Author: Mike Hodges

Diaz vs.Condit II: Nick Diaz Has a Second Chance to Face Georges St-Pierre

Nick Diaz finally got his rematch with Carlos Condit.The outspoken Diaz was unhappy about his loss to Condit at UFC 143, publicly criticizing the judges’ decision, and threatened to retire from the sport altogether. The loss also prevented him from bei…

Nick Diaz finally got his rematch with Carlos Condit.

The outspoken Diaz was unhappy about his loss to Condit at UFC 143, publicly criticizing the judges’ decision, and threatened to retire from the sport altogether. The loss also prevented him from being awarded the UFC interim welterweight title, but more importantly, an anticipated title bout with Georges St-Pierre.

Fans also seemed to side with Diaz on the controversial outcome, labeling Condit’s performance as “boring.” 

Now, after Diaz’s camp immediately requested a rematch, it looks as if a second bout will commence, as UFC President Dana White confirmed on Twitter that Diaz has agreed, and that Condit is expected to sign later this week.

Diaz will now get another opportunity to avenge his loss to Condit, and challenge St-Pierre later this year.

The UFC is taking a risk at rescheduling a rematch between the two welterweights, but the company also sees a more lucrative opportunity in the bout, especially if Diaz emerges as the winner.

The former Strikeforce welterweight champion’s stock couldn’t be any higher at this point, and the UFC will have an easier time selling Diaz and St-Pierre than before.

The UFC made the right decision to setup a rematch between Diaz and Condit, but they also made a smart decision at keeping Diaz in the title picture.

Realistically, Condit does not have the image nor the personality to appeal to fans as a recognizable fighter, but Diaz does. 

And as a result, Diaz has found himself back in the Octagon against Condit one more time, in hopes of earning his long awaited title shot, in a matchup that he, St-Pierre, and the fans have been desperately seeking.

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Carlos Condit Not Interested in Rematch with Nick Diaz, Wants Georges St-Pierre

Carlos Condit’s win over Nick Diaz at UFC 143 hasn’t necessarily won him over with many fans as of late, even forcing UFC President Dana White to possibly consider a rematch between the two competitors while Georges St-Pierre remains out of action.But …

Carlos Condit’s win over Nick Diaz at UFC 143 hasn’t necessarily won him over with many fans as of late, even forcing UFC President Dana White to possibly consider a rematch between the two competitors while Georges St-Pierre remains out of action.

But Condit and his camp are not interested in a rematch with Diaz at this time. 

Condit’s manager, Malki Kawa, appeared on The MMA Hour earlier this week to discuss the possibility of pairing up Condit and Diaz once more. But he said “The Natural Born Killer” would rather focus on his upcoming title bout with St-Pierre.

“At this point, [a rematch] is not something we’re looking to do, we’re looking for Georges,” Kawa said.

“He won the fight. It doesn’t interest us at all.”

Condit drew a lot of criticism from fans for his game plan heading into the bout. A recipient of “Knockout of the Night” honours in his past two bouts, Condit was much more strategic in his approach as opposed to being aggressive.

Kawa defended Condit’s performance and he said the opportunity for a knockout isn’t always present. Kawa pointed out the fact that Condit out-struck Diaz in nearly every category, frustrating the former Strikeforce welterweight champion in the process.

“He picked apart a very formidable fighter,” he said.

“People are like, ‘Oh, Carlos is not a finisher,’ the guy threw how many spinning elbows? How many spinning back fists? He threw a flying knee. He tried to finish Nick Diaz when the time and the opening was there. I can’t find a flaw in his performance.”

Condit is expected to take some time off before he evaluates his next move in the Octagon. Depending on St-Pierre’s recovery time, Condit has been vocal about making one title defense. 

However, as far as that title defense coming against Diaz, Kawa said neither Condit nor his camp are intrigued by the idea.

“The fans disagree [with the decision] because they got hyped up to see Nick and Georges fight each other,” he said. “Well, let them fight each other. We’ve moved on.”  

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UFC: Fabricio Werdum Eyes a Potential Bout with Frank Mir in Brazil

Following an impressive return to the Octagon last weekend at UFC 143, Fabricio Werdum is now eyeing a top contender for his next bout.The Brazilian’s performance against Roy Nelson was one of the best showings of his career, as he looked to have impro…

Following an impressive return to the Octagon last weekend at UFC 143, Fabricio Werdum is now eyeing a top contender for his next bout.

The Brazilian’s performance against Roy Nelson was one of the best showings of his career, as he looked to have improved on some of the weaker areas of his game—especially his striking—as he picked his shots and landed multiple knees to his opponent.

The win has now improved Werdum’s UFC record to 3-2 and could potentially put him near the upper echelon of the heavyweight division. As far as a future opponent for “Vai Cavalo,” he didn’t want to drop any name in particular, but he said he would consider a bout with Frank Mir.

“Anybody, I’m prepared to fight anybody. I’ve never picked out opponents my entire life,” Werdum told TATAME.com. “If it’s Frank Mir, excellent. If it’s not, it’s ok. I just wanna show I’m in the top 10 of the division.”

And Werdum feels there’s no other place than to solidify his presence in his homeland of Brazil.

“I hope I can fight in June in Brazil,” he said. “God bless me, UFC will give me the chance to bring this joy to people in Brazil.”  

Werdum’s return to the UFC made up for his past performances that saw him record victories over such fighters like Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga, but it was his knockout loss to current UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos, that ended his tenure in the company.

The loss certainly left a bad taste in his mouth and it has motivated Werdum to challenge for a title shot within the next year.

“I have to fight Cigano again. When he got here, people didn’t know him in the UFC and I took that fight,” he said. “When UFC offers me this fight, in three, four fights from now, I hope he accepts it.”

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UFC 144 Video Preview

For the first time in over a decade, the UFC makes its return to Japan to host one of the most anticipated events of this year.UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will collide with one of the lightweight division’s rising stars in Benson Henderson, …

For the first time in over a decade, the UFC makes its return to Japan to host one of the most anticipated events of this year.

UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will collide with one of the lightweight division’s rising stars in Benson Henderson, when both competitors headline UFC 144 for the UFC lightweight championship.

Also, former UFC light heavyweight champion and former PRIDE star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looks to rebound from his loss to Jon Jones when he steps back into the Octagon to face 205-pound prospect Ryan Bader.

And Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama makes his welterweight debut when he takes on Jake Shields.

UFC 144 is scheduled for Saturday, February 26, live from Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.

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Greg Jackson Says Criticism of Carlos Condit’s Performance "Doesn’t Make Sense"

Despite the ongoing criticism of Carlos Condit’s performance at UFC 143, his head trainer Greg Jackson felt “The Natural Born Killer” executed his gameplan perfectly to prevail over Nick Diaz.Condit was awarded the unanimous-decision victory over Diaz …

Despite the ongoing criticism of Carlos Condit‘s performance at UFC 143, his head trainer Greg Jackson felt “The Natural Born Killer” executed his gameplan perfectly to prevail over Nick Diaz.

Condit was awarded the unanimous-decision victory over Diaz and was crowned the UFC interim welterweight champion.

Although he grabbed the win, Condit’s strategy did not seem to entertain many fans, as some labelled it as “running.” Nevertheless, Jackson was confident in the Team Jackson product’s overall approach and defended Condit’s win in an exclusive interview with MMAFighting.com.

“The criticism I guess I heard this morning was that Carlos was running,” Jackson said. “You can’t really say he’s running, because he hit him more times. So that argument doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Condit neutralized Diaz’s striking with counter-striking and movement, where he would repeatedly attack his opponent’s lead leg with leg kicks for majority of the fight. Anytime Diaz would attempt to close the distance and trap Condit in the corner, the former WEC welterweight champion would retreat and force the action back to the centre of the Octagon.

According to Jackson, the idea was to avoid Diaz’s main strength: boxing.

“He’s amazing when he gets you up against the fence. He’s amazing when he starts rolling on those combinations,” he said of Diaz. “So we left the party when that happened and then we started the party again and were able to land a lot more shots than he was.”

“There’s no reason for us to play that game,” he added.

Fans and critics reaction of Condit’s gameplan was fairly negative, and among those critics was Diaz’s head trainer Cesar Gracie.

Jackson said he wasn’t surprised to learn of Gracie’s response, considering Condit was the underdog heading into the matchup, but after pointing out the statistics, Jackson said it was evident Condit won the fight.

“All strikes, we outstruck him. Significant strikes, we outstruck him. So if you’re looking at numbers, that was all us,” he said. “If you’re hitting him, not getting hit, and moving, I’m not really sure how you can score [the fight for Diaz].”

The win for Condit will now set up a unification bout with current champion Georges St-Pierre once he returns to action later this year. Both Condit and St-Pierre are part of Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

When asked if he would play a role in their upcoming title bout, Jackson respectfully declined the offer and wants no involvement at all.

“Georges is my guy as much as Carlos is my guy,” he said.  

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Dana White Open to a Rematch Between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz

Whichever way you look at it, Carlos Condit emerged from UFC 143 as the new UFC interim welterweight champion.Condit engaged in a five-round, back and forth bout with Nick Diaz. However, it wasn’t without some controversy.The outcome was met with a fai…

Whichever way you look at it, Carlos Condit emerged from UFC 143 as the new UFC interim welterweight champion.

Condit engaged in a five-round, back and forth bout with Nick Diaz. However, it wasn’t without some controversy.

The outcome was met with a fair amount of criticism and it prompted UFC President Dana White to consider a possible rematch, depending on Georges St-Pierre’s injury status. The Saint Isadore, Quebec native is expected to remain out of action until early fall.

“It’s crazy, but … I was thinking about it after the fight,” White told MMAJunkie.com following the event. “People are bitching, and people think that was close, we could do that fight again before GSP comes back.”

All three judges awarded Condit with the unanimous decision, much to the dismay of the challenger, Diaz. Visibly upset with the decision, Diaz announced his retirement as a result.

The win for Condit has spoiled any chance of the witnessing a potential bout with Diaz and St-Pierre.

“I know [St-Pierre] wanted Diaz, and he really wanted that Diaz fight bad, but it’s not going to be Diaz, so he better get angry with Carlos Condit or focused on Carlos Condit or whatever it is he needs to do,” said White. 

“The Natural Born Killer” entered the bout as a considerable underdog, but was able to fend off Diaz’s high volume striking and out-point the former Strikeforce welterweight champion with effective counter striking and movement.

White said he doesn’t believe Diaz will retire from the sport and thinks a second meeting with the newly-crowned interim champion could lure him back into the UFC, with a highly-anticipated bout with St-Pierre still hanging in the balance.

Condit said he wouldn’t wait for St-Pierre to heal and was open to making one title defense. Due to the out-cry from fans and critics, White said a rematch was likely, but it’s up to both Condit and Diaz to fully commit.

“It depends on Carlos, too. Carlos has got to say – and Nick’s got to say, ‘I want to fight him again,’ too,” he said. 

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