With only a few hours until the main card of UFC 142, and only one day until Super Bowl XLVI, we’re killing two birds with one stone with this video of current (and former) NFL players making their predictions for tonight’s main event. In yet another example of how far our sport has come towards gaining mainstream acceptance, the seven players interviewed genuinely seem to be fans of mixed martial arts as they pick Nick Diaz over Carlos Condit, five votes to two.
Obviously, FOX Football Analyst Michael Strahan seems to deliver the most informed, thought out opinion on the fight as he explains his reasoning behind picking Nick Diaz to win. However, the rest of those interviewed aren’t too far behind him. Well, maybe not Eli Manning- though his stoic, soft spoken personality makes him hard to figure out.
With only a few hours until the main card of UFC 143, and only one day until Super Bowl XLVI, we’re killing two birds with one stone with this video of current (and former) NFL players making their predictions for tonight’s main event. In yet another example of how far our sport has come towards gaining mainstream acceptance, the seven players interviewed genuinely seem to be fans of mixed martial arts as they pick Nick Diaz over Carlos Condit, five votes to two.
Obviously, FOX Football Analyst Michael Strahan seems to deliver the most informed, thought out opinion on the fight as he explains his reasoning behind picking Nick Diaz to win. However, the rest of those interviewed aren’t too far behind him. Well, maybe not Eli Manning- though his stoic, soft spoken personality makes him hard to figure out.
There’s just one complaint that we’re sure sports fans everywhere will have with this video: At the fifty seven second mark, former NFL defensive great Warren Sapp instructs Nick Diaz to “do what [he] does to the quarterback, kill him!”. Come on, bro. If Frank Mir taught us anything, an athlete wishing death on an opponent is a sign that football is immoral and should be banned in this country. Expect Bob Reilly, who is not an oblivious hypocrite, to start a campaign to make football illegal in New York.
Last night marked the end of a great run for the Primetime series as it followed the two fighters headlining tonight’s pay per view card. We’ve learned a lot more about Carlos Condit, the wayward youth turned loving father and professional fighter, while playing armchair psychologist to Nick Diaz along the way. The crews shadowing these two 24/7 did the heavy lifting, so we’ll just pop the video up above and make our little jokes after the jump.
Last night marked the end of a great run for the Primetime series as it followed the two fighters headlining tonight’s pay per view card. We’ve learned a lot more about Carlos Condit, the wayward youth turned loving father and professional fighter, while playing armchair psychologist to Nick Diaz along the way. The crews shadowing these two 24/7 did the heavy lifting, so we’ll just pop the video up above and make our little jokes after the jump.
Condit’s watching plenty of footage of Nick Diaz, including his post-UFC 137 call-out of champion GSP (“Where you at, Georges? Where you at?”). Although he feels like he’s being overlooked and counted out, Condit takes the high road by not calling Diaz out for ending his sentence in a preposition.
“He tends to be training at weird hours, for sure. When you think about the fight, you can’t get it out of your head and you want to train and you know the other guy’s not doing it, that’s a big mental edge. I love the guy; if he needs help and wants to train at midnight, you know, let’s do this.” Diaz’s training partner Joe Schiling. If only poor Diaz could find some way to unwind?
“I figured that this is the better opponent than any of these other guys that are out there. You fight the way this guy fights and it’s a dangerous fight. I think I’ve gotten a taste of both worlds: guys trying to take your head off and guys trying to hold you, and I think this guy’s definitely more so trying to take your head off.” Diaz, fully expecting this battle to be contested under ‘Stockton Rules‘.
“I don’t really see anything in Carlos Condit’s game that is more dangerous than the things that we’ve been throwing at Nick throughout this training camp. I’ve hit Nick with some really hard shots, shots that I’ve dropped other people with, and not only does it not faze him, but it doesn’t move him back an inch, it doesn’t slow him down, he doesn’t seem to even care about it. He’s a fighter, and there’s not too many guys like Nick Diaz. You can’t stop crazy.” Joe Schiling. Add “getting punched” alongside “drug tests”, “smiling”, and “Ariel Helwani” on the ever-growing list of things Nick Diaz doesn’t care about.
“I would be happy with just going home without any missing teeth.” Diaz, maybe he does care about smiling after all?
“He’s been the underdog all his life, where people wanted to bully him when he was younger. They wanted to portray him as something he’s not. They want to write a script for his life, and that’s not the script that he wants and he’s fighting against that. And I think as fight time approaches all of that starts to merge. It’s a focused rage; it’s not chaotic anger. There’s a focused rage there.” Cesar Gracie, on what could be the greatest MMA movie to date. Get cracking, Hollywood.
“I’ve been the underdog my entire career. People have always counted me out. I don’t pay much mind to that. I’m ready. I’m ready for this shit.” Carlos Condit, trying to out-underdog Diaz. Jesus, people, can’t anyone come in as the favorite anymore?
“I think ol’ boy’s gonna try to take me down. What are his guard passes?” Condit speaking with Greg Jackson, predicting a very un-gangster-like strategy from his opponent.
“Fight week I put on the game face. I just get ready to go do battle. Finally get to go in there and not hold back and just let it go. Really I just tell myself to keep my hands up and my chin down and go out there and bury this mother fucker.” Condit, all but promising to stand and bang. I want to believe they will, but I’ve been fooled too many times before.
Hold up. Diaz missed threeflights in oneday before finally making it to Vegas for one of the biggest fights of his career? Then he skips the UFC’s prearranged ride to take a cab? I know you’re a busy guy, Nick, but life is not this difficult.
“The exercise is easier [during fight week], but a lot of the other stuff is harder. You know, I’m not used to training to deal with everything that they’re asking of me. I’m not training for that all month, you know, all leading up, I’m just training to fight. A lot of that other stuff is kind of hard for me to deal with, but I am ready to do whatever we gotta to do.” Diaz, who is now officially untrained as a home buyer, travel agent, and conversationalist.
Media week is a stressful time for both men, but particularly Nick Diaz. Though he often comes across as guarded, he’s easily the most open and honest of all fighters. You may not relate to what he’s saying, but you know that he means every word of it.
“That would be crazy to start believing in myself and think, ‘Oh yeah, I’m the biggest part of the show’, and ‘oh happy me’, and ‘everyone loves me’, and ‘I’m the superstar’. That’s crazy. That’s some bullshit right there. That’s the last thing I want to believe. All I’m going to believe is that I’m coming to whoop some ass.” Diaz, keeping it Stockton.
“Who makes these questions up? These questions are bullshit. Seriously? This is not, like, what are these? These are all tricks. This is all like bullshit. I’m low on water, I’m low on calories, I’m low on food, I’m low on energy, and I’m more so than anything low on patience with anything that takes patience. If you ask me something stupid then I’m going to answer it with something stupid and if I hear myself talk something stupid and I’m really pissed off, depressed, and bent out of shape about, then I’m going to throw a fucking really serious fit for no fucking reason.” Diaz, perhaps the toughest man on Earth to threaten throwing a hissy fit.
Though reported to have gone down in Las Vegas, last night’s weigh-ins clearly took place in Bizarro World. How else could you explain a slim(mer) Roy Nelson, Josh Koscheck being the victim of bullying, and Nick Diaz comporting himself like a true gentleman?
We were denied a glimpse of “Big Medium Country” at the memorable UFC 137 weigh-ins back in October, but last night he tipped the scales some fourteen pounds lighter than he did when squaring off against Frank Mir last May. Could it be he’s serious about that drop to light heavyweight?
Koscheck hasn’t had much to say about his foe—aside from having to look him up after the fight was signed—but Mike Pierce provoked him further by donning a pretty accurate wig during their staredown. Considering that Pierce called him out in the first place, he either knows something we don’t or is setting himself up for a lesson in humility this evening.
And as for Diaz, there’s not much to say beyond how civilized he looked. No, he didn’t bro hug ‘Conduit‘ after the face-off, but the ruffian we know and love was nowhere to be seen. First a handshake at the presser, and now no mean mug? Could it be that the ‘Pride of Stockton’ has failed to muster up the hatred for his opponent that usually fuels his fights, and if so, does it even matter?
Full weigh-in results, and a closer look at the Diaz-Condit stare-down after the jump.
Though reported to have gone down in Las Vegas, last night’s weigh-ins clearly took place in Bizarro World. How else could you explain a slim(mer) Roy Nelson, Josh Koscheck being the victim of bullying, and Nick Diaz comporting himself like a true gentleman?
We were denied a glimpse of “Big Medium Country” at the memorable UFC 137 weigh-ins back in October, but last night he tipped the scales some fourteen pounds lighter than he did when squaring off against Frank Mir last May. Could it be he’s serious about that drop to light heavyweight?
Koscheck hasn’t had much to say about his foe—aside from having to look him up after the fight was signed—but Mike Pierce provoked him further by donning a pretty accurate wig during their staredown. Considering that Pierce called him out in the first place, he either knows something we don’t or is setting himself up for a lesson in humility this evening.
And as for Diaz, there’s not much to say beyond how civilized he looked. No, he didn’t bro hug ‘Conduit‘ after the face-off, but the ruffian we know and love was nowhere to be seen. First a handshake at the presser, and now no mean mug? Could it be that the ‘Pride of Stockton’ has failed to muster up the hatred for his opponent that usually fuels his fights, and if so, does it even matter?
Discussing MMA is a lot like discussing politics; what starts off as a friendly difference of opinion more than often spirals into an alcohol-fueled debate, rife with personal insults and name calling, before ending in a sloppy wrestling match that gets both parties banned from their boss’s wine tasting parties for life. Luckily, we have Doug “ReX13” Richardson and Jared Jones here to dispute all things UFC 143, because frankly, we can’t make heads or tails outta this card.
Let’s kick things off how we normally do, with a completely offhand topic. Who wins the Super Bowl?
RX: Me, if the commercials are good and Bane blows up the stadium. Let me guess, you’re a-
JJ: GO GIANTS!
RX: I hate you so hard, man.
JJ: First off, I’m not your buddy.
RX: But I never-
JJ: Eli Manning is to the Patriots what Dylan Klebold was to Columbine High School; he cannot be defeated, unless by that of his own doing. Giants 35-27.
RX: Wow…this has gotten off to a rough start. Can we just move on?
(“Hey, my eyes are up here, asshole.”)
Discussing MMA is a lot like discussing politics; what starts off as a friendly difference of opinion more than often spirals into an alcohol-fueled debate, rife with personal insults and name calling, before ending in a sloppy wrestling match that gets both parties banned from their boss’s wine tasting parties for life. Luckily, we have Doug “ReX13″ Richardson and Jared Jones here to dispute all things UFC 143, because frankly, we can’t make heads or tails outta this card.
Let’s kick things off how we normally do, with a completely offhand topic. Who wins the Super Bowl?
RX: Me, if the commercials are good and Bane blows up the stadium. Let me guess, you’re a-
JJ: GO GIANTS!
RX: I hate you so hard, man.
JJ: First off, I’m not your buddy.
RX: But I never-
JJ: Eli Manning is to the Patriots what Dylan Klebold was to Columbine High School; he cannot be defeated, unless by that of his own doing. Giants 35-27.
RX: Wow…this has gotten off to a rough start. Can we just move on?
Should you invite your MMA newbie friends over to watch this card?
RX: If they watched any of Fox’s programming up to this point, your answer should be “yes.” Diaz vs Condit is a better fight than either of them against GSP, and the winner will probably take the title from him. Yeah, I said it. It needed saying.
JJ: I have never been more certain about anything in my life: Yes. Love him or hate him, Diaz does not know how to be in a boring fight, and the same goes for Condit. The day I see Diaz content to ride out a decision is the day I sell my three story Victorian in Stockton. And that ain’t happening, homie.
On the other hand, if you want to convince your “newbie” friends that the UFC is devoid of all the WWE style antics, watching Diaz flip the bird and taunt someone for three rounds might not be the best idea.
Diaz vs. Condit: Will illiteracy reign supreme?
JJ: I am living, breathing proof that illiteracy has already reigned supreme, so I’m picking Deeaz bi teknikal nockout in tha ferst rownd. WRA DEEAZ!!
RX: Are you finis–
JJ: DEEEEEEEAAAAAAZZZZZZZZ!!!!!1! OK i’m dun.
RX: Well allow me to retort: Diaz has been feasting on sub-par competition and making himself look like a destroyer. The fact that he beats guys at their own games – while calling them bitches – yeah, I get it, Diaz is badass. I agree. I love watching him fight. But he’s stepping up in competition in Condit, a guy that is every bit as well-rounded as Diaz himself. That reach advantage that Diaz uses so well? Gone. Opponent with deficient cardio? Not this time. The likelihood that Diaz can start slow and then pour on the offense, without the other guy taking the initiative? Naw, playa. I realize that lots of folks are calling Diaz to win this, but I think they’ve forgotten about the NBK. I think Diaz may have forgotten about NBK. I think he’s too busy hating the GSP, and Condit is going to remind him that there are no easy fights in the UFC.
JJ: That’s a lot of bitch-ass wordy stuff.
RX: Hey look, people who talk like that in my neighborhood get slapped.
JJ: Aren’t you from like…Scarsdale or something?
RX: Not important.
JJ: *checks Facebook* Your hometown is called … Whiteville? LOLOLOLOLOLOL
RX: MOVING ON
Will Fabricio Werdum actually bring the fight to Roy Nelson, or are we in for another “Vai Cavalo” flopfest?
RX: I don’t think Werdum would do anything as dumb as have a boring, tactical fight for his first visit back in the Octagon, but then again, I said the same thing about Anthony Johnson. Werdum won’t be as scared to stay on his feet as he was with Overeem, but he will be looking for a takedown from the first bell.
JJ: I had more fun watching The Tree of Life than I did the Werdum/Overeem “fight,” so he better bring it come Saturday. And considering how Nelson has looked as of late, which is to say, so-so, I’d imagine both guys will be looking to turn some heads with this performance.
RX: Go figure, Danga referencing a movie.
JJ: YOU DON’T GET TO CALL ME THAT ANYMORE!!
RX: Ok, Good Times, my bad. I’m going to give Nelson a pass for the awful fight with Frank Mir, because he said he was was deathly ill with fat syndrome or something, I can’t remember. It wasn’t that lateral acidophilus…maybe SARS? Anyway, he slimmed down noticeably for his next fight with CroCop, which I must point out he won by TKO not involving a massive belly. I don’t think we’re going to see Nelson and Werdum scrapping, but I do expect a fun fight. Nelson’s got this, though. I mean, it’s not like Werdum has a grappler’s chance, since that’s not even a thing.
If Matt Brown somehow loses to Chris Cope, Zuffa HAS to cut him, right? RIGHT?!
RX: In my mind, there’s an ideal Strikeforce with a large roster of well-rounded fighters, and all they want to do is scrap. Nobody cuts weight and everybody has cardio for days. The fighters are paid a pretty decent wage and no one cares if you go on a three-fight skid. This ideal StrikeForce would be on Fox, where everybody can see it, and guys like Lyle Beerbohm, BJ Penn, Cung Le, Wandy, Robbie Lawler and Gegard Mousasi would entertain and educate a crowd much better than top-10 UFC fights. Everyone would fall in love with Scott Coker. They probably still wouldn’t be able to manage a heavyweight division, so Beltran is still boned, but still – sounds nice, right?
That ideal Strikeforce, with the three hour time slot on Saturday nights? That’s where I want Matt Brown to go after this fight. *gazes wistfully, wipes tear*
JJ: You ok?
RX: Just … just gimme a minute.
JJ: Each time Matt Brown steps into the octagon, I find myself saying, “he CAN’T lose this one.” And like some kind of Alzheimer’s patient who drinks too much, I always come to in a cornfield with blood on my hands and the memory of being screwed out of yet another parlay. I’d think that Brown has this one in the bag, but anyone who posses a decent guillotine stands a chance of beating him. So if he loses, I say ship him off to your magical island with Jerry Garcia and Tupac and rainbow gumdrops laced with LSD or whatever it is you hippies dream about.
RX: ”Tupac Liqueur” would be a pretty dope Ben & Jerry’s flavor.
Since Condit/Diaz will guaranteed take FOTN, who takes SOTN and KOTN?
RX: Well, we agree on Diaz-Condit being can’t-miss, at least. Submission of the Night probably won’t go to Nelson-Werdum, because I think they’ll both be trying too hard to not get submitted. Renan Barao would be a likely candidate, but I think Scott Jourgenson’s defense will keep him safe. So I’ll pick a dark horse to take SotN: Ed Herman. After a spiffy heel hook win over Kyle Noke, I’m looking for “Short Fuse” to torque something until Clifford Starks taps out.
JJ: Only someone from Whiteville would consider Ed Herman a dark anything.
RX: Ok, good one, ten points for Gryffindor, but I’m not done. To make my picks go from “questionable” to “possibly being predicted by a drunken llama,” I’ll call Dustin Poirier to knock the dust off of Max Holloway. Thoughts?
JJ: KOTN is tough, but that’s a mighty fine pick. I want to say Koscheck will take it, considering his desire to make an example out of Mike Pierce for all the trash he has been talking lately. Then again, Pierce has never been finished, and has faced power punchers like Johny Hendricks before, so I’m not quite sure Kos is going put him away. I’m going to go ahead and predict Matt Brown, because he’s gotta win this one, right? Have I said this all before?
RX: Not to my recollection, no.
JJ: Good. And you want to make some bold predictions? How about this; Roy Nelson, in Frank Mir-esque fashion, will break Werdum’s sternum and take SOTN, and 1 week after we see the UFC’s first calf-slicer, we will be treated to its first submission via smothering.
Speaking of bold predictions, it’s time to bring back a good old fashioned screen name challenge. Make one incredibly specific prediction for tomorrow night. The loser must change his screen name for a week.
RX: I say Scott Jorgensen survives forty-seven sub attempts from Barao, and scores a couple of big slams to excite the crowd. “Young Guns” scores a decision victory, snapping that gaudy streak of 28 fights without a loss. If I lose, it won’t matter, since I’ve already decided to refer to you as “Good Times” at every opportunity.
JJ: Fair enough, but if Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is able to pull off some sort of crazy kickboxing KO on Dan Stittigen, be it by wheel kick, tornado kick, or Matrix-esque Scorpion kick, you WILL go by SeanMcCorkle’sBruisedEgo from this day forward. Until next week.
If you need a reminder how Saturday night’s main event between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz came to be, “FightArtsFandom” AKA, Will Banh has crafted this succinct little animated video to refresh your memory.
If you need a reminder how Saturday night’s main event between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz came to be, “FightArtsFandom” AKA, Will Banh has crafted this succinct little animated video to refresh your memory.
If you didn’t know any better, you would assume by looking at the odds for Saturday night’s UFC 143 main event interim welterweight title fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit that betting on Diaz would earn you some easy money.
Fortunately this isn’t pro-wrestling and bout outcomes aren’t pre-determined, because Condit hasn’t followed the scripts written for him by the bookies for most of his fights and he doesn’t plan on starting at this point of his career.
“I’m probably the underdog as far as the betting lines go, but that’s where I’ve been my whole career,” he explains with a shrug. “I’m excited for this fight. I know I have all of the tools to come out on top. I’m motivated and am in shape. I’ve been training since July for this fight. I had some cancellations and some change-ups, but I stayed focus on making sure I’m ready.”
By Mike Russell
If you didn’t know any better, you would assume by looking at the odds for Saturday night’s UFC 143 main event interim welterweight title fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit that betting on Diaz would earn you some easy money.
Fortunately this isn’t pro-wrestling and bout outcomes aren’t pre-determined, because Condit hasn’t followed the scripts written for him by the bookies for most of his fights and he doesn’t plan on starting at this point of his career.
“I’m probably the underdog as far as the betting lines go, but that’s where I’ve been my whole career,” he explains with a shrug. “I’m excited for this fight. I know I have all of the tools to come out on top. I’m motivated and am in shape. I’ve been training since July for this fight. I had some cancellations and some change-ups, but I stayed focus on making sure I’m ready.”
Spending the better part of seven months in the gym has ensured that Carlos remained focused and didn’t become complacent in training, even through the holidays. Although he says that he didn’t have an issue sticking to his diet and keeping his nose through the grindstone through December, he worried at the time that he would be the only one in the gym.
“It wasn’t so much about me staying motivated. It’s that a lot of the guys at the gym were back home,” he explains. “We have a lot of guys at Jackson’s who come in from other places and they went home for Christmas, so my main concern was having enough training partners for the holidays, but I did. They came through for me and so did my coaches and I’m so grateful to them for that.”
In spite of having to make some sacrifices, Condit made sure to make the time for his family the past few months. The former WEC welterweight champ explains that now that he has a son, his outlook on fighting has changed.
“[Having a baby] is a huge motivating factor. I take [fighting and training] a lot more seriously now and I realize how fortunate I am to be able to fight for a living and to be able to make a good living doing what I love,” Condit says earnestly. “I also am able to spend a lot of time with my son, which I probably wouldn’t be able to do if I was punching a clock, working a nine to five.”
Although he says he isn’t looking past Diaz as far as his fighting career goes, “The Natural Born Killer” points out that he is making moves to ensure that he has alternate forms of income when he walks out of the cage for the last time.
“I worked a bit on a movie they filmed out in Albuquerque. Other than that I have a couple business ventures I’m working on,” he says. “I’m a partner in a small clothing store and I have a few other lines in the water. I plan on leveraging my success as a fighter to continue to be successful when I’m done fighting.”
