After UFC 143, despite the controversy that seems to follow any decision, we now have a Welterweight interim champion in Carlos Condit (28-5-0). Apparently, there is an idea that he will just sit and wait for the sidelined champion George St Pierre whi…
After UFC 143, despite the controversy that seems to follow any decision, we now have a Welterweight interim champion in Carlos Condit (28-5-0). Apparently, there is an idea that he will just sit and wait for the sidelined champion George St Pierre which could take anywhere from 9-12 months.
That is rather absurd and unfair to both fans and other fighters in that division. After all, why have an interim title if it’s not going to be defended? Certainly, Condit has earned a rest, but if he is healthy then he should defend that title at least once between now and his bout with GSP.
A rematch with Nick Diaz is a possibility, or the winner of Diego Sanchez versus Jake Ellenberger. Ellenberger lost a split decision to Condit in 2009 and has since been on a 5-fight win streak and is one of two men that actually finished Jake Shields.
With half of the UFC champions out due to injury, an interim keeps the division moving forward and UFC needs to ensure at least a one or two defenses of a belt per division. Otherwise what is the real point of a title?
Aren’t all fighters looking to climb the fight ladder to a certain golden belt? The journey of taking on the best in any division culminates in a bout with a champion.
So, when a champion is injured so badly that they will be unable to fight for a few months or even a year, that sacred journey all fighters take gets held up and thus the need for an interim title.
This has happened before, and for those that have forgotten, here is a brief example from UFC history:
After UFC 74 when Randy Couture departed UFC in late 2007 as the heavyweight champion, an interim was created. At UFC 81 Tim Sylvia fought Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, with Nog winning via submission. So UFC hoped to work things out with Couture and it took quite a while. So the interim sat and collected dust.
Then at UFC 91 (nearly 11 months after the interim), Randy Couture returned and lost his belt to Brock Lesnar. Meanwhile the entire division waited and the interim was virtually useless.
As the sport of MMA grows, and UFC is the flagship of the sport, then they need to set the standard. Not just because they have the most fighters and fans. But because the sport is still in its infancy and rankings are not very clear in UFC other than who is the champion of each division.
Since that is the mark of who is best in each division, then the interim is the same thing in the champion’s absence. Therefore, it does no good for the sport, fighters and fans if it just sits idle.
Depending on who you ask, either Anderson Silva, Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport.Regardless of rank, all men sit atop of their respective divisions, coveted as the best far and above the rest in thei…
Depending on who you ask, either Anderson Silva, Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport.
Regardless of rank, all men sit atop of their respective divisions, coveted as the best far and above the rest in their weight classes.
All have different styles of fighting, though their strengths alienate them from the rest of the pack, making them three of the UFC’s most formidable foes.
Georges St-Pierre casts a long shadow in the world of mixed martial arts. Leading up to last weekend’s UFC 143, most of the media attention focused not on the main event, but on a hypothetical bout between St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, who most seem to see …
Georges St-Pierre casts a long shadow in the world of mixed martial arts. Leading up to last weekend’s UFC 143, most of the media attention focused not on the main event, but on a hypothetical bout between St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, who most seem to see as the perfect foil for the polished champion.
To the dismay of many, Diaz lost a pseudo-controversial decision to the less heralded, but undoubtedly talented Carlos Condit. Plans for what could have been one of the biggest fights in UFC history were dashed as quickly as you can say “interim UFC welterweight champion.”
Yet, even though I felt Condit completely deserved the win over Diaz, I still personally would much prefer to see St-Pierre matched up against Diaz regardless, and I think I’m not alone.
There’s one clear solution: Strip St-Pierre of his UFC belt.
It seems counter-intuitive to strip the man who might just be the most accomplished and most celebrated fighter in history, but when you think about it it actually makes a lot of sense, and the situation is not entirely without precedent.
Frank Mir was once stripped of his UFC title after 14 months of inactivity. St-Pierre likely won’t be ready to fight until November, which will be 18 months removed from his previous bout.
More than that, though, stripping St-Pierre makes sense for everybody else involved.
Condit shouldn’t have to rematch Diaz after what should have been considered a close, but straightforward decision. He should be promoted to undisputed champion and allowed to defend his belt in St-Pierre’s absence.
Welterweight contenders like Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks shouldn’t be forced to wait for rematches and unification bouts either. The division should be allowed to move forward, and if Ellenberger beats Diego Sanchez on Feb. 15, he should get a shot at Condit. If he loses, give the shot to Hendricks, who deserves a shot just as much after knocking off the perennial No. 2 welterweight Jon Fitch.
Nick Diaz seemed pretty disgusted and disheartened by the decision against Condit and quit inside the cage as a result. That said, I’m sure he’d reverse that retirement pretty quick if he were offered a fight against St-Pierre.
And then there’s St-Pierre himself.
While St-Pierre might have some hesitation about being stripped of his title, he appears to desperately want to fight Diaz, and the hype behind the fight is hardly diminished considering that many fans seem to feel like Diaz actually won (I’m not one of them).
As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow in the public’s eye, so does the amount of professional and financial pressure for the UFC’s belt holders. Each title defense and number one contender bouts are becoming bigger, more important, seen …
As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow in the public’s eye, so does the amount of professional and financial pressure for the UFC’s belt holders. Each title defense and number one contender bouts are becoming bigger, more important, seen by more people, and impose more strains during training than previous battles. Unfortunately for fans, this reality is causing an unbecoming trend of championship inactivity.
Similar to boxing these days, it’s becoming a rare sight to see a UFC champion defend the gold more than twice a year. Whether it’s poor scheduling or over training, many of these elite fighters find themselves pushing pass their limits and getting injured (postponing) during training camps—hoping to achieve a preparation advantage—when in reality they are creating more time away from the octagon.
It’s a lose-lose scenario.
Instead, the most covenant prize in a division—which belongs to its top draw—is put on the shelf for long drawn out periods of time. It’s frustrating to accept the fact that you can count on seeing your favorite fighter—or at least the best guy in most divisions—fight on two opposite months on the calender each year.
“Oh yeah I remember that Anderson Silva title defense. I can’t believe it’s been that long ago. Wasn’t there a heatwave then? Wasn’t unemployment closer to 10% and Rick Perry was the Republican flavor of the month?”
Of course my example is hyperbolic in nature and I fully realize the physical risk and demand for somebody competing in such a direct combat sport. But, I also know lesser famed fighters tend to push through their nagging injuries to fulfill their obligation due to pride or nagging bills from the real world. I suspect the more successful a fighter becomes, the more entitled he or she feels to time off from work.
How many of your superiors take more vacation time throughout the year than you do? Sure, it happens more than it should, but it’s somewhat expected in most jobs.
In an individually assessed and pride entrenched sport like MMA, the landscape provokes a greater sense of purpose from its participants. It’s just not the same for the lonely number-crunching pawn rotting away in a cubicle (I can say this because I am one of those guys…for now). Fighters constantly want to prove themselves as the best against all deserving comers—typically whenever they can.
The Chael Sonnens, Josh Koschecks and Donald Cerrones represent a common desire within the most motivated of guys who embody this sense of purpose multiple times a year. They are the guys chomping at the bit to fight every chance they get regardless of the turnaround time.
Honestly, it’s a characteristic I would love to see in more of the UFC’s king pins.
Let’s quickly fish out this common denominator in each of the weight classes which suffer the most from this modern circumstance.
Bantamweight – Dominick Cruz’ transitional title defenses from the WEC to the UFC—December 2010 against Scott Jorgensen and then against Urijah Faber in July of 2011—created a seven month gap between his fights. Now due to the Ultimate Fighter and another hand injury, Cruz won’t defend his title for at least another seven months.
Lightweight – Frankie Edgar defended his belt against BJ Penn, for the second time, back in August of 2010 and then suffered a draw against Gray Maynard on the first day of 2011. Thanks to training related injuries, both guys had to postpone their immediate rematch for ten months.
Welterweight – This division has suffered to such a degree, the UFC had to create an interim belt. Georges St-Pierre last saw action in the octagon back in April 2011 and will potentially be out until November 2012 with a rehabilitating ACL tear. We’ll possibly be knocking on two years before he see GSP return to action.
Middleweight – Pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva slipped by Chael Sonnen back in August 2010, followed that up with a defense against Vitor Belfort in February 2011 and then Yushin Okami in August 2011. Again, due to injury and time away from competition, Silva won’t defend his title until the summer of 2012.
Heavyweight – Brock Lesnar lost the belt to Cain Velasquez in October 2010, who then had his first title defense over a year later in November 2011 against Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos, the current champ and like his two predecessors, will be sidelined well into the first half of 2012 due to physical afflictions.
Maybe guys need to train smarter, not harder.
Not only does this lack of championship action hamper casual fans’ interest, but it’s bad for business as well. The UFC can’t expect to regain impressive Pay-Per-View numbers without consistent participation from their biggest stars. Obviously, Jon Jones and Jose Aldo—busy champs from the two excluded divisions on the list—should not be expected to carry such a cumbersome workload while everybody else is healing.
I’ll admit, this problem is a difficult one to solve due to the nature of the sport’s preparation and scheduling, but two things come to mind. One: the UFC could enact an extra incentive or penalty for champions and top contenders who fail to defend or fight three times a year. Three times a year is a reasonable expectation, assuming a fighter doesn’t get legitimately injured or made incapable of fighting due to a previous injury made worse during their last time in the octagon.
Two: create more interim contests and champions. These guys will keep the divisions lively, open up more opportunities for contenders, and keep the fans intrigued while the incumbents are MIA. Of course, these newly crowned champions will also operate under the three fights a year requirement. If an interim title holder is unable to meet this stipulation for whatever reason, that belt will become available to the next two deserving guys in line.
Solutions within these two suggestions would no doubt prevent the divisional gold from becoming stagnant. However this problem gets fixed, the UFC needs to do something creative to keep the championship slots hot. Fans and fighters, alike, shouldn’t have to operate under such a unreliable time frame.
The aftermath of UFC 143 really underlined the issue at hand and why it needs to be addressed.
Bottom line: Carlos Condit shouldn’t be given the option to wait for Georges St-Pierre. You can’t replace an absent champion with an interim champion who has the option to be inactive for eight to nine months. It defeats the purpose of interim belts.
As the biggest and most successful MMA promotion in the world, the UFC has the time slots and talent to fix any and all championship droughts. Call me spoiled, but a slightly more demanding schedule has been overdue.
Before UFC 143, Georges St-Pierre mentioned how he hoped Nick Diaz would beat Carlos Condit so that the two could fight each other.In an interview with MMAJunkie.com, St-Pierre admitted he wanted to fight Nick Diaz as badly as when he wanted a title sh…
Before UFC 143, Georges St-Pierre mentioned how he hoped Nick Diaz would beat Carlos Condit so that the two could fight each other.
He also admitted how dangerous Condit was in the article. St-Pierre knew that there was a possibility that Diaz wouldn’t win the fight.
He lavished praise on Condit as a fighter and a human, but in the end admitted that he wanted him to lose. St-Pierre is usually a stoic professional, so the admission is a bit of a shocker.
St-Pierre didn’t get his wish, as it turned out. Condit was able to convince the judges that his leg strikes and attacks from the outside were the more effective method of attack.
Before the fight, when the article was published, St-Pierre even stated that Diaz would bring out the best in him.
Instead, Condit won, which brought a question with it. Can St-Pierre find the same motivation?
St-Pierre is one of the most successful champions in the UFC because he is a professional and is one of the best at what he does. History shows that he has been able to find the motivation to take on all comers and succeed.
History also shows that he has lost when he has faced an underdog opponent.
When St-Pierre had his first run with the title, he faced Matt Serra, who had been a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter. Few gave Serra a real shot at winning, which is why it was such a shock when Serra came back and knocked St-Pierre out in the first round.
St-Pierre let himself get lax in the fight for just a moment, and it cost him.
Serra isn’t considered to have been on the same level as Condit is currently, but the fact is that St-Pierre had a certain fight he was hoping to get, and it eluded him.
How he handles that disappointment will affect his motivation for the fight with Condit. It should be enough for him to want to keep the belt and defeat a fighter like Condit.
But St-Pierre did state that he wanted Diaz as much as he wanted a shot at the belt. It might mentally weaken him to the point where he gets caught again.
When St-Pierre comes back, he will have to face a serious opponent who earned the right to face him. It just won’t be the one he wanted.
Life is filled with disappointment, but if St-Pierre doesn’t take Condit seriously, it might include St-Pierre also being disappointed with his performance.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.comthat focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
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.
After UFC 143, despite the controversy that seems to follow any decision, we now have a Welterweight interim champion in Carlos Condit (28-5-0). Apparently, there is an idea that he will just sit and wait for the sidelined champion George St Pierre which could take anywhere from 9-12 months.