UFC 142 Fight Card: 3 Underdogs That Will Pull off Upsets in Brazil

Everyone loves an underdog.

When all the odds are stacked against a man, winning becomes that much more sweet, and there's nothing the fans love more than seeing the unexpected. MMA is a sport where there are plenty of underdogs, and watching an upset can be one of the most exciting things to witness in the sport.

Whether it be by surprise submission, knockout or just a thorough beat-down—as we saw at UFC 141 with Jim Hettes and Nam Phan—fans love seeing the underdog pull off the upset.

Heading into UFC 142's card, there are a few fighters facing unfavorable odds that just might be able to pull off the upset.

Carlo Prater

Carlo Prater comes into a welterweight bout against Erick Silva as a heavy underdog (plus-350 if you are into lines). Prater is a late injury replacement for Siyar Bahadurzada, who was set to make his Octagon debut.

Prater, a journeyman who has never fought in the UFC, is largely an unknown, but has a wealth of experience with 40 professional fights to his name. Prater's record of 29-10-1 may not be all that impressive, but he is riding a four-fight winning streak and owns 16 submission victories. This includes a first-round triangle-choke of welterweight title challenger Carlos Condit, albeit way back in 2004.

Silva is an up-and-comer with an impressive 13-1 record coming off of a stunning 40-second knockout in his UFC debut against Luis Ramos.

While Silva is definitely deserving of being the favorite, Prater does have an edge in experience and a dangerous submission game, which could make for a more interesting match than anticipated.

Terry Etim

Predictably, most of the underdogs for UFC 142 are non-Brazilian fighters. Last time the UFC came to Brazil at UFC 134, Brazilians went 6-1 against non-Brazilians on the night.

One non-Brazilian with a chance in his fight is Terry Etim, who takes on undefeated prospect Edson Barboza.

Barboza is 9-0, including a 3-0 start in the UFC since debuting at UFC 123 with a knockout win over Mike Lullo. Barboza fought at UFC 134, where he took Ross Pearson to a split-decision victory.

At UFC 142, Barboza might not have as much luck against another British opponent. Despite being a heavy underdog, Etim has a clear advantage on the ground.

Etim has 12 submission victories in his career and has only been taken to decision three times. He will also have the advantage of experience, as he has fought in the UFC nine times.

Etim has also never been knocked out, so he should be able to weather Barboza's striking and at least challenge him on the ground at some point. That's a challenge that Etim can win.

Chad Mendes

The main event at UFC 142 could be an early candidate for "upset of the year" when Jose Aldo puts his belt on the line against Chad "Money" Mendes.

Aldo, one of the pound-for-pound best in the sport, has yet to have a finish in the UFC while defending his belt twice since the WEC-UFC merger. He may look for the finish here, but underestimating Mendes would be a big mistake.

While Aldo has proved tricky to take down and even more tricky to keep down, should someone successfully take him down, Mendes might just be the guy for the job.

In Aldo's last title defense against Kenny Florian, he showed that his explosiveness can be negated with the clinch and wrestling, but Florian was unable to keep up the pace for the duration of the fight and seemed content to ride out a decision loss.

While Florian was fighting far from his natural weight class and was drained from his weight cut, Mendes is very comfortable at 145 lbs. and will look to clinch Aldo up against the cage, wear him out and take him down.

If Mendes comes in with the right game plan and is able to execute without letting Aldo go off, he stands a great chance at pulling off the upset.