UFC 133: Ranking the 5 Best Fighters on the Preliminary Card

UFC 133 will feature all of its preliminary fights on Facebook and Spike TV tomorrow night.

Facebook will stream four bouts, including Rafael Natal vs. Paul Bradley, Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan, Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce and Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace. They begin at 5:45 p.m ET.

Spike TV will broadcast Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya and Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson. They begin at 8 p.m. ET.

Hamill is coming off his decision loss to Quinton Jackson while Gustafsson is currently on a two-fight win streak.

Also, a title shot may be on the line for featherweight Chad Mendes.

The PPV will feature Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans in a rematch of a 2007 bout that resulted in a draw. Also on the main card are Yoshihiro Akiyama and Vitor Belfort as well as Rory MacDonald and Jorge Rivera.

No. 5: Mike Pierce (12-3)

Welterweight Mike Pierce is 12-3 overall and 3-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming at the hands of No. 2 ranked WW Jon Fitch.

Outside of BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre, you could argue he gave Fitch his toughest fight in the UFC.

His victories inside the Octagon include Kenny Robertson, Amilcar Alves and Julio Paulino.

His wrestling-oriented style of fighting makes for a tough fight for anyone. His opponent at UFC 133 will be another standout wrestler in Johny Hendricks.

No. 4: Johny Hendricks (10-1)

Johny Hendricks is a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion and is 10-1 overall with a 5-1 record in the UFC.

His UFC fights include wins over Charlie Brenneman, TJ Waldburger, TJ Grant, Amir Sadollah and Ricardo Funch. He is primarily a wrestler who uses takedowns to overpower his opponents while looking for the finish.

Hendricks' only loss was to Ricky Story in a competitive fight last year. He lost a close decision but rebounded earlier this year with a win over Waldburger.

He takes on Mike Pierce on the Facebook preliminary portion of the card.

No. 3: Alexander Gustafsson (11-1)

Alexander Gustafsson is a Swedish fighter in the light heavyweight division. The 24-year-old has a record of 11-1, with his only defeat coming at the hands of Phil Davis.

He has victories over James Te-Huna, Jared Hamman and Cyrille Diabate. He made his UFC debut in 2009 when he defeated Hamman by knockout 41 seconds into Round 1.

He takes on late replacement Matt Hamill (10-3). The fight will be broadcast on the Spike TV portion of the card.

Gustafsson was considered as a replacement to face Rich Franklin in the co-main event but Franklin declined the fight as Gustafsson isn’t a big-name opponent.

“The Mauler” is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has trained with teams Stockholm Shoot, Gladius MMA and Alliance MMA.

No. 2: Matt Hamill (10-3)

Matt Hamill is the most experienced fighter on the preliminary card by a long shot.

He has competed against the very best in the UFC, including Jon Jones, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Mark Munoz and Michael Bisping.

"The Hammer's" only wins out of that group came against Ortiz, Jardine and Munoz. He also had a victory over Jones but it was a controversial disqualification after Jones landed an illegal elbow.

Hamill is a late replacement for an injured Vladimir Matyushenko, who was originally scheduled to face Gustafsson.

No. 1: Chad Mendes (10-0)

Chad Mendes is widely considered to be a top two or three featherweight fighter, and he is just one or two fights away from a title shot.

Mendes hasn't had any exposure in the UFC and his four WEC fights were all on preliminary cards as well.

Mendes is currently undefeated in MMA at 10-0. He is a former NCAA Division I wrestler and finished his collegiate wrestling career with a 64-14 record.

He will be taking on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rani Yahya in the opening bout on Spike TV.