This is it, fans and friends: the eleventh and final entry into my series “UFC 143 Complete Collection.”
Over the past few days, I’ve counted down and given my thoughts on every single fight from the UFC 143 card.
Overall, UFC 143 should be a fantastic event from top to bottom, and I think this series has given my readers a bunch of good reasons why I think that.
But the main reason why I’m so excited about UFC 143 is its main event: Nick Diaz taking on Carlos Condit for the UFC interim welterweight championship.
There’s nothing left to say other than, “Let’s do this!”
This is the finale of “UFC 143 Complete Collection.”
I could talk all day about why I’m a fan of Diaz. In fact, I did just that in an article that’s been posted across several websites.
Make no mistake, my status at the front of the bandwagon remains unchanged.
Since he first rose to fame and infamy in 2003, Diaz has been a lightning rod of controversy.
By now, we’ve all seen the footage: Diaz flips-off the fans, he flips-off his opponents, he smacks away cameras and talks trash constantly.
This footage is often juxtaposed with what Diaz does inside of the cage, which is break people down with some of the best boxing seen in MMA so far.
From Paul Daley to KJ Noons, from BJ Penn to Marius Zaromskis, from Scott Smith to Evangelista Santos, all those fighters and many more have all crumbled under a Diaz who has now fully realized his potential.
Currently, Diaz hasn’t been defeated in more than four years. He’s won eleven fights in that time period, finishing nine opponents.
In his return to the octagon, Diaz fought and defeated MMA legend and former two-division champion Penn, giving Penn one of the worst beatings of his career.
Diaz’s opponent, Condit, is a man who is both worlds apart and shockingly similar to Diaz. For the most part, Condit is soft-spoken and rarely has a bad word to say about anybody.
Unlike some other fighters who are good talkers and great fighters, Condit relies solely on his skills inside the cage to build his name value and his fanbase.
It’s a good thing for him he’s been one of the best, most underrated welterweights in the world for several years running.
Condit has won 12 out of his last 13 fights, taking his overall MMA record to a commandingly positive 27-5. That’s a better record than Diaz’s, by the way.
Condit is currently on a four-fight win-streak, a three-fight stoppage-streak, and has stopped his last two opponents in the first round.
Condit was the first man to ever knockout Dan Hardy, and he’s also the first man to ever knockout Dong Hyun Kim, giving Kim the first official loss of his career (a loss to Karo Parisyan would end up being overturned after Parisyan tested positive for banned painkillers).
I don’t think it’s unrealistic to say that either fighter could finish this fight in the first round.
My early prediction for this fight is simple: it’ll be our first real Fight of the Year contender, regardless of how long it lasts.
As a Diaz super fan, I will, of course, be cheering him on and hoping he wins. I know Diaz can win this fight, but so can Condit.
This is definitely one of those fights that absolutely should not be missed.
And that’s that! With all that said, “UFC 143 Complete Collection” officially draws to a close.
I’d like to thank you once more for reading, fans and friends, and I hope you’ll be right alongside me when I sit down to watch UFC 143 in breathless anticipation.
Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.
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