UFC 143 featured a bantamweight bout between Scott Jorgensen and a rising contender in Renan Barao, who defeated the former UFC title challenger after three rounds.

The judges scored the fight unanimously with 30-27 scorecards across the board.

What we’ll remember from this fight:

It wasn’t a fight for Barao to display his finishing ability, but it was one for him to get a solid victory over a well-respected and credible bantamweight opponent.

He did that and looked impressive in doing so by utilizing jabs, straight right hands and spinning back kicks.

What we learned about Renan Barao:

Barao made a splash in his UFC debut by defeating Brad Pickett in the very first round, and, although this fight didn’t have a finish, it was one that wasn’t supposed to.

It was a fight for Barao to go three rounds and know what it’s like to go the distance against a top-10 bantamweight.

“I came here to fight three rounds,” Barao said in the post-fight interview. ”I was very well prepared.”

What we learned about Scott Jorgensen:

Jorgensen has always had trouble when he couldn’t get his opponents down. Barao’s takedown defense was good enough to stop any takedown attempts he had, and he had no choice but to stand and trade for the majority of the bout.

He still lacks a varied standup attack, and that is something that was prevalent in his loss to Dominick Cruz as well.

What’s next for Barao:

Since Cruz is tied up in defending his title against Urijah Faber, Barao will have to face another contender before he gets a title shot.

This can come against the winner of the upcoming Miguel Torres/Michael McDonald bout.

What’s next for Jorgensen:

Even though he his now coming off a loss, a fight versus Mike Easton, who recently defeated Jared Papazian, could be very interesting and exciting. The bantamweight division isn’t stacked, but it does have a fair share of up-and-comers who have to be tested.

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Mike Pierce enters what is perhaps the biggest opportunity of his career as an underdog yet again, at UFC 143.

Carlos Condit was expected to face Josh Koscheck, but now Pierce gets a career-changing opportunity to create a huge upset.

Everywhere you look, Koscheck holds a distinct advantage. Whether it be striking or grappling, Pierce has an uphill battle.

Pierce will have a tough time taking the much more agile and athletic Koscheck down. Pierce needs to get lucky and there is no better way to say it.

If Pierce can land a punch right on Koscheck’s button and come at him with a flurry of punches, Pierce will win the battle.

He needs to make something happen and create his own opportunity to win the fight, whether it be standing or on the ground.

There is something that gives Pierce a fighting chance here, and that is the fact that he has yet to be stopped in his MMA career.

It’ll be hard for Koscheck to stop Pierce. That is something that will help Pierce. Being able to ride the storm he could see Koscheck gas. Although highly unlikely, Pierce does have that opportunity.

At the end of the night, Pierce is David here and Koscheck is Goliath. More unlikely things have happened in fights, and Pierce has been on the better side of those unlikely fights.

Luck could be on his side tonight, and with that he could pull off the biggest upset so far in 2012.

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Strikeforce transplant Fabricio Werdum will be making his anticipated return to the Octagon later tonight, as the Brazilian will take on Roy Nelson in the co-main event for UFC 143.

Cutting his teeth under the now defunct Pride organization, Werdum bested many formidable opponents based solely upon his world renowned jiu-jitsu skills.

A black belt under Master Sylvio Behring, Werdum notched victories over Tom Erickson, Jon-Olav Einemo, Alexander Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem—who recently became the No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight title with a first round knockout of Brock Lesnar.

His submission acumen is cause for concern. However, Werdum has now enlisted the aid of the famed Rafael Cordeiro—the former head coach of the Chute Boxe Academy which has produced fighters such as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Wanderlei Silva and pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva.

Under the watchful eye of Cordeiro—who now runs Kings MMA out of Huntington Beach, California—Werdum’s striking has improved by leaps and bounds which was visible even in his loss to the aforementioned Overeem. Overeem is a revered kickboxer who earned the prestigious K-1 World Grand Prix title in 2010.

Werdum’s initial run in the UFC was cut short thanks to Junior dos Santos, who knocked out his fellow countryman in the first round with a powerful uppercut. The “Vai Cavalo” we saw then would barely be able to hold a candle to the man that he has evolved into today.

Continuing to plug away in his striking skills whilst keeping his submission skills sharp, Werdum could very well ascend the heavyweight ranks and finally make a run for the belt. “Big Country” is his first test towards reaching the top of the division. 

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Courtesy of :Bleacher Report – UFC