UFC 143: Why Fabricio Werdum Will Have No Problems Against Roy Nelson

At UFC 143, former UFC contender Fabricio Werdum will make his return to the octagon more than three years after his previous fight, a knockout loss to now Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos, to fight "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 10 alum Roy "Big Country" Nelson.

Werdum enters the bout looking to avenge a disappointing decision loss at the hands of current number one contender Alistair Overeem back in June, where Werdum spent time begging Overeem to come into his guard, hoping to utilize his world class jiu-jitsu. Before that, he had pulled off the upset of the year in 2010 when he submitted Fedor Emelianenko in 69 seconds.

Nelson is looking to pick up his 2nd straight win after a 3rd round TKO victory over Mirko Cro Cop back at UFC 137 in late October. Before that, Nelson lost two straight decisions to Junior Dos Santos and Frank Mir.

Werdum should enter this fight as a solid betting favorite, and for solid reasons.

"Vai Cavalo" has won five of his last seven fights, four of those coming by way of TKO or submission, and for his career, he's beaten Emelianenko, Gabriel Gonzaga (twice), and Overeem (back in 2006).

Nelson is 3-4 in his last seven fights, his toughest win coming at either the hands of Stefan Struve or Brendan Schaub. You decide who's a tougher test. Those two might be the toughest wins of his career, as his other victories include Brad Imes and a well-past-his-prime Cro Cop.

Nelson has shown great ability to take a punch, as shown in his fights with Mir and Dos Santos, but Werdum will, like Mir, possess a great balance of power and submissions, and Nelson lost the fight to Mir decisively by decision, as he will this fight on February 4th as well.