UFC 143 Fight Card: Fan Favorite Roy Nelson Will Demolish Fabricio Werdum

Roy "Big Country" Nelson is undoubtedly a fan favorite, and he's going to give his fans a treat, with a big time smackdown of Fabricio Werdum.

It's not going to be an easy task, but if there's a fighter I trust to come up and dominate in the big moments it's "Big Country."

The problem is that Nelson is going to be facing Fabricio Werdum, who is an absolute beast in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Jiu-Jitsu is all about submission, and the more time you can spend on your back, on the ground, the better. It may seem like an illogical way to go about things, but believe me: It is very effective.

Werdum is going to be looking to get Nelson on the ground: where Nelson can't plant his feet and throw haymakers, which he is very good at. Once he gets him there, Werdum has a plethora of holds and chokes that he uses to perfection.

One look at Nelson would make you believe that he's not really a nimble man, even though he's dropped weight, so how is he going to be able to slug it out with a fighter who would rather get on his back and technically submit a guy?

Brian Linder of TheTandD.com reports that Nelson would welcome taking the fight to ground:

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To get to that next step though, the heavy handed Nelson will almost certainly have to keep the fight standing.

"If Fabricio takes me down, I welcome that because that means that he's not punching me, and I can punch him more," Nelson said. "But, I think, our fight, stylistically, he prefers the ground game when he knows he can dominate the guy on the ground. I think that is why he lost the last fight. He was trying to bait Overeem into the ground game. That is what he wanted, but Overeem wasn't playing it. I think he baited Fedor into it, and that is how he got the triangle choke.

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How do I see Nelson dominating this fight? Linder said it best, he needs to keep the fight from going to the ground.

Nelson is still a big man, and he's a great fighter, so I expect he's going to do everything he can to keep his distance, and not allow Werdum to get him on his back and take guard.

If he does end up on the ground though, he is an excellent grappler, and has the ability to be very dangerous.

Nelson is a dual threat, and he's got weight to throw around. In a bout that features a specialist fighter or one that can do a little bit of everything, I will take the multifaceted fighter every time.

I expect Roy "Big Country" Nelson to demolish the very technical Werdum.

Fight Card:

Diaz vs. Condit

Nelson vs. Werdum

Koscheck vs. Pierce

Barao vs. Jorgensen

Herman vs. Starks