Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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Tonight we have a rare Friday night pay per view event being put on by The Ultimate Fighting Championship. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is the host to the card that will put a cap on 2011. It’s been a great year to be a mixed martial arts fan and tonight should be the icing on the cake.

I’m sure I have said this many times before and pretty sure I’ll say it again in the future, but there are three unbelievable fights tonight, must see scraps in my humble opinion.

The main event is a huge heavyweight fight that will determine the number one contender for Junior Dos Santos’ belt. Two of the biggest and baddest dudes around will step foot into the octagon looking to put a beating on the other and make their claim as the legit guy in the division.

Brock Lesnar is simply a freak of nature. The man is a beast. He’s currently 5-2 in his young MMA career, yet he’s already been the UFC champion. His opponent tonight hold a 35-11-1 mixed martial arts record with many more professional kickboxing fights. Alistair Overeem makes his UFC debut tonight coming over from Strikeforce. Nothing like a greeting from a 265 pound monster who walks around closer to 300 pounds.

There will be two very different gameplans tonight. Lesnar wants and needs this fight to be on the mat, the longer the fight is standing, the bigger advantage Overeem will have. I expect a super aggressive Lesnar coming in and looking for a takedown within ten seconds.  Brock has dominating wrestling and his striking is solid but not close to the level of Alistair.

The one hole in Overeem’s game is his takedown defense. That’s not a good thing when you’re stepping in with a guy like Brock Lesnar. I expect leg kicks, knees, and elbow strikes right away to try and prevent Lesnar from bumrushing him.

A lot of people are excited for this fight and I’m one of them. Lesnar is a guy you either love or hate and I’m not a huge fan. He’s great for the sport because he draws people in, there is no doubt about that. His skill set is limited but he has been improving, we’ll see just how much this evening.  He's a +115 underdog at most of the online sportsbooks review.

Alistair Overeem is a phenomenal striker, probably the best in the heavyweight division. He is also a very experienced guy which I feel can be the big difference in this one. I seem to always pick against Lesnar, why stop now? I like Overeem to punish Lesnar with kicks and punches and simply ware him down. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brock pummeled him like he did Frank Mir in the past. It’ll be fun to see how it all plays out.

The co-main event takes place at 155 pounds. Nate Diaz and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone are going to throw down.  These dudes do not like each other at all and that can make for a really entertaining battle.

With the full steam ahead, action packed styles these fighters have, this is a perfect candidate for fight of the night, and possibly of the year.

I’m a huge Cowboy fan, he brings energy and intensity every single time he gets in the cage. He continues to get better and can beat you standing or with his slick submission game. Diaz will throw everything at him tonight and possibly has the advantage on the ground.

I see a fifteen minute street fight coming. I love submissions, grappling, transitions, and throws as much as the next guy but I would love if all of that got thrown out the window and these two just went toe to toe.  This is going to be something special.

Jon Fitch just wins fights, unless he fights GSP. Fitch is considered one of the most unentertaining guys in the sport. He dominates with his wrestling, takes his opponent down, and beats them up for three rounds.  Win another victory, he could possibly be in line for another title shot.

Fitch steps in tonight with another one of my favorite fighters, Johny Hendricks.

Hendricks is a quiet 11-1 compared to Fitch who sits at 26-3-1. Both guys have awesome wrestling and come from great division one schools. Not too many people are giving Hendricks a shot this evening. I like Johny a lot in this matchup. He has a ton of motivation to prove himself, his hand speed is off the charts, and his chin might be his best asset.

Jon Fitch is one of those guys that toy always pick against and then you lose. Well, I’m picking against him tonight and I expect a Johny Hendrick victory. Don’t be surprised when it happens.

Full fight card:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
• Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz
• Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Jim Hettes vs. Nam Phan

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

• Junior Assuncao vs. Ross Pearson
• Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Njokuani

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson
• Efrain Escudero vs. Jacob Volkmann
• Luis Ramos vs. Matt Riddle
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes

Three unbelievable fights and eight others that aren’t slouches. UFC 141 is going to finish off a great year of mixed martial arts action in grand finale style. I expect fireworks, highlight reel knockouts, and excellent submissions tonight. Tune in, you’ll love it.