UFC 141: What happened when Brock Lesnar made his long-awaited return to the Octagon?

The biggest drawing card in UFC history (at that point) versus the UFC's highest-profile signing of the year was every bit the dream match and it showed at the box office with a massive 780,000 people purchasing the event on pay per view.

This marked Lesnar's return after his comprehensive loss of the Heavyweight Championship versus Cain Velasquez 14 months earlier at UFC 121.

It was Alistair Overeem's first-ever appearance inside the Octagon; incredible really given the Dutch fighter had been competing in MMA since 1999.

It was heavily hyped but the headline match was not much of a contest. Lesnar still appeared to be suffering from the after-effects of his devastating diverticulitis illness which had greatly sapped his power and negatively affected his cardiovascular conditioning.

The bout lasted less than three minutes as Overeem dominated Lesnar with huge strikes which rocked the former Heavyweight Champion. A huge leg kick sent Lesnar falling to the mat and hammer fists ended the fight in double quick fashion.

Lesnar and Overeem circle each other in the main event

Lesnar announced his MMA retirement after the fight (at least until UFC 200) and he returned to WWE three months later. Could Lesnar square off with Overeem again in 2019? It could happen if Lesnar does, in fact, return as is heavily rumoured and perhaps would likely be a much closer contest.

The co-main event saw Nate Diaz clash with the "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone. As the headliner, this was a one-sided bout, however one that nonetheless went the distance.

Diaz looked superb and Cerrone had no answer to his awesome combinations. Cerrone, in fact, showed a fantastic heart to avoid been knocked out because he could not land anything on Diaz offensively. Your winner by Unanimous Decision: Nate Diaz.

Nate Diaz rocks the "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone

In another one-sided contest, big hitter Johnny Hendricks lined up against former Welterweight title contender, Jon Fitch. Fitch threw a big right but missed and Hendricks clocked with him with a left hand which knocked him clean out. That took all of 12 seconds and shot Hendricks into title contention.

Alexander Gustafsson defeated Vladimir Matyushenko in just over two minutes. The pair circled each other in the early going before exchanging leg kicks. Gustafsson picked his spot and crushed Matyushenko with a stinging left hand and followed up with punches for the TKO win.

The opening bout of the main card saw Jimy Hettes turn back the challenge of Nam Phan in emphatic fashion. Hettes dominated the encounter him from start to finish, inside the clinch, standing and on the ground. It was as dominating a decision victory as you are ever likely to see.

UFC 141 was a curious show as all main card bouts were overwhelmingly one-sided with not one competitive outing between them. There was entertainment to be had though particularly in the top two attractions.