UFC 143: 5 Things We Will NOT See Tonight

UFC 143 is underway, with the main card coming to you later tonight live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit face off for the Interim UFC Welterweight Title on top of a card where Fabricio Werdum returns against Roy Nelson, Josh Koscheck butts heads with Mike Pierce, Renan Barao faces Scott Jorgensen and Ed Herman welcomes Clifford Starks to primetime.

There's a lot to be expected tonight at UFC 143, but alas, there are a lot of things that can be forgotten about.

What follows are five of the things you can forget about seeing at UFC 143 tonight.

A Show Without a Look at Stephen Thompson

For those of you who didn't see Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson fight yet, I'll let the FX prelims and the main pay-per-view card take care of letting you know how his fight went, but the buzz around the kid started when news spread of his 62-0 kickboxing record (including his amateur record).

The kid stuck one foot in the door, and for those of you who want to see what he did with the other foot, you can expect to somehow see it before this night is over.

Trust me when I tell you, you are going to LOVE what this kid can do.

A Fight That Helps Us Forget That Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway Are Fighters

Dustin Poirier is the man who opened 2011 by derailing the momentum train of Josh Grispi, and he ended it by way of a submission win over Pablo Garza.

He was supposed to get Erik Koch on this card after calling him out, but Koch withdrew due to injury and 4-0 Max Holloway stepped in.

We've seen some crazy stuff happen when prospects have taken fights on short notice and done more than impress the masses against established UFC upstarts, much like when Poirier debuted against Grispi.

Could we see a bit of deja vu (or the reverse thereof) when the two collide later on tonight?

One thing is for sure: we're not likely to forget these two when all is said and done.

A Jiu-Jitsu Clinic from Mike Pierce or Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck and Mike Pierce have thrown barbs at each other, and if you can believe it, Mike Pierce has even mocked Koscheck in the weeks leading up to this fight.

Now we know that both guys are great wrestlers, and both can land heavy shots as well as submit people if the opportunity is there (at least, Koscheck can).

However, when we watch this fight, we shouldn't expect the Welterweight version of how some of us might predict a hypothetical Jacare Souza-Rousimar Palhares ADCC final to turn out.

Both are good wrestlers and can ground and pound, but neither should be expected to show of anything relevant to a grappling classic if this one hits the ground.

The Old (looking) Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson is 246 pounds as of the weigh in last night, which is probably the lightest he's ever weighed in under the UFC banner, and Fabricio Werdum weighed in the same.

When Nelson fought Mirko Cro Cop, the one thing that served as the Upset of the Night was the fact that Nelson looked quite normal.

Imagine him tonight at 246 pounds and looking like the average MMA Heavyweight.

Scared yet?

Don't be. It's "Big Country" we're talking about, dude.

A Main Event That's Boring

This goes without an explanation or any form of saying, but y'all are cool, so I'll say it like so:

Styles make fights, and Diaz's style clashes with Condit's in a way that has many calling this an early "Fight of The Year" contender.

Remember, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen was seen as the Fight of 2010, but Diaz put up a brutal five-round showdown with KJ Noons that same year, so we know Diaz can turn the heat up when it counts while fighting intelligently enough so that fans can see just about every aspect of the sport.

If you're seriously thinking Condit is going to try and outwrestle (read: "Fitch") Diaz for five rounds without trying to give the crowd what they want to see, you might just have a bad taste in your mouth when this one is done.

Get used to the idea of Diaz and Condit fighting to the finish with everything they have, even when it looks obvious that they're running on some fumes.

They're not stopping until they've left no doubt that they are the men to beat Georges St-Pierre.

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