UFC 133 Fight Card: 6 Reasons You Must Watch This Event

UFC 133 takes place tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The card has unfortunately been plagued with injuries and many now believe it is one of the worst cards in recent memory. However, this is untrue.

Despite the loss of Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rich Franklin and Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes (as well as a few other fights), the card is certainly still worth watching.

Why? Read and find out!

The Potential Future at Featherweight

The first fight of the Spike TV preliminaries is set to be Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya.

Mendes was originally supposed to be in a title fight for Jose Aldo's featherweight championship but Aldo couldn't take the fight due to injuries.

Nevertheless, the fight will still be exciting and it will test the mettle and submission defense of Mendes since Yahya is an Abu Dhabi submission grappling tournament winner. Submission holds will likely be flying towards Mendes for the whole fight!

If Mendes wins the fight it's probable that he will be given a title shot against the winner of Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian, although it's difficult to say whether Yahya will be given the same treatment should he be victorious.

Thus this fight promises to be a close, fast-paced contest with possible title implications. How could you not want to watch?

Matt Hamill Faces Swedish Prospect Alexander Gustafsson

Matt "The Hammer" Hamill will be making his Octagon return after his disappointing, lopsided decision loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 130.

Hamill had his shot to prove that he was amongst the sport's elite but he couldn't capitalize.

Now Swedish prospect Alexander Gustafsson has been given a chance to do the same. A win over Hamill would prove that the 11-1 Gustafsson is no joke and that he is a force in the division.

Gustafsson has only gone to a decision once in his 11 victories; the rest of his fights were finished in the first or second round.

The Future at Welterweight

Rory Macdonald is the most highly touted prospect second only to Jon Jones. Why? Because he is only 11-1 (with the one loss being a controversial stoppage with only seven seconds to go in the fight) with wins over top competition and is only 22 years of age.

Macdonald also trains at the famous Tristar gym in Canada—where Georges St-Pierre calls home when not at Greg Jackson's in New Mexico—under Firas Zahabi.

Macdonald will put all his momentum on the line against the always dangerous Mike Pyle, who himself is no slouch. He is 8-2 in his past 10 and is on a three fight winning streak in which he managed to upset the "better" fighter who was being picked over him.

So will the young rookie prevail and be elevated into the next echelon or will the veteran show him a thing or two? The only way to find out is to watch.

Jorge Rivera vs. Costantinos Philippou

Jorge Rivera was originally supposed to face Italian striker Alessio Sakara but the fight was apparently not fated to be; it fell through for a third time due to Sakara injuring his knee.

To salvage the fight, Costantinos Philippou was brought up from his undercard match with Rafael Natal and was put in against Rivera.

This fight must be watched for two reasons.

First, both men are stand-up fighters who like to trade; it has a Fight of the Night award written all over it.

Second, Philippou is yet another prospect on this card and there has been significant buzz about him. A chance to see him in action shouldn't be passed up!

Vitor Belfort Returns

Vitor Belfort will be making his long-awaited return at UFC 133 against waning Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama.

If there is a fight that can possibly beat Rivera-Philippou for Fight of the Night, it's Belfort-Akiyama.

Despite being a highly regarded judo practitioner, Akiyama has preferred to stand and trade in his last three UFC fights with mixed results. He is 1-2 in his three fights for the UFC but all three of those fights have won fight of the night honors.

This contest definitely promises to be an exciting affair. Missing it would be a crime!

The Fate of the Light Heavyweight Division Is at Stake!

When Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz fight in the main event, at least one of them will be fighting for the right to face the winner of the title fight between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

While Ortiz hasn't been explicitly guaranteed a title shot should he be victorious, it's still a possibility.

In addition to the title implications, the fight will be fun to watch because fans will get to see the Tito Ortiz Cinderella story either continue or collapse.

Matt Saccaro is a Bleacher Report featured columnist and an avid MMA fan. For articles like the one above and for brilliant 140-character insights into MMA, follow him on Twitter @mattsaccaro.