Alistair Overeem promised his fight with Brock Lesnar wouldn’t last too long.

He was right, but he shouldn’t have been so conservative. Overeem finished the former UFC heavyweight champion in just two minutes, 26 seconds, battering Lesnar with knees, kicks and punches to win by first-round knockout.

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The win sets up Overeem, a former Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 champion, for a shot at the UFC title held by Junior dos Santos.

Lesnar had no shot, as he was unable to deal with Overeem’s varied strikes. After the fight, he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

“I’m going to officially say tonight is the last time you’ll see me in the Octagon,” Lesnar said. Later, he added, “Brock Lesnar is officially retired.”

Lesnar went for a single-leg takedown, but Overeem easily shook it off. Overeem hurt Lesnar with a knee to the body early, but finished the fight with a great kick to the midsection. Lesnar winced in pain and backed to the cage. Overeem rushed in and rained punches on him until referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight.

Overeem Vs. Dos Santos is another monster fight to look forward to in the coming year. As for Brock, did a great service bringing in a larger viewing audience for the UFC.