Roy Nelson’s UFC 143 scrap with Fabricio Werdum was truly an exercise in futility for “Big Country,” because it more or less showcased what we already knew about him (the man can take a beating like no other), while at the same time reinforcing the idea that Nelson has damn near refused to evolve as a MMA fighter. Yes, he has recently shown a commitment to slimming down and yes, not many of us expected him to try and submit Werdum on Saturday, but if Roy doesn’t start switching up his striking routine (aka looking for anything but a big overhand right), he can expect several more axe wounds like the one above in his future.
We love you Roy, but it might be time to depart from The Country Club for a while, because you can only change the tee box and hole locations for so long until you just get sick of playing the same course over and over again.
Speaking of axe wounds, join us after the jump for a brief look back at some of MMA’s nastiest cuts…
(The shirt says it all.)
Roy Nelson’s UFC 143 scrap with Fabricio Werdum was truly an exercise in futility for “Big Country,” because it more or less showcased what we already knew about him (the man can take a beating like no other), while at the same time reinforcing the idea that Nelson has damn near refused to evolve as a MMA fighter. Yes, he has recently shown a commitment to slimming down and yes, not many of us expected him to try and submit Werdum on Saturday, but if Roy doesn’t start switching up his striking routine (aka looking for anything but a big overhand right), he can expect several more axe wounds like the one above in his future.
We love you Roy, but it might be time to depart from The Country Club for a while, because you can only change the tee box and hole locations for so long until you just get sick of playing the same course over and over again.
Speaking of axe wounds, join us below for a brief look back at some of MMA’s nastiest cuts…
At UFC 143, we were expecting a slugfest for the ages. However, that never transpired, as Carlos Condit shut down the surging attacks that Nick Diaz had in store for him. Coming into the main event, Condit had amassed an incredible record of 13 stoppag…
At UFC 143, we were expecting a slugfest for the ages. However, that never transpired, as Carlos Condit shut down the surging attacks that Nick Diaz had in store for him.
Coming into the main event, Condit had amassed an incredible record of 13 stoppages and 13 submissions to boot in his 28 victories. And as a consequence, the moniker “The Natural Born Killer” was going to be symbolic in the night’s proceedings.
However, that would not be the case, as the Greg Jackson-trained fighter put a strategic nullifying clinic on the Cesar Gracie combatant.
Though his stratagem wasn’t to everyone’s liking, it resulted in Condit capturing the interim welterweight title and a date with the division’s perennial champion Georges St-Pierre.
Diaz thrives on fistic wars, and it must’ve been a rude awakening with Condit’s decision to deviate from what the Stocktonian had in mind.
From the outset, Condit’s game plan was to keep Diaz at bay, which he successfully accomplished for more or less the entire bout—dictating where and how he wanted the fight to play out.
Diaz’s attempts at pressure fighting—walking him down in view of either a toe-to-toe battle or to get him against the fence, where he could do some serious damage—bared little fruit, as Condit circled out of harm’s way while punishing him at the same time.
Though Diaz did find some success against the fence, it was short-lived, as Condit was able to distract him with his own striking and move out of danger.
This was Condit’s modus operandi throughout, synonymous to boxing’s version of stick and jab—in and out of the pocket—scoring points and giving his opponent little or no opportunity to launch any significant attacks.
What Condit proved in this matchup was his ability to adapt to certain fights—if he’d fought Diaz’s game of attempting to strike with him, it’s more than likely that Diaz would be the one on the path to St-Pierre’s crown.
For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.
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.
Carlos Condit is a brilliant striker, but fans wouldn’t know it the way he fought Nick Diaz at UFC 143. Anyone who was watching Condit for the first time might be tricked into thinking that the new interim welterweight champion was best at leg kicks an…
Carlos Condit is a brilliant striker, but fans wouldn’t know it the way he fought Nick Diaz at UFC 143. Anyone who was watching Condit for the first time might be tricked into thinking that the new interim welterweight champion was best at leg kicks and fighting on the outside.
Most of them would have been confused to find out that Condit’s nickname is the Natural Born Killer.
Saturday night, fans didn’t see the man who won two fight of the night or the knockout of the night awards, but rather someone who was intent on winning by points.
That isn’t to say that Condit’s strategy wasn’t brilliant. He was able to get Diaz to come forward and attack him all night long while he countered his opponent. It was a dicey move because some MMA judges score on aggression, disregarding the fact that there were plenty of fans who thought Diaz won.
Condit did what he needed to and he was able to walk away with the victory and a guaranteed huge fight against Georges St-Pierre.
He just didn’t show even half his talent to new fans or old. It shocked Nick Diaz and the folks who paid for the pay-per-view when he decided to circle the outside.
In the WEC, Condit had finished all four of the opponents he had placed in front of him.
When he transitioned to the UFC, he had some trouble splitting two close decisions with Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger.
After those two bumps in the road, he finished his next three opponents, even coming back from what was a certain defeat against Rory McDonald to knock him out.
In his next bout, he was able to knockout Dan Hardy in a savage manner.
Condit was even able to take out Dong Hyun Kim in one round, stopping the judoka from getting him to the ground and suffocating him.
In one fight, Condit was able to destroy all of the goodwill he had among fans for one reason.
They knew that he could fight better then he did.
Could he have fought a better fight in a safer manner? No, he used a game plan that gave him the best chance of success and won.
He can’t be faulted for it, as it gave him an opportunity to face GSP and a payday that will be unrivaled. This is how he makes a living and he did what he needed to for his family.
Condit just needs to remember that the UFC is also entertainment and that for fans to buy pay-per-views, they have to feel that it is worth doing so.
That means he needs to be exciting again like Nick Diaz tried to be.
Otherwise, he will turn into the next Georges St-Pierre: someone who wins matches, but angers fans.
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.
Former welterweight title contender Josh Koscheck recently parted company with American Kickboxing Academy to set up his own training camp in Fresno, California. Some believe that this could be the signal for a potential fight with close friend and tra…
Former welterweight title contender Josh Koscheck recently parted company with American Kickboxing Academy to set up his own training camp in Fresno, California. Some believe that this could be the signal for a potential fight with close friend and training partner Jon Fitch, but it’s not.
In the past both combatants have made it perfectly clear that under no circumstances will they ever step into the Octagon to compete for honors or money.
“If there’s no one else for me to compete with at 170 other than Koscheck, I’m going to move up.
[…] “No chance (we will fight),” declared Koscheck. “It’s not worth it to me. I would rather step away from the sport than fight Jon Fitch.”
Those comments continue to hold true for the former NCAA Division-I standout as he continues to stand by his words regarding any future fights with Fitch now that he’s no longer a member of AKA.
That said, “Kos” did intimate that he and Fitch would continue to help each other out as they’ve done in the past, thus leading to the conclusion that his exit from the camp that he’s called home for six years will never leave the door open for a fight with Fitch.
Though, Koscheck who defeated Mike Pierce via split decision at UFC 143 does have his sights set on both the winner and loser of the main event card, newly-crowned interim titlist Carlos Condit and former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
“Yeah, definitely. Why not? He’s a tough guy. It would be a good fight,” Koscheck stated of Diaz.
When asked about facing Condi, Koscheck said, “There’s a little bit of history with us and we were supposed to fight tonight. I’m down.”
For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.
Another Nick Diaz fight in the books, another controversy surrounds him.As we all know by now, at UFC 143, Diaz was defeated by Carlos Condit in a five-round interim title fight. During the post-fight interview, Diaz claimed he was retiring. He had eno…
Another Nick Diaz fight in the books, another controversy surrounds him.
As we all know by now, at UFC 143, Diaz was defeated by Carlos Condit in a five-round interim title fight. During the post-fight interview, Diaz claimed he was retiring. He had enough of the fight game.
I don’t need this sh**t. I pushed this guy backwards. He ran from me the whole fight. He ran this whole fight. I landed the harder shots. He ran the whole time. He kicked me in the leg with little baby leg kicks the whole fight. That’s the way they understand to win in here. I don’t want to play this game no more.
These words may have just been Diaz getting caught up in the moment, or they may be his true feelings. No one ever knows what he’s thinking. It’s obvious he felt cheated by the decision, but the question remains: Is Nick Diaz seriously contemplating retirement? Is he truly done fighting? For the fans’ sakes, and the sake of the UFC, let’s hope not.
Diaz has felt cheated from the moment he stepped back in the UFC. UFC 137 was slated to be welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defending his UFC title against then-Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz. After Diaz missed the press conference, Dana White decided to discipline him by taking him out of the title fight and inserted Carlos Condit as St-Pierre’s opponent. After suffering a knee injury, St. Pierre was forced off the card and Condit decided to wait and fight another day.
Nick Diaz versus B.J. Penn was promoted to the main event of the show. After three rounds, Diaz was declared the winner (via unanimous decision). He received no win bonus for this fight. The win did, however, earn Diaz the match he was originally scheduled for. Unfortunately, after tearing his ACL, GSP was again forced from another fight.
Condit was pulled from his fight against Josh Koscheck to fight Diaz for the interim UFC welterweight title. The outcome is now clear. Condit will face St-Pierre when he’s fully healed to unify the belts.
So where do the UFC and Diaz go from here? It’s simple. Diaz is all about making money. He’s threatened to leave the sport once to pursue bigger purses in boxing, so why not give him an offer he can’t refuse? Put Nick Diaz’s biggest asset to good use.
We already know who’s fighting for the welterweight title later this year. So who’s the No. 1 contender? You find out by putting two of the biggest trash-talkers in the sport against each other. Nick Diaz in a fight against Josh Koscheck.
With one catch.
Diaz and Koscheck are given the chance to build this rivalry—not that they really need it—by being coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The current season will pit current bantamweight champion Dominic Cruz against challenger Urijah Faber (which debuts in March), so they would need to wait a bit, but that even plays better into it. Let Diaz clear his head—if that’s even possible—have his time off, train a bit, let the odor of his post-fight interview clear and then get back into the game.
The UFC and Zuffa are always looking for a way to up the ratings. From recognizable names to real feuds to trash-talkers. What better way to bring all three together than these two men as the opposing coaches? Could you imagine a season featuring these two?
A team coached by Nick Diaz would get a great camp—Nick, his brother Nate, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, Gracies being brought in to help by the truck loads; it’s a great opportunity for kids to learn from a truly great jiu-jitsu camp.
Josh Koscheck, on the other hand, just recently coached opposite current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and can bring with him his American Kickboxing Academy team once again.
Let’s face it, though, with these two, you’re going to tune in to see what happens next. Koscheck and Diaz face to face each week could turn into some of the most chaotic moments in the history of the show. The winner gets a shot at the title and the loser, well, it may be his last chance. Diaz can’t afford to lose after this latest decision to Condit, and a loss for Koscheck would be his third strike in a title fight.
A season where both careers are seriously on the line would make for some great television. When you paint two men into a corner and tell them their livelihoods are at stake, you’re bound to have situations you can’t control. What better than to catch that on TV with two guys that don’t seem to be all that stable to begin with? The UFC would be silly to not cash in when it has a potential gold mind on its hands.
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