interest in MMA in his homeland.

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