The UFC will head to Las Vegas, Nev. this weekend for its Super Bowl weekend event. The fight card, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 4, will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and feature a bout between former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit. The winner of the contest will be crowned interim UFC welterweight champion.
The interim title became necessary when current champion Georges St-Pierre injured his knee while training for his bout against Nick Diaz, a fight that was originally scheduled for this card. The injury required St-Pierre to undergo surgery, and since his last defense of the title had been a five-round unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields on April 30, 2011, it was decided that an interim champion would be in the best interest of the promotion.
Diaz is currently in the midst of an 11-fight winning streak, with his last victory being the dismantling of former UFC champion BJ Penn at UFC 137. The loss, a three-round unanimous decision, was so disheartening to the bruised and bloodied Penn that he effectively announced his retirement in the cage, telling Joe Rogan, “Joe, this is probably the last time you see me in here. I want to perform at the top level.…I’ve got a daughter. I’ve got another daughter on the way. I don’t want to go home looking like this.”
Condit’s recent record rivals that of his opponent, as he has gone 12-1 in his last 13 fights, with his sole loss being a split decision to Martin Kampmann in April of 2009. The loss was Condit’s UFC debut bout.
Condit is currently on a three-fight KO streak, with his two most recent stoppages, against Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim, earning him “Knockout of the Night” bonuses. He also has a “Fight of the Night” bonus to his name since joining the UFC.
The co-main event on the card will feature Fabricio Werdum returning to the UFC for the first time since a knockout loss to current UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at UFC 90. Werdum’s opponent on Saturday will be Roy Nelson, who earned a TKO victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in his last fight.
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