As Clay Guida prepares for his showdown with WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis on Saturday, fans will be anticipating the action that is about to ensue inside the cage.”The Carpenter” is a wildman and has produced some very entertainin…
As Clay Guida prepares for his showdown with WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis on Saturday, fans will be anticipating the action that is about to ensue inside the cage.
“The Carpenter” is a wildman and has produced some very entertaining fights—some of which have been fight of the year candidates.
The fight will be free and broadcast live on Spike TV this weekend, and it’s one you don’t want to miss. Both fighters are in line for a title shot, taking their determination and will to win to an all-time high. Combine that with the granite chin of Guida and the dynamic striking of Pettis, and it will be one great fight.
Like Guida, the following fighters are also never in a boring fight and have produced many fireworks whether they won or lost.
Carlos Condit tells our host Steve Cofield that people are expecting Nick Diaz to make Georges St. Pierre fight and that’s what they want to see. Not one to join the bandwagon and criticize St..
Carlos Condit tells our host Steve Cofield that people are expecting Nick Diaz to make Georges St. Pierre fight and that’s what they want to see. Not one to join the bandwagon and criticize St. Pierre who trains with his same coach, Greg Jackson, Condit does feel Diaz could rightfully receive a title-shot, though it is unfair that even he, himself as the WEC Welterweight Champion did not receive an immediate title-shot when his division was absorbed into the UFC. While Condit waits in the wings for his eventual shot, he now focuses on his fight against Don Hyun Kim at UFC 132 on July 2nd.
Cofield also asks Condit about the now infamous Jon Jones and Rashad Evans feud and how it effects his team at Jackson’s Submission Fighting. Watch the interview below.
Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit aims to hit championship targets no matter what organization they are in. For the 27-year-old, stringing together four consecutive victories means ending Dong Hyun Kim’s five-fight win streak at UFC…
Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit aims to hit championship targets no matter what organization they are in.
For the 27-year-old, stringing together four consecutive victories means ending Dong Hyun Kim’s five-fight win streak at UFC 132 on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Adding “Stun Gun” to an Octagon resume boasting wins over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, and Dan Hardy is ideal for the former WEC Welterweight Champion, who intends to entrench himself atop one of the most storied divisions in the UFC.
“It’s a tough match up for me. I definitely think it’s a good test,” Condit told ESPN’s Inside the Cage radio. “Dong Hyun Kim does what a lot of the top welterweights do: his game plan is to use his wrestling and his size and his strength to basically impose top control.”
The Greg Jackson-trained fighter returns to action after withdrawing from a scheduled February slug fest with Chris Lytle at UFC 127. Condit netted an extra $85,000 for a Fight of the Night versus MacDonald at UFC 115, $65,000 for knocking out Dan Hardy at UFC 120, and hopes his bout against Kim at UFC 132 can be his third consecutive incentive bonus. After all, prizefighting is about performance and Condit to make statements with his outings July 2 and beyond.
“I really feel like I’m in my prime. I think these next couple of years are going to help define my career and my legacy,” he said. “I’m looking to make a run and hopefully get that belt around my waist.”
Condit recently called out former two-division champion B.J. Penn, attempting to take on the names that make for action-packed, marquee fights that can build a career and define a legacy. Instead, he meets the Korean judoka, a stern yet unheralded opponent. Still, Kim fits well into Condit’s future plans.
“I was a little bit disappointed I didn’t get to fight B.J. Penn. A lot of the other top welterweights are either booked for fights or aren’t going to be ready in the time frame I’m trying to compete,” he admitted. “I think [Jake] Shields is definitely on the horizon for me. I definitely would like to get in there and try to avenge a loss. If I have a good showing against Kim, I imagine I’d get a title shot.”
A four-fight win streak—and a pre-requisite impressive showing against Kim—would place Condit in a contender spot for the UFC belt or near it, but that doesn’t mean Condit is unwilling to take longer and tougher routes either.
“It’s been my goal since I started fighting,” he said of being the UFC champion, adding, “I think a possible number one contender fight with me and [Strikeforce Welterweight Champion] Nick Diaz is a possibility as well.”
Condit believes he can take on fighters firmly among welterweight’s elite like Dong Hyun Kim, Jake Shields and Nick Diaz because he sees himself mixing it up UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre someday despite the two training under the Greg Jackson banner.
“In fact, we really haven’t trained much together. The possibility of us fighting is very real. For the most part, when he’s in and I’m in at the same time, we just kind of stay on our own sides of the gym,” said Condit. “As far as training, it definitely throws in complicated issues as far as coaching, but I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there.”
Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Interview was conducted by Acosta along with Greg DeLong on ESPN’s Inside the Cage 1450a.m. Reno. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Rankings, WelterweightsIt’s hard to believe that Georges St. Pierre could win his ninth straight fight, defending his welterweight title in front of 55,000 fans in one of the biggest events in UFC history, and h…
It’s hard to believe that Georges St. Pierre could win his ninth straight fight, defending his welterweight title in front of 55,000 fans in one of the biggest events in UFC history, and have it feel like something of a letdown.
But that is how St. Pierre’s unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields felt to many fans: We’ve seen this so many times — St. Pierre spending 25 minutes demonstrating that the other man in the Octagon is simply nowhere near as good as he is — that it’s starting to feel routine. And that’s not how one of the greatest fighters in history stepping into the Octagon should feel.
So are there any challenges remaining in the welterweight division? We’ll look at that question as we run down the Top 10 welterweights in MMA.
Last Saturday, the UFC orchestrated their largest live show ever, filling the Rogers Centre in Toronto with 55,000 adoring fans screaming for fellow Canadian fighters like Georges St-Pierre, Mark Bocek, and Mark Hominick.
It was a historic night suture…
Last Saturday, the UFC orchestrated their largest live show ever, filling the Rogers Centre in Toronto with 55,000 adoring fans screaming for fellow Canadian fighters like Georges St-Pierre, Mark Bocek, and Mark Hominick.
It was a historic night sutured with incredible bouts, memorable finishes and a lackluster main event defense by the sport’s premiere poster boy Canadian St-Pierre.
Once the decision was rendered after GSP’s hand was raised at the end of the fifth round, fans immediately balked at the champion’s fourth consecutive unanimous decision defense, wondering if he has what it takes to be a memorable champion.
After UFC 129 concluded, the big question mark continues to swirl above the welterweight champion’s head: where does he go next, who does he fight? It’s not Anderson Silva or Nick Diaz.
A superfight with middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva, has be desirable for the last year, but after such an uninspiring victory over a one dimensional challenger, most pundits question whether St-Pierre would have the heart and power to deal with the Spider’s ferocious striking.
UFC president Dana White has mentioned in numerous interviews that both Silva and St-Pierre would have to collect victories at UFC 126 and 129—both have been accomplished, one more astounding than the other.
Now that both champions have disposed their respective challengers, does the UFC brass really want to send it’s cautious bread-winner to the “spider wolf” that lingers at 185 lbs?
Regardless if you think GSP’s wrestling could dictate a fight against the Brazilian or not, even in his later 30’s, Anderson possesses strength, size and striking that would cause obstacles for the smaller opponent.
In addition, timing is a factor along with the fact that St-Pierre has been hesitant about moving up to middleweight in some of his recent interviews, Zuffa boss man Lorenzo Fertitta tweeted a post-fight question asking fans if they would rather see GSP vs. Anderson or GSP vs. Nick Diaz.
Apparently, an overwhelming amount of spectators—including myself—voted for the latter.
Does the UFC really have many options at welterweight now? St-Pierre has either fought the current “contenders” already and beat them with little effort or needs to fight a cross-promotional belt holder.
As incredible as it would be to watch the lead up to a GSP vs. Nick Diaz fight, the actual fight, the finish, the post fight presser, this potential bout has its own complications as well. Once news broke of Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce, the media renzy began to speculate who from the UFC should fight who from Strikefoce.
Needless to say, there are numerous co-promotional matches that would have the intrigue to draw big numbers and make fans salivate.
Beyond having current heavyweight destroyer and champion Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez fight, many enthusiasts started clamoring for Diaz vs. GSP as their first choice after Jake Shields, due to Diaz’ stubborn forward movement and his ability to “not be scared.”
That’s a humorous generalization of course, but not too many challengers have solved Diaz’ stand up puzzle. Even if the fight gets to the ground, the Cesar Gracie protégée boasts a black belt in the ground art and has proven himself many times on the mat in MMA.
Unfortunately, Nick Diaz will not be GSP’s next challenger either.
Unlike a potential fight with Anderson, Diaz has contractual obligations with Showtime via Strikeforce, which Dana White has made clear the UFC has no plans of disrupting—at the moment anyways.
I’m not lawyer—god knows my wallet wishes I was—but I wouldn’t be surprised if Zuffa has a few loopholes they could exploit if they were really interested in getting fighters like Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez in the octagon sooner.
Let’s assume Strikeforce’s Showtime contracts have another year and the UFC doesn’t have plans to disband them as soon as possible—that means no Nick Diaz.
When discussing the possibility of Diaz or Silva, the time factor also has to be weighed into the equation. Contractually, Diaz wouldn’t be ready for another year or so and Anderson is rumored to be fighting contender Yushin Okami on the Rio card this summer.
Will the UFC really shelve St-Pierre for a year or more to wait out the other two fighters’ predicaments? I highly doubt that will happen. GSP will be fighting at least once more before the year ends. But, against who, it’s hard to say—the top regular top contenders have already been eradicated.
To avoid tedious repeats, let’s delete Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Sean Sherk and Matt Serra. What does the welterweight division have left?
Scraping at the bottom of the welterweight barrel with Jon Fitch vs. BJ Penn 2, scrapped due to double injury, the only contender fight ready to produce a realistic challenger (I use this word loosely) is ex-WEC champion Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim scheduled for UFC 132.
Maybe on paper, an argument could be made for Nate Marquardt vs. Anthony Johnson. Unfortunately, the favorite to win in that contest is very unlikely to face his longtime Greg Jackson training partner.
In summary, the most realistic challenger to Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title will more than likely go to Carlos Condit.
Fans, get excited for GSP’s sixth consecutive decision defense….
Filed under: UFCIt’s been ten months since UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald (10-1) lost a heartbreaker of a fight to Carlos Condit at UFC 115, and he’s finally put it behind him.
It’s been ten months since UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald (10-1) lost a heartbreaker of a fight to Carlos Condit at UFC 115, and he’s finally put it behind him.
Well, mostly. Sort of.
That is to say, he’s put it behind as much as any fighter can after being stopped in the final ten seconds of a fight he was winning on the scorecards. Had he lasted just seven seconds longer, MacDonald would likely have won a split decision victory. Instead, he went home with his first loss, and he’s been feeling the sting of it ever since.
“It was difficult,” said the 21-year-old MacDonald. “It was really hard to deal with, but I think I’ve dealt with most of it by now. I still think I need to get in there again and win this fight [against Nate Diaz at UFC 129] to really get over it, and maybe one day I need to get a rematch with Carlos to fully get over it. I don’t know.”
It’s hard to believe that 
It’s been ten months since UFC welterweight