Author: Jordy McElroy

UFC: Carlos Condit Loses Shot at Title Not Once but Twice

The world is buzzing about the upcoming championship showdown between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.But Carlos Condit is in disbelief, due to the biggest opportunity of his life being taken from him twice in the same month.The former WEC welterweight…

The world is buzzing about the upcoming championship showdown between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.

But Carlos Condit is in disbelief, due to the biggest opportunity of his life being taken from him twice in the same month.

The former WEC welterweight champion was originally slated to face St-Pierre for the UFC title at UFC 137, but an injury in training forced St-Pierre to withdraw from the bout.

UFC President Dana White decided to postpone the title and ensured Condit would get his shot at a later date.

With the St-Pierre and Condit bout postponed, the welterweight showdown between Diaz and B.J. Penn was named main event of UFC 137.

Leading up to the fight, there was talk coming out of Diaz’s camp about the former Strikeforce champion surpassing Condit as the No. 1 contender, depending on his performance against Penn.

Still, White assured Condit his spot was safe.

Regardless of the outcome of the Diaz-Penn bout, Condit would still be facing St-Pierre for the world title.

On fight night, Diaz impressed the MMA world, picking Penn to pieces in the second and third rounds and earning a unanimous decision.

At the end of the fight, Diaz grabbed the microphone and issued a challenge both St-Pierre and the UFC could not refuse.

“Where you at Georges? Where you at mother (expletive)?,” yelled Diaz. “I don’t think Georges is hurt, I think he’s scared. I think he’s scared to fight everybody right now.”

According to White, St-Pierre “flipped out” over Diaz’s comments. He pleaded for the bout with Diaz, and it didn’t take long for the UFC to cave.

At the post-fight press conference, White handed Diaz a shot at the UFC title.

“Nick needs motivation. He’s got it. He’s going to fight Georges St-Pierre,” White said. “Carlos Condit has agreed to step aside and get the next guy. [St-Pierre] said, I quote, ‘[Diaz] is the most disrespectful human being I’ve ever met, and I’m going to put the worst beating you’ve ever seen on him in the UFC.'”

Who turns down a UFC title shot?

Not Carlos Condit, according to agent Malki Kawa, who issued a statement to Inside MMA.

“We are obviously disappointed in the UFC’s decision to cancel its commitment with Carlos Condit to give another fighter an opportunity at the welterweight title based on emotional reactions from UFC 137.”

“Contrary to what has been stated, Carlos did not step aside to allow this to happen, and would not just hand over an opportunity for him to achieve his greatest career goal, one that he has earned through strong performances in the Octagon. No option was given to him.”

“For the second time in less than two weeks, Carlos has had an opportunity swept out from beneath his feet. He has shown nothing but pure class in his drive to the title, and will continue to do so.”

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Chael Sonnen Calls Silva a Tattletale, Tells Him to Surrender UFC Title or Else

Chael Sonnen may sound like a broken record at times, but the song won’t stop playing until Anderson Silva steps up and accepts the proposed rematch. The former middleweight title contender spoke with Karyn Bryant of MMA H.E.A…

Chael Sonnen may sound like a broken record at times, but the song won’t stop playing until Anderson Silva steps up and accepts the proposed rematch.

The former middleweight title contender spoke with Karyn Bryant of MMA H.E.A.T. about Silva ducking and Vitor Belfort’s challenge.

Coming off a submission win over Brian Stann at UFC 136, Sonnen has turned up the heat in his verbal warfare with Silva. The talk is an attempt to rile Silva and get him fired about a possible rematch of the memorable UFC 117 clash, where Sonnen was submitted in the final round after dominating the entire bout.

“I know he’s ducking and running,” Sonnen said. “I call him out, he stays in his seat. Look, he’s not from a culture that does that. You challenge a Brazilian to a fight, you’re going to be fighting him. It’s much like me. You challenge me to a fight, you’re not going to do it twice because we will be fighting right now.”

“I call him out, and he covers his mouth like a little fancy boy. I mean what is that? If Joe Rogan hadn’t taken the mic out of my hand, what I would’ve said is, ‘Anderson, I want your answer. If you accept my terms, I’ll wait until February, and if you don’t, I’m going to whip your ass right here in Houston right now.'”

Silva will face Sonnen, but he feels he shouldn’t have to fight someone so “disrespectful.” He even had a discussion about Sonnen’s antics with UFC President Dana White, who basically suggested the middleweight champion get in the cage and do something about it.

“I say stuff about Anderson in an attempt to pick a fight, and he goes and tattles on me! He calls Dana and tattles on me and says, ‘This is what Chael just said. Can you believe it?’ I think Dana is in the same spot as me going, ‘Well Anderson, we can do something about that. If you’ve got a problem with this guy, as it turns out in this industry, I can help you do something about that,'” Sonnen said.

“He called out Michael Bisping. When you’re the champion, you don’t call people out. You get called out. When you’re the champion, you take on all comers. You don’t point your finger like this is a Don King promotion, and we’re trying to protect guys.”

With the Silva fight up in the air, Belfort has called out Sonnen for a potential middleweight showdown to ultimately prove the rightful No. 1 contender for the UFC title. The possibility of this fight going down is currently dead in the water with Belfort accepting a UFC 142 bout against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

Still, Sonnen is definitely up for the challenge if Belfort wants to meet somewhere down the line.

“Unlike Anderson, I will fight you Vitor,” Sonnen said. “If you want a piece of me, it’s as simple as just say my name. I’m like Destiny’s Child. Say my name baby, just say my name. I’ll be there.”

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Chael Sonnen: "Alistair Overeem is Not a Very Good Fighter"

The world has been buzzing about Alistair Overeem’s UFC arrival for over a month.This is baffling to former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen, who doesn’t seem too impressed with “The Reem’s” body of work.”(Overeem) is built for show, not for g…

The world has been buzzing about Alistair Overeem’s UFC arrival for over a month.

This is baffling to former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen, who doesn’t seem too impressed with “The Reem’s” body of work.

“(Overeem) is built for show, not for go. He’s made for a poster, he looks like he’s made out of clay. I understand all of that stuff,” Sonnen said on ESPN’s MMA Live.

“He’s not a very good fighter, and as far as the K-1 being this great striking event, the K-1 is a striking-only event. If you’re in the K-1, you’re only allowed to strike, but I’ve never seen a great striker there. I could discredit the K-1 with two syllables––Bob Sapp.”

Before signing with the UFC, Overeem held multiple world titles including the Strikeforce heavyweight title, Dream heavyweight title and K-1 World Grand Prix title.

Apparently, Sonnen isn’t impressed with the latter, which is the primary reason fans have backed the resurging heavyweight over the years.

Overeem made history by being the only fighter in combat sports to hold a world title in MMA and K-1 at the same time.

There are still plenty of critics surrounding Overeem, but he’ll get an opportunity to silence some of them at UFC 141, when he meets former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in what is sure to be a blockbuster main event.

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UFC: Nick Diaz Claims BJ Penn Is a Better Fighter Than GSP

There’s a silver lining in every bad situation.After being yanked from his previously-scheduled title bout with Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz firmly believes he drew a much tougher opponent in former two-division champion BJ Penn.”I think BJ is a lot be…

There’s a silver lining in every bad situation.

After being yanked from his previously-scheduled title bout with Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz firmly believes he drew a much tougher opponent in former two-division champion BJ Penn.

“I think BJ is a lot better to be honest with you, on a technical standpoint. He’s much better at Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, even on a physical level I wouldn’t count him out,” Diaz said on a media conference call. “I don’t think he should be fighting at this weight. I think he’s a much better fighter than GSP all around.”

Diaz was initially set to face St-Pierre at UFC 137, but he was removed from the bout after missing two scheduled pre-fight press conferences. Welterweight contender Carlos Condit took his place, and Diaz was demoted to the co-main event to face another MMA legend and former training partner.

“I’m not happy about it at all. I’m fighting a guy that’s my friend, or was my friend, and now I’m fighting this guy,” Diaz said. “I’ll be set to fight. I signed to fight a certain guy [St-Pierre]. I thought we had a deal. That’s kind of where I’m at on it.”

Instead of challenging St-Pierre for the UFC title, Diaz will now face Penn, who is coming off a first-round knockout win over UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and a draw with perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch.

In MMA, it’s tough to compete against friends, training partners or family members.

Still, Diaz understands what’s at stake. If he gets past Penn, he will likely be rewarded with another title shot against the winner of St-Pierre and Condit.

“I’m going to deal with it. This is hard times, just like it’s been. I’m not expecting it to get any easier,” Diaz said. “This definitely doesn’t make it any easier. I don’t like fighting people that I already know, or I’ve already met, or trained with, or have video on me. We’ve spent a lot of time training together. It’s kind of shady feelings going into fights like that. I’m just doing what my manager says.”

Diaz is focused on the job at hand, and he plans on going into UFC 137 and defeating Penn. Even so, he is still upset at the fact that St-Pierre won’t be standing across from him.

For months, Diaz has talked about facing St-Pierre, and when he finally was awarded the opportunity, he let it slip through his hands.

St-Pierre may be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but Diaz feels like he has the tools to topple the champion and take his place among MMA’s all-time greats.

“I think I have the right skills and the right tools to do the job in that fight. I don’t know if this fight is going to make me come off any better or worse,” Diaz said. “I know that I think that Georges comes out; he’s a little bigger than BJ size-wise, so he’s able to hold BJ and stall for the rounds. I don’t think he would have been able to do that to me, especially in a five-round fight.”

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Anderson Silva Criticizes Manager’s Statements on Fight Plans and MMA Future

Anderson Silva has finally broken his silence, and his recent statements aren’t matching past comments made by his manager Ed Soares.”Only I can talk about my fights, my plans and my career,” Silva posted on Twitter. “I’m not on physical therapy, and o…

Anderson Silva has finally broken his silence, and his recent statements aren’t matching past comments made by his manager Ed Soares.

“Only I can talk about my fights, my plans and my career,” Silva posted on Twitter. “I’m not on physical therapy, and once I define my next fight with the UFC, I will let you know.”

Soares has been insistent that Silva was nearing retirement, and he wasn’t interested in a rematch with top middleweight contender Chael Sonnen.

Some of Soares’ statements have led many to believe Silva was “ducking” Sonnen, and the UFC middleweight champion doesn’t seem too happy with his manager at the moment.

Soares has been with Silva throughout his UFC tenure and watched the Brazilian grow into arguably the greatest fighter of all time.

Neither side could be reached for further comment.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as more information becomes available in this developing story.

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BJ Penn: "I’ve Never Really Reached My Peak or Potential"

BJ Penn has made a career out of achieving the impossible.With only three years of training, Penn earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2000, becoming the first non-Brazilian to ever do so.There are wo…

BJ Penn has made a career out of achieving the impossible.

With only three years of training, Penn earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2000, becoming the first non-Brazilian to ever do so.

There are world-class BJJ practitioners who dedicate their lives to BJJ and are never able to achieve Penn’s accomplishments.

A former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion, Penn has competed against and defeated some of the greatest fighters of all time in multiple weight classes.

In March 2005, he bumped up to middleweight and gave former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida all he could handle in a tough unanimous decision loss in Japan.

Along with holding records for most successful lightweight title defenses and wins in the 155-pound weight class, Penn is the only other fighter besides UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture to ever hold a UFC title in two different weight classes.

Despite his accomplishments, Penn has always been the subject of criticism for what has always been perceived as lax training methods and lack of focus. With so many physical gifts, fans have always wondered what a motivated and focused BJ Penn would look like.

The Prodigy still believes there is a level of fighting that he has yet to ascend to, and he is willing to go above and beyond to reach his maximum potential.

At UFC 137, Penn will face the last Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz in one of the most anticipated bouts of the year.

For Penn, fighting isn’t just about world titles and the media spotlight, it’s about stepping up to every challenge, competing against the best and crafting a legacy as one MMA‘s all-time greats.

“I’m excited for this fight. I’m excited to take another step and move forward in the right direction. Everyone’s goal is to get to the top. To get to the top, we’re gonna have to beat each other, and there can only be one,” Penn said in his UFC 137 pre-fight interview.

“I’ve never really reached my peak, and I’ve never really reached my potential. I’m going to fight until I get to that point.”

Since dropping back-to-back losses to UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in 2010 (the first a fairly controversial in Abu Dhabi), Penn has found new life in the welterweight division.

He is coming off a first-round knockout victory over longtime nemesis Matt Hughes and a draw with perennial No. 2 welterweight Jon Fitch.

“There can only be one.”

The world will tune in to see whether or not BJ Penn is able to reach his peak and be the one at UFC 137.

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