For the first time since 2008, the UFC welterweight championship will be up for grabs without Georges St-Pierre in the red corner. Nick Diaz will challenge Carlos Condit for the interim championship at UFC 143 on Saturday night.
Diaz talked his way into a title shot after defeating B.J. Penn last October, but the knee injury to St-Pierre forced Condit into this spot. Diaz is bring an 11-fight winning streak into this bout. He wants to send a loud, clear message to St-Pierre.
Condit originally had a title shot against St-Pierre set for this show, but when Diaz decided to call out St-Pierre, UFC president Dana White changed the match. Condit wasn’t happy, but he got thrown back into the spotlight when St-Pierre went down. This is his moment to make his presence felt in the welterweight division.
Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV
When: Saturday, Feb. 4
Watch: Facebook undercard fights start 7:00 p.m. EDT; Preliminary Fights air at 8:00 p.m. EDT on FX; Main Card fights air at 10 p.m. EDT on pay-per-view; online pay-per-view streaming (must pay $44.99) at UFC.tv, Yahoo! Sports, UStream, Android or iPhone.
Fight Card
Main Card
Interim Welterweight Championship bout: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit
Heavyweight bout: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Bantamweight bout: Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen
Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks
Preliminary Card (FX)
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Welterweight bout: Matthew Riddle vs. Henry Martinez
Bantamweight bout: Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Welterweight bout: Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Middleweight bout: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Diaz’s Keys To Victory
Use superior boxing skills to wear Condit down; work the fight to the ground in the later rounds.
Diaz is one of the best boxers in all of mixed martial arts today. He has changed his fighting style in recent years, not using his wrestling as much as he used to. Rest assured that it is still in his arsenal if he wants to use it.
He can’t get too cocky heading into this fight, because Condit does have the skills to match up with him. He needs to stay focused on the task at hand in order to become the interim welterweight champion.
Condit’s Keys To Victory
Use technical skills and deep arsenal of submissions to frustrate Diaz.
Condit doesn’t get the credit that he deserves for being one of the best welterweight fighters in the world, mainly because he does not have the flashy personality that someone like Diaz does.
That being said, he is dangerous. He is a skilled stand-up fighter with good power in his kicks and punches, and he can work a fight to the ground in order to get a submission if he wants to.
What They Are Saying
Nick Diaz is going to talk about anyone, anytime. Carlos Condit has seen Diaz’s antics up close and personal, and he does not care for the way the controversial fighter goes about business.
From Cage Potato:
I’ve never met the guy, so honestly I don’t have much of an opinion. I think that we’re fortunate to be doing what we’re doing for a living. We get paid to train, we get paid to fight, and we get paid to do what we like to do. I think he’s got kind of a bad attitude when it comes to being grateful for the position he’s in. But other than that, like I said, I don’t really know the guy.
Diaz is a paranoid human being, but his attitude does leave a lot to be desired. He is not easy to work with, as evidenced by the shenanigans last October that cost him his title shot against St-Pierre.
Undercard Fight To Watch: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Holloway is an unknown newcomer to the sport, boasting just a 4-0 record. He does not have an impressive resume yet, but in mixed martial arts all it takes is one fight to make a career.
Poirier is making a lot of noise in the featherweight division. He has won 11 of his 12 career fights, including his first three in UFC. He is moving up the 145-pound division quickly, and could put himself in line for a title shot with an impressive showing.
Main Event Prediction
This is Diaz’s time to shine. He wants to be the big star in UFC, believes that he is better than St-Pierre, feels slighted that he has to do battle with Condit to win a title and will take out his frustrations on anything that moves.
Condit is a terrific fighter. He poses a serious threat to Diaz because he is so effective in a number of different areas.
Still, there is too much going in Diaz’s favor not to pick him in this fight.
Diaz wins via third-round submission.
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