The UFC’s ever-popular Primetime series now has a new home on television thanks to the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion’s new deal with FOX.As the UFC and their new broadcasting partner enter the first year of their seven-year deal, the thr…
The UFC’s ever-popular Primetime series now has a new home on television thanks to the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion’s new deal with FOX.
As the UFC and their new broadcasting partner enter the first year of their seven-year deal, the three-part series which chronicles the training regimens of two high-profile UFC stars leading up to their main event clash will now be shown on FX.
UFC Primetime: Diaz vs. Condit, which features UFC 143 headliners Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit, will be the first of the series to air on FX, with the first episode set to premiere at 11 p.m. ET on Jan. 20, according to FightLine.com. The show will serve as a lead-in to their Feb. 4 bout in Las Vegas, the winner of which will be crowned the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
The second episode of the series will air on Jan. 27, while the third and final part will be broadcast the day before the fight on Feb. 3.
Diaz was originally slated to take on UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 143, but an ACL injury will sideline the champion for most of 2012. Condit, St. Pierre’s replacement, was also previously scheduled to fight for the title at UFC 137 in October, but a knee injury prior to St. Pierre’s latest ailment forced the UFC to scrap the bout completely.
The winner of this matchup will be the next in line to face St. Pierre when he returns to the Octagon.
Filed under: UFC, NewsEd Herman will look to continue his roll since returning from a severe knee injury, attempting to capture his third straight win since the layoff when he faces Clifford Starks at UFC 143 in February.
Ed Herman will look to continue his roll since returning from a severe knee injury, attempting to capture his third straight win since the layoff when he faces Clifford Starks at UFC 143 in February.
The UFC confirmed the fight’s booking on Wednesday.
Herman (19-7) has looked spectacular in his first two bouts back from ACL and meniscus damage, finishing both Kyle Noke and Tim Credeur in less than one round apiece. His win over Credeur came via TKO in just 48 seconds, and he followed that up with a submission win against Noke with a heel hook.
Prior to the injury, Herman had struggled, losing three of his last four bouts.
Starks recently made his octagon debut with a unanimous decision win over Dustin Jacoby at UFC 137 in October. A former collegiate wrestler at Arizona State, Starks is unbeaten in his pro career at 8-0.
UFC 143 takes place on February 4, 2012 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The main event will feature a UFC interim welterweight title match between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit.
Since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL a few weeks ago, Georges St-Pierre has been out of the spotlight. He has been working hard to rehabilitate his knee and make a successful return to the Octagon. The champion suffered the injury during …
Since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL a few weeks ago, Georges St-Pierre has been out of the spotlight. He has been working hard to rehabilitate his knee and make a successful return to the Octagon.
The champion suffered the injury during a training session earlier this month and it forced him out his scheduled bout with Nick Diaz at UFC 143. Since then, there hasn’t been much update on St-Pierre’s status.
St-Pierre’s trainer and close friend, Frias Zahabi, recently spoke to MMAFightCorner.com about the champion’s injury. He revealed that the surgery was a success and that “Rush” is doing well.
“GSP is recovering very well,” Zahabi said. “Georges will start rehab at The Sports Science Lab, has been in contact with me regularly and is motivated to start rehabilitation. Everyone is very confident on a full recovery and we are all looking forward to the next training”
Zahabi opened up about his relationship with St-Pierre and said the two remain very close. While Zahabi is widely considered to be one of the most successful trainers in Montreal, the Tri-Star gym coach said he originally began training in mixed martial arts.
It was during his introduction to MMA that Zahabi befriended the French-Canadian. As he explained:
I have been working with GSP for 10 years now. We started out as training partners. We got along very quickly and become very close. After that Georges asked me to be his head coach and take his training more seriously. He wanted me to oversee all his training as we have similar mentalities on how to train. We have been training together ever since.
While St-Pierre remains sidelined, his original opponent, Diaz, will meet Carlos Condit for the UFC interim welterweight title at UFC 143.
Nick Diaz is set to face Carlos Condit in the main event at UFC 143. When that fight concludes, Diaz will either walk out of the Octagon as the UFC’s interim welterweight champion or he will leave the Mandalay Bay Events Center with his first los…
Nick Diaz is set to face Carlos Condit in the main event at UFC 143. When that fight concludes, Diaz will either walk out of the Octagon as the UFC’s interim welterweight champion or he will leave the Mandalay Bay Events Center with his first loss in 12 fights.
Win or lose, Diaz may also leave Las Vegas as the next big thing in the UFC, whether the notorious brawler from Stockton, Calif., likes it or not.
I’m sure some will be dismissive of that statement based on Diaz’s past antics and his clear disdain for the spotlight, but the fact remains that Diaz may very well be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the UFC’s new partnership with FOX.
With an FX fight card and a FOX fight card airing the two weeks prior to UFC 143, the promotion has the ability to build interest in the Diaz vs. Condit main event, and that means the potential for more fans to see a Nick Diaz fight for the first time.
This is not an insignificant thing, as Diaz can always be counted on to deliver not only an exciting fight, but also some “interesting” sound bites in the days leading up to the fight. If the UFC can convince first-time pay-per-view buyers that Diaz is something special, that’s a win-win for the promotion as well as for Diaz.
Let’s face it; Diaz is a draw for the UFC. Longer-term MMA fans either love him or hate him, there’s no middle ground. Diaz’s detractors label him a miscreant who does nothing but complain and continuously paint himself as a victim even when he’s cashing checks for $200,000.
Diaz’s fans praise his honesty and willingness to say whatever is on his mind whenever he is pressed on a subject that he is passionate about.
However, the attitude is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to Diaz. The second aspect is his skill as a mixed martial artist. Even his most ardent critics would be hard pressed to say he is not an entertaining fighter.
Hell, even Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who once spent months trying to get a fight with Diaz, admits that Diaz is one of his favorite fighters. When you combine the brash attitude with the willingness to fight to his opponent’s strengths and yet never seem to be happy with, well, anything, you have all the makings of the perfect antihero.
Diaz is the antithesis of the scrubbed, squeaky-clean images of champions such as Georges St.-Pierre and Jon Jones.
A great number of fight fans can identify with Nick Diaz. He’s the black hat-wearing loner, the bad guy that spews whatever is on his mind without caring about the repercussions. He’s the fighter that rebels against anything and everything, just because it’s in his nature.
By the same token, those that detest him do so because he doesn’t play the game. They feel he’s a malcontent, rewarded for behavior that should be abhorred, not condoned. In their eyes, he’s the rebel without a clue.
Through all of this, both sides have one thing in common; they’ll tune in to see Diaz fight. His fans want to see him prevail, the ultimate outsider who does things only on his terms. His detractors want to see him fail in spectacular fashion, tumbling into history, only to be spoken about in the past tense, never to be heard from again.
UFC 143 will mark the biggest opportunity in the MMA career of Nick Diaz; it will be very interesting to see what he does with this chance.
Josh Koscheck is widely considered to be a top-five welterweight. So you would expect him to face top-tier competition at UFC 143, but that won’t be the case. The musical-chairs matchmaking for the event forced Koscheck’s original opponent, Carlos…
Josh Koscheck is widely considered to be a top-five welterweight. So you would expect him to face top-tier competition at UFC 143, but that won’t be the case.
The musical-chairs matchmaking for the event forced Koscheck’s original opponent, Carlos Condit, into a bout against Nick Diaz for an interim title.
That left Kos at a crossroads, as he had no opponent, but still wanted to make money.
Instead of a replacement commensurate with Condit, Koscheck will now face Mike Pierce.
If you’re asking yourself who Pierce is, don’t feel lonely.
A quick Wikipedia search will let you look over his stacked resume. Pierce has gone 13-4 over his MMA career, which sounds respectable until you look at who he’s faced.
Pierce came out on the losing side in bouts against higher-level talent like Mark Munoz and Jon Fitch as well as against a decent (but not top-tier) fighter in Johnny Hendricks.
His record looks even worse in light of his most recent fight—a rematch against Paul Bradley.
Pierce won their first matchup on the regional circuit by unanimous decision. His win in their rematch came via split decision.
Not that it is the all-mighty source of knowledge, but Wikipedia does not even have a page for Mr. Bradley.
Does a guy who won a split decision over someone without a Wikipedia page sound like a guy who deserves to fight one of the best welterweights in the world?
Kos has been fighting high-level fighters for quite a while. He deserves better than an up-and-comer who has disappointed against tough competition.
Koscheck may be on his way out the door but it’s not like he’s on a losing streak or been relegated to a gatekeeper role. Besides Fitch and Georges St-Pierre, you’d be hard pressed to find a welterweight who’s better than Koscheck.
If you don’t believe me, just ask Pierce after the fight—when he’s hearing Bruce Buffer call out Kos’ name.
Donald Cerrone wins the MMAFighting “Get Dat Paper” award: here. Frankie Edgar and Nick Diaz are the betting favorites in their upcoming bouts at UFC 143 and UFC 144: here. Corey Hill added to XFC.
Donald Cerrone wins the MMAFighting “Get Dat Paper” award: here.
Frankie Edgar and Nick Diaz are the betting favorites in their upcoming bouts at UFC 143 and UFC 144: here.
The UFC’s ever-popular Primetime series now has a new home on television thanks to the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion’s new deal with FOX.
