Advertisement

Overeem bullies the bully, sends Lesnar packing

Alistair Overeem celebrates his victory over Brock Lesnar on Friday night

LAS VEGAS – Alistair Overeem called his shot and, in the process, skyrocketed into stardom.

A day before he was to meet former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 141 Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Overeem told his fiancee, Zelina, exactly how the bout would unfold.

"The funny thing was, I predicted it the evening before to my fiancee," Overeem said after using a huge liver kick not only to send Lesnar in retirement but also to earn a shot at UFC champion Junior dos Santos.

"She's not here right now, or she would confirm it, but I said, 'First I'm going to do this, then I'm going to do that, and I'm going to finish him with a liver kick.' And yeah, I don't know if it's luck or strategy, but it turned out that way and I'm glad it did."

The much-ballyhooed fight was no contest. Overeem knew he had Lesnar the first time he dug a knee into Lesnar's midsection, a move that essentially took the fight out of the once, and perhaps future, WWE star.

Lesnar, an All-American collegiate wrestler whose best chance was to get Overeem down, only went for one takedown, a half-hearted single leg which Overeem easily shook off.

"I was thinking, 'Brock ought to try for a double,' " an ill UFC president Dana White said of Lesnar at the post-fight news conference. "A double would have been a better idea. You know, Brock's fast, he's explosive, he's powerful and he's a great wrestler.

"I was shocked he didn't shoot or try to take a double, but he was in Overeem's range getting picked apart."

Lesnar hit Overeem with a jab early that opened a cut on Overeem's right eye. It caused him some vision problems, but it also increased his urgency to end the fight. He didn't want the ringside physician to make a call on how the bout should end, so he picked up the pace and Lesnar wasn't able to match it.

Lesnar visibly winced from the first knee, and Overeem knew that was a sign. Lesnar, he said, didn't want to be hit after that.

"After that one knee, yes, [I thought he got timid]," Overeem said.

[ Related: Kevin Iole's complete UFC 141 recap ]

It was only a matter of time after that shot. Following the knee, Lesnar was in full retreat and not interested in exchanging. It seemed by that stage it was only a matter of how, and when, it would end in Overeem's favor.

He pulled it off in dramatic fashion, as stars are wont to do, hitting Lesnar with a kick to the midsection that had to feel like he was hit with a crowbar.

Lesnar, who did not attend the post-fight news conference, told White he felt he may have broken a rib.

"He said, 'I don't know what a broken rib feels like; if it hurts worse than this, I don't want to feel it,' " White said.

After taking the kick, Lesnar staggered back to the cage and slumped over. Overeem chased and fired punches at him until referee Mario Yamasaki stopped it.

It was the culmination of a long journey to the pinnacle of the sport for the Dutch kickboxer. Overeem had won mixed martial arts championships in Strikeforce and in DREAM and in 2010 became the only MMA champion to win the K-1 kickboxing World Grand Prix.

White had taunted him frequently as he competed in other organizations, questioning his level of opposition and his legitimacy as a top contender. Overeem had faced elite world-level opponents when he competed as a light heavyweight, but since moving up to heavyweight in 2007, he hadn't met an opponent with anywhere near Lesnar's credentials.

"Let me say in front of everyone here that I was wrong," White said of Overeem. "I said it before Alistair came into the UFC and I said it leading up to this fight to myself because I never give predictions, but I thought Brock Lesnar was going to beat Alistair Overeem tonight. I did, and I was wrong.

"He looked damn good tonight. He made quick work of Brock Lesnar."

[ Related: Brock Lesnar drops retirement bombshell after UFC 141 loss ]

He sent the man who had without question become the UFC's biggest draw into a somewhat surprising early retirement. Lesnar battled diverticulitis for the last two years and had a foot of his colon removed in a bid to get him back to full health so he could resume his fighting career.

Lesnar was fighting for the first time in 14 months, since he lost his title on Oct. 23, 2010, in Anaheim, Calif., to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. He wanted to make another run at the title, but the problems that had plagued him in the first part of his career – being unable to deal with strikes – didn't go away.

He wasn't the fire-breathing dragon he had been in fights earlier in his career, when he won the UFC title in just his fourth pro match.

He didn't shoot out of the corner, as Overeem had feared he might, clearly respecting the Dutchman's power.

"The thing is, I didn't know what he was going to do, but Brock usually comes full force and he rushes," Overeem said. "I didn't watch any tapes of him prior to the fight because I didn't want to have the mindset that he was going to come like a bull. And he didn't, so … "

Overeem did what he had to do. Lesnar paid tribute to him in the cage, and White simply shook his head, probably providing the best description.

"He was nasty, man," White said. "That was some powerful stuff there."

With Overeem, fans had better get used to it. His fights may not last long, but if they're anything like they were on Saturday, they'll be massively entertaining.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose won't allow his fame or riches to change him
If David Beckham joins PSG, the Galaxy will target another Brit
NFL playoff picture and scenarios: Who's in, who's out