UFC 141 Predictions: Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone Will Outshine Main Event

UFC 141 is set to take place on Friday night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. While the card is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem, there is another fight that will have UFC fans buzzing by the end of the night.

That match is the final undercard clash before Lesnar vs. Overeem and sees Nate Diaz facing Donald Cerrone in a lightweight battle. While Diaz and Cerrone's names may not carry the same weight as a superstar like Lesnar, the quality of the fight promises to be much better.

People may be drawn to the event because of Lesnar vs. Overeem, but casual fans will be compelled to keep watching UFC because of Diaz vs. Cerrone. Here are three reasons why Diaz/Cerrone will outshine the main event of Lesnar/Overeem. 

Lightweight Excitement

While the heavyweight division tends to harbor the bigger names in UFC since those fighters are more heavily promoted, the better fights usually come from lighter competitors.

This stems from a lot of different things.

For one, lightweights are a lot more mobile than heavyweights and they can do a lot more in terms of striking and submissions. This makes for a much more interesting bout as the combatants are more nimble.

Also, the technical aspects of the fight are often lost on heavyweights as many of them are one-dimensional. While Overeem is capable of knocking out his opponent or making him submit, Lesnar is more of a brawler.

Both Diaz and Cerrone are extremely well-rounded as fighters and can win matches in various ways. That element of surprise should make Diaz vs. Cerrone an excellent match. 

Length of Fight

One of the biggest issues with heavyweight fights is that many of them tend to be over in the blink of an eye. Although a quick knockout can certainly be exciting, people who spend their hard-earned money on a UFC pay-per-view want to get some bang for their buck.

However, that isn't likely to happen with Lesnar and Overeem. Lesnar has gone the distance just once in his career, while Overeem has achieved that feat five times in 47 fights.

Both Lesnar and Overeem tend to go for quick knockouts or submissions, so I would be quite surprised if they made it past the second round. Diaz and Cerrone have combined to go to the scorecards on 12 occasions in their careers.

While finishing all three rounds isn't necessarily the hallmark of a great fight, the probability of the fight being entertaining certainly goes up.

Diaz and Cerrone have each only lost by submission or knockout once, so their bout should go all the way.

Fight of the Night History

Each UFC card crowns a fight of the night. While it isn't always accurate and can sometimes be disputed, it is a pretty good barometer in terms of which fights were can't-miss in nature.

For comparison's sake, Lesnar and Overeem have fought 54 career bouts in total, and neither has ever been involved in a fight of the night. That is in stark contrast to Diaz and Cerrone.

Diaz had a fight of the night just last year in a submission win over Marcus Davis. He also had a three-fight streak across 2008 and 2009 in which he was involved in the fight of the night on each card.

Cerrone has had six fights of the night over the course of his career, as well as the Sherdog Fight of the Year against Benson Henderson in 2009.

While Diaz and Cerrone routinely compete in four or five-star bouts, Lesnar and Overeem rarely impress to that degree. Lesnar vs. Overeem should be entertaining due to the sheer physical presence of the competitors, but in terms of quality, Diaz vs. Cerrone will be far superior.