While the story arguably should be Overeem’s impressive victory in just one round, Lesnar still somehow steals the show with his announcement that at age 34, he will retire from mma fighting.

Lesnars has been battling a lower-intensitnal ailment for the past 14 months, while only fighting in three matches over the past 2 and a half years.

“I’ve had a really difficult couple of years with my disease, and I’m going to officially say tonight is the last time,” Lesnar said. “This is the last time you’ll see me in the octagon,”

Lesnar’s retirement announcement likely shocked fans of the sport, but UFC President Dana White didn’t appear overly surprised by the news. “I had no idea he would do that, (but) am I surprised? No,” White said. “What he accomplished in a short amount of time is amazing, but I get it. It doesn’t shock me.”

Lesnar ends his UFC career with a 5-3 record, including a victory over Randy Couture for the Heavyweight title in 2008 – one that he successfully defended twice before losing it to Cain Velasquez.

Alistair Overeem now looks ahead to his UFC title match with Junior Dos Santos, who recently defeated Velasquez for the Heavyweight title.

“GSP blown acl will be out for 10 mos.” stated White. “Now Condit vs Diaz for the interim welterweight title on Feb 4th in Las Vegas!!”

Firas Zahabi, who is St Pierre’s primary coach seems to have a light reaction to the news.  ”We’re disappointed, but it could have been worse,” Zahabi, who spoke to MMAjunkie.com shortly after the news was announced by White, stated.

5thround.com posted: 

Georges St-Pierre (Pictured) has issued a stern message to those trying to kick him while he’s down. The UFC welterweight king promises that he and his soon-to-be surgically-repaired right knee will be back and badder than ever.

“Some people will say bad stuff about me, that ‘He’s finished’ and stuff like that,” St-Pierre expressed. “What I’m going to tell you is it’s very easy to hit a guy when he’s down. We have a saying in France, ‘The life goes up and down.’

“People will laugh because I’m in a downfall, I’m hurt, I’m not a threat to them. But I’ll be back on top, mark my words.”

Still no word on who the replacement will be.

One of the problems with submissions involving the ankles or knees is that you don’t feel any pain until it’s too late. The pain that you would normally feel with chokes or submission involving the arm isn’t there in these submissions so they’re very dangerous to practice. What I mean is, before you’re ready to “tap” while practicing the move, the damage can be done without warning. The motto is “If you feel pain, it’s too late”

For street defense, the object would be to execute the move to it’s full range of motion. This would dislocate the knee, tear ligaments, and cause tendon and soft tissue damage. This is not something you want to get caught in.

Here’s a video of a training class where they are practicing submissions off of an arm drag. I personally think is one of the best setups for attempting the calf crusher submission:

Below is an example of the move being utilized quickly in a professional fight. I’m aware that the calf crusher isn’t allowed in every competition, but in the video below Ben Pittsley won the submission of the night.

The fight started off with both fighters standing in the center of the Octagon trading punches and kicks. Cain Velasquez landed the first couple of solid kicks on JDS, but that didn’t seem to faze the eventual champ.

The way I saw it was that Cain looked nervous and did not stick to his game plan in trying to take down the big man. Cain knows he can’t stand and trade punches with Dos Santos, and only tried to take him down once.

Finally Dos Santos threw a sweeping right hook, that could of knocked the great wall of China down, which dropped Velasquez. After falling to the ground JDS threw a few more punches before John McCarthy stepped in and stopped the fight.

Next up for Junior Dos Santos will be the winner of Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem, which takes place at UFC 141.

In the other fight that caught my eye was Benson Henderson defeating Clay Guida via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, and 30-27).

As soon as the bell rang the fast paced fight was on with both fighters trying to execute their game-plan. Bendo’s stand-up looked outstanding and he defended Guida’s take-down attempts.

The first two rounds went to Henderson as he got the better of Guida on multiple punches and stuffing his take-downs. Late in the third round Guida looked to have a tight grip on a Guillotine choke but Henderson was able to hang on and survive Guida’s last ditch effort to steal the fight.

Next week we go to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA for UFC 139.

After coming back Lesnar looked regain his belt after Shane Carwin won a match against Frank Mir to grab the interim title. He would get that shot at UFC 116 against Carwin. Coming into the title fight Lesnar said he had felt his cardio was great and was ready to take back what was rightfully his. Lesnar would get rocked early in the first round and have to survive Carwin’s ground and pound. But early in the second round Lesnar would take down Carwin and catch him in a arm-triangle choke, thus taking back the heavyweight belt.

Next up for the champ would be #1 title contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. Back and forth the two fighters were exchanging punches and kicks in the first three minutes of the first round. That was until Velasquez dropped Lesnar with a barrage of punches and knees. The ref would stop the fight with :48 seconds left in round one, thus losing the belt to Velasquez.

Lesnar would have another battle with diverticulitis after it was discovered in May 2011. He underwent surgery to remover part of his intestine that would keep him out of action for some time. In August, Lesnar would say on video that he is ready to return to the octagon and that he has completely healed from his surgery. Lesnar claims that he has never felt healthier and feels like his old self.

Next on tap for Lesnar is UFC 141, where he is set to go up against Alistair Overeem in a non-title heavyweight fight.

For Lesnar’s sake, I for one hope he truly is the old Brock before his health issues. He is one of the most dangerous heavyweights currently in the UFC. Tune in and find out for yourself at UFC 141.

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos will be the headliner, with nine other preliminary fights on the card. The only other recognizable bout the less than casual fight fan might know is Clay Guida, who is going up against Benson Henderson. Some people might even remember Cub Swanson if you followed the now debunk WEC, who squares up against Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas, although nothing should compare to the headlining fight’s hype and entertainment.

Here’s a look at the action worth watching on Saturday night:

Fight Previews

Cub Swanson vs. Ricardo Lamas

Swanson comes in with a record of 15-4 and having not fought in over a year due to two injuries that kept him out of his last two bouts with Erik Koch. He has also fought the tougher opponents of the two with the likes of Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, and Jens Pulver.

Lamas is 10-2 in his career with three wins by either TKO or KO. Lamas is coming off an impressive win against veteran Matt Grice at UFC Live 4, with a TKO in the first round. “The Bully” has fought the lesser of the two fighters, but this would be a huge fight to propel him up in the featherweight division.

Seeing that Swanson hasn’t fought in a year it will be tough to judge his cardio. That being said he has always been a high motor guy who will throw punches until his arms fall off. Lamas has improved his stand-up recently in his fight against Grice. This could end up being “fight of the night” don’t take your eyes off of this one. I will give the slight edge to Swanson in this fight.

Prediction: Swanson wins via submission in round 3.

Clay Guida vs. Benson Henderson

Guida is a long time veteran of the UFC with his first bout dating back to 2006. He comes in with a record of 29-8. Guida has won his last four fights after losing two in a row to Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez.

“Bendo” comes in with a 14-2 record, with eight wins via submission. He was also a former member of the WEC, with impressive wins over Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone, twice. Although he is a new comer to the UFC Henderson has already proven himself as no slouch in his first two bouts.

This match will be full of energy, with both fighters trying to get the advantage on the ground. Guida will be trying early and often to take down “Bendo” and use the clinch to ground and pound his opponent. But he better be careful in doing that, as he could leave a opening for Henderson setting-up his famous Guillotine choke. I see Henderson using his athleticism and submitting Guida to move up the ranks in the lightweight division.

Prediction: Henderson takes it via submission in round 2.

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos

Velasquez will look to continue his dominating run in the UFC, with his 9-0 record. Eight of his nine wins have come via TKO/KO, with six of those coming in the first round. He has not faced a great fighter in their prime yet and he will get a true test in this fight.

Dos Santos looks to be the real deal and a true test to Velasquez’s run. JDS has a impressive record of 13-1, with his only loss coming on a submission. Dos Santos will look to standup the entire fight and withstand Cain’s take downs.

This match will definitely live up to the hype. Both fighters are arguably in their prime as top-notch heavyweights. Velasquez will seek to impose his take down abilities to wear down JDS and use his ground and pound to try and win this fight. Dos Santos will need to stay on his feet if he wants a chance to take the heavyweight belt from Velasquez. I’ll give the edge to Velasquez on the ground and to Dos Santos when they’re trading punches. If JDS wants to win this fight he will have to knockout Velasquez, he can do it, but I don’t see it happening.

Prediction: Velasquez wins via Unanimous decision.

After winning the starting 4 fights of his career in UFC, Hendricks had a bad phase after those initial smashes when he lost in the Finale of Ultimate Fighter 12, facing one of the fellow up-comers Rick Story.  This was his first ever defeat in MMA where the decision was unanimous. After that Hendricks has never look back and entered into a winning streak. He won both his last appearances inside Octagon.

On the other hand, Fitch is not going with the best of his times. In the last battle at UFC-127 against BJ Penn, the former champion of lightweight category, Fitch failed to take out a win and the match settled as a draw.

Undoubtedly Fitch is among the underrated fighters in MMA. He has managed to have only one defeat in the last 23 fights and that was against George Pierre, the current champion in welterweight category. Few months back, he expressed his wish to fight against the very best only and indicated his interest on a match-up with Nick Diaz. His wish was not granted by the UFC and a match was scheduled against Hendricks.

A shining future in UFC is expected for Hendricks but some doubt is there, whether he is presently ready to face the likes of Jon Fitch. Both these MMA fighters hold the potential of a solid wrestler, but Fitch is the one who should look to inflict his wish when they clash inside Octagon. Fitch is appearing the favorite here and he can easily grind Hendricks with a unanimous decision as he is doing so far.

Other interesting match-ups declared by the UFC match-makers are Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem, and Cung Le vs. Vitor Belford. But, the most rated among them is Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks. Hendricks would be excited about this tie as he managed a victory in his last match but Fitch would be disappointed and not that excited.

UFC headed for Japan?

Cagepotato.com is reporting that Dana White has pushed back adding the 125 weight division class to the UFC from late in 2011 and chosen instead to start up the pint size division at the beginning of next year.

Any number of reasons could factors for the date being pushed backwards. White and Co. might still be trying to pillage talent from other promotions such as Taichi Palace, known for being the home to several top flyweight’s from Brazil and America.

There’s also Japan to consider, a topic White has been free to talk about as of late. Several top ten flyweights com from the land of the rising sun and still fight there today, fighters such as Sherdog number one ranked Yasuhiro Urushitani, Mamoru Yamaguchi, Yuki Shojo, and Kiyotaka Shimazu. Zuffa may still be in talks with any number of these fighters.

There is also the consideration of the featherweight and bantamweight divisions brought into the UFC’s fold not even a year ago. The world’s pound for pound number one promotion might be tapping the breaks in order for the 135 and 145-ers to get the attention of the more casual fan base.

With the 125 class going to be added in a matter of months the Zuffa monopoly will have nearly complete domination of the sport and one has to wonder how long other shows like Bellator, MFC, Dream, and BAMMA will be able to hang around with a shark gobbling up all the competition.

“That’s what I’m hoping for. Chris is an exciting fighter, and he always brings the fight,” Hardy explains to Cagepotato.com. “I’m sure this fight won’t be any different. I’m always fine with trading punches until someone falls over…I like my odds in that gamble.”

The Outlaw goes on to say he not only wants Fight of the Night honors, a very possible outcome considering his competition, but the Knockout of the Night award as well. “My goal is to be the first person to knock Chris out. I’m not sure when it will come or how it will come, but I have a lot of options, a lot of techniques that would get him out of there before the final bell.” Should achieve his goal Hardy will undoubtedly save his job and pocket quite a nice bit of extra cash.

Chris Lytle doesn’t give anybody an easy night though. “Lights Out” (30-18-5) is perhaps one of the most likeable and durable fighters in the UFC, notoriously hard to finish with all but two losses by decision, and both of those were called early by the doctors. The Indianapolis born firefighter is as exciting as they come whether he fights on his feet or off his back. In total Lytle has won over 385,000 in bonus cash from eight award of the night performances, five of which were Fight of the Night.

Ever respectful, Lytle tells Sherdog that he sympathizes with Hardy, knowing that his opponenets back is against the wall, and will be happy to fight a cornered Outlaw. “He got beat by [Georges] St. Pierre in a long, grueling decision, and he got caught in a fight. He got caught by Carlos Condit. If you’re aggressive, that happens sometimes. Then Anthony Johnson, who’s probably one of the biggest guys in the division, decided not to throw down with him and just kind of held him down the whole time. He’s got a couple of tough losses in a row. You get a guy like that and he has his back against the wall, usually they come out and fight like … their life depends on it. I do like that aspect,” says Lytle. “I want somebody coming out guns a-blazing, trying to take me out. I think I’m going to get that. That’s all I can ask for.”

Whatever the outcome, the longtime UFC veteran’s goal is as crystal clear as Hardy’s. “If a submission comes, they come. But what I’m not going to do is go out there and try to take somebody down and if the guy’s playing a good submission game, just kind of sit there and ride it out and hold him down for three rounds. You’re not going to see that from me ever. … If I had the choice between winning the most boring fight of my life or losing the best fight of my life, I’m going to choose losing the best fight of my life every time. It’s not even going to be a question.”

Eniemo got the axe from Zuffa.

It would seem that Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem isn’t the only Golden Glory fighter who finds himself out of a job. As of Wednesday the prominent MMA and kickboxing champ’s coach Martin de Jong announced via twitter that former Strikeforce 135 pound champion Marloes Coenen (19-5), Alistair’s brother and veteran of the sport Valjentin Overeem (31-29), and grappling wizard John Olav Eniemo (6-2) have all been released from their Zuffa owned contracts following The Demolition Man’s departure.

Coenen is perhaps the most surprising of the trio of firings. Even though she is just 3-2 while fighting under the Strikeforce banner she lost her title less than a week ago and with her amazing come from behind submission victory against Liz Carmouche she was doing her part to bring name recognition to women’s MMA. Her release also begs the interesting question of whether or not Zuffa would have still let her go if she’d beaten Miesha Tate in Illinois and gone on to retain the belt.

Valjentin Overeem has fought a who’s who in the mixed martial arts scene. While he’s come up shorter than not, losing to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gary Goodridge, Igor Vovchanchyn, Gilbert Yvel, and most recently Chad Griggs, he also holds a few surprising victories to his name over the likes of Randy Couture, Renato Sobral, and Ray Sefo. With only a journeyman’s record and his last lost Dana White probably didn’t consider “The Python” to be as much of a loss as the other two Golden Glory fighters contracted with him.

John Olav Eniemo is considered elite ub terms of grappling, having beaten both Rolles and Roger Gracie in the ADCC grappling competitions and winning the 88 to 98kg weight class with a victory over Alexandre Ferreira.

In MMA, his has been stalled with long breaks. First going on a three year break due to a flesh eating bacteria that required surgery of his left foot, he came back to what was easily the toughest challenge to his career at that point, facing Fabricio Werdum at Pride 31 in 2006. Eniemo held his own, pulling the fight to a decision, but the judges all gave Werdum the nod. Scoring a victory over England’s own James Thompson later in the same year, Eniemo decided to go on a hiatus from the sport that lasted five years.

Never one to test the waters slowly, “The Viking” first called out  Shane Carwin, and the fight would have come to fruition if not for Brock Lesnar’s return of Diverticulitis forced Carwin to step in against Junior Dos Santos. Eniemo then went on fight the good fight they say during a TKO loss to Dave Herman which Eniemo was competitive throughout. The bout won fight of the night honors and the six foot six Norwegian is the first man in recent memory to be cut following that particular bonus.
While these losses aren’t significant to Zuffa it is still a sad state of affairs to see such deteriorations between a top camp and the Fertitta brothers.

Hopefully this will follow the route of the American Kickboxing Association where John Fitch refused to sign his likeness for the upcoming UFC video game and he, along with a few fighters from his camp, were temporarily released before being brought back into the fold.