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UFC 143: Who Is the Second-Best Welterweight in the World Today?

It was time to find out who is the second-best welterweight in the world when Nick Diaz faced Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 143, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain. The show began in the middlewei…

The show began in the middleweight division as Ed Herman went up against Clifford Starks.

No feeling-out period in this one as these two began brawling straight away, with Starks in particular getting off some good shots, causing some damage to the left side of Herman’s face.

There was a brief trip to the ground at the end of the first, and it was on the ground where the finish came in the second, Herman scoring with the takedown with a nice trip, taking Starks’ back and synching in a rear-naked choke for the impressive submission win.

It was down to bantamweight for the next fight as Renan Barao faced Scott Jorgensen.

This proved to be a very intriguing battle. Jorgensen came into this fight with a great reputation, but there were times when Barao made him look a bit ordinary, keeping his man at a distance with a series of kicks that staggered Jorgensen quite a few times.

There wasn’t much work on the ground to speak of as Barao easily defended against Jorgensen’s takedown attempts, but when Jorgensen pulled guard in the second, Barao looked more than capable of dealing with his opponent until Jorgensen got to his feet.

Although Jorgensen looked slightly better in the third, Barao still looked great, with his striking looking a lot crisper than that of his opponent.

So with the fight going the distance, it came down to the judges, and it was no surprise with this one as they gave everything to Barao.

It was up to welterweight next as Josh Koscheck faced Mike Pierce.

This was another of those encounters that fitted firmly into the intriguing folder, although it was a lot closer than the previous fight.

Both fighters put in good performances in the striking department, with Pierce just edging it for me in that respect.

The takedown defence was sound, so much so that there were only three successful attempts here, one for Pierce and two for Koscheck, with the fighters returning to their feet within seconds.

Koscheck earned a series of warnings from the referee for his use of the fingers on his left hand. Koscheck’s tactic was to use his left, with his palm open, to gauge the distance so he could throw a right hand, and it was inevitable that he would inadvertently poke Pierce in the eye.

With the fight going the distance, the judges were called into action once again as Koscheck took the split decision, something that didn’t exactly please those in attendance.

The penultimate fight featured heavyweight action as Roy Nelson faced the returning Fabricio Werdum.

I really enjoyed this one. From the moment it started, Werdum put on an excellent striking display, particularly with the muay thai clinch in the first round as he held Nelson’s head and delivered a series of hard knees that busted his man open.

Nelson, for his part, showed how tough he was by not only taking that punishment but also dishing out some of his own, at one point sending Werdum crashing with a big right hand, as well as going for a standing guillotine.

But all of this meant nothing as far as Werdum was concerned as he kept up his striking attack, opening up a second cut above Nelson’s right eye.

The referee’s decision was more or less a foregone conclusion as the judges gave everything to Werdum.

The main event saw Carlos Condit taking on Nick Diaz for the interim welterweight title.

This proved to be a very good fight, especially for Condit.

Both fighters looked a little nervous to begin, but it wasn’t long before Condit began to impose his will on the fight, getting off some nice combinations.

As the fight progressed, it became obvious that Diaz was getting frustrated with his inability to use his usual tactics, and whenever he did manage to get Condit up against the cage and get off a couple of blows, Condit always escaped within seconds.

The only ground work to speak off came in the fifth round when Diaz took Condit’s back and took the fight down. Diaz tried to go for a choke, but Condit was able to defend, ending the fight in top position.

Then the judges came into play, with all three giving the fight to Condit for his great performance.

In conclusion, Dana White and his band of merry men have done it again. UFC 143 may have lacked the flashy submissions and the big knockouts that fans normally cry out for, but it was still packed with tremendous action.

There were some really good performances here, from Ed Herman’s early submission attempt to the wars of attrition which saw Josh Koscheck, Renan Barao, Fabricio Werdum and Carlos Condit grind out well-deserved wins, with Condit’s battle with Nick Diaz the fight of the night for me.

So in all, UFC 143 gets a the big thumbs up from this particular writer. Good work all round.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com, as well as my Facebook page at Facebook.com/twoshedsreview.

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Greg Jackson Says Criticism of Carlos Condit’s Performance "Doesn’t Make Sense"

Despite the ongoing criticism of Carlos Condit’s performance at UFC 143, his head trainer Greg Jackson felt “The Natural Born Killer” executed his gameplan perfectly to prevail over Nick Diaz.Condit was awarded the unanimous-decision victory over Diaz …

Despite the ongoing criticism of Carlos Condit‘s performance at UFC 143, his head trainer Greg Jackson felt “The Natural Born Killer” executed his gameplan perfectly to prevail over Nick Diaz.

Condit was awarded the unanimous-decision victory over Diaz and was crowned the UFC interim welterweight champion.

Although he grabbed the win, Condit’s strategy did not seem to entertain many fans, as some labelled it as “running.” Nevertheless, Jackson was confident in the Team Jackson product’s overall approach and defended Condit’s win in an exclusive interview with MMAFighting.com.

“The criticism I guess I heard this morning was that Carlos was running,” Jackson said. “You can’t really say he’s running, because he hit him more times. So that argument doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Condit neutralized Diaz’s striking with counter-striking and movement, where he would repeatedly attack his opponent’s lead leg with leg kicks for majority of the fight. Anytime Diaz would attempt to close the distance and trap Condit in the corner, the former WEC welterweight champion would retreat and force the action back to the centre of the Octagon.

According to Jackson, the idea was to avoid Diaz’s main strength: boxing.

“He’s amazing when he gets you up against the fence. He’s amazing when he starts rolling on those combinations,” he said of Diaz. “So we left the party when that happened and then we started the party again and were able to land a lot more shots than he was.”

“There’s no reason for us to play that game,” he added.

Fans and critics reaction of Condit’s gameplan was fairly negative, and among those critics was Diaz’s head trainer Cesar Gracie.

Jackson said he wasn’t surprised to learn of Gracie’s response, considering Condit was the underdog heading into the matchup, but after pointing out the statistics, Jackson said it was evident Condit won the fight.

“All strikes, we outstruck him. Significant strikes, we outstruck him. So if you’re looking at numbers, that was all us,” he said. “If you’re hitting him, not getting hit, and moving, I’m not really sure how you can score [the fight for Diaz].”

The win for Condit will now set up a unification bout with current champion Georges St-Pierre once he returns to action later this year. Both Condit and St-Pierre are part of Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

When asked if he would play a role in their upcoming title bout, Jackson respectfully declined the offer and wants no involvement at all.

“Georges is my guy as much as Carlos is my guy,” he said.

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UFC Needs to Fix Championship Inactivity by Making More Title Fights

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.

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Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 143 Edition

(Apparently after this loss, Max Holloway decided to change his nickname from “Lil’ Evil” to “Blessed,” likely because taking Jens Pulver’s nickname REALLY lets opponents know where your weakness lies.)

Aside from bitterly dividing fans on what exactly constitutes a fight, UFC 143 left us with a lot of unanswered questions. Should Carlos Condit consider a nickname change?* Will Dustin Poirier get the next shot at Jose Aldo?** Is Nick Diaz really calling it quits?*** Though only time will truly calm our concerns, we’re going to make some bold predictions for Saturday’s winners and losers nonetheless, because that’s how we do things ’round here. Check out our matchmaking picks below, and let us know what you think in the comments section.

Nick Diaz: Perhaps the most impressive thing about Nick Diaz is that, despite his intellectual shortcomings, he maintains an ability to instill fear into whomever he fights. His cardio, striking attack, and Jiu Jitsu are second to none and just plain SCARY, but it is the man’s confidence, his willingness to relentlessly pursue and trade with anyone, that breaks even the strongest of competitors. Going into a fight with Diaz, you know you aren’t going to submit him, and you know it’s damn near impossible to knock the SOB out, so what the fuck are you supposed to do?

Where Nick’s problem lies, however, is in his ability to adapt, to set a game plan. Nick Diaz wants to fight like Nick Diaz, against Nick Diaz, and it’s why many of us love the guy. But when anyone who won’t adhere to this type of fight is looked at as a bitch (at least in his eyes), why not start matching Diaz up against those who just want to throw down? Screw the championship aspirations; let’s just assign Diaz to barnburner only match-ups against willing brawlers from this day forward. If he doesn’t want to accept the fact that many people with a title shot in mind are going to avoid his kind of fight at all costs, he best just move on, or abandon title hopes altogether. I say give him Diego Sanchez, regardless of whether or not he beats Jake Ellenberger. Their first meeting was a classic, and the second will be no different.

Fabricio Werdum: Aside from lighting up Roy Nelson’s face like it was the 4th of July, Werdum proved last weekend that he deserved to be ranked amongst the heavyweight division’s elite, so it’s time to give him a legit contender. Matter of fact, why not an ex-champion? Cain Velasquez is coming off a disappointing first round KO loss to Junior Dos Santos, the same man responsible for KO’ing Werdum right out of the UFC back in 2008 (yes, it has been THAT LONG already). Cain will be looking to show the world that he can take a punch, and Werdum’s most recent performance shows that he is more than willing to dish them out.

Roy Nelson: Shane Carwin. If he can survive that man’s punches, then we may just have to look into whether or not Nelson’s chin is on PEDs. Otherwise, give Nelson some time off and let him attempt a cut to 205, because he doesn’t really have anywhere to go in the heavyweight division in terms of contendership. He’s simply too small to be fighting guys like Werdum, and would get absolutely mangled by the Alistair Overeems of the division.

Mike Pierce: Most people were too busy arguing over the Diaz/Condit decision to notice that Mike Pierce got the worst screw job of them all on Saturday night. Despite thoroughly out-striking Josh Koscheck, Pierce found himself on the wrong end of yet another close decision as a result of a couple takedowns that Kos did absolutely nothing with. It’s pretty evident at this point that Pierce is much better than most of us have given him credit for, and should get a good name for his next fight. We like Rick Story, who is coming off a decision loss to Martin Kampmann at UFC 139, for Pierce’s next opponent. A win wouldn’t propel either party to the top of the contender list, but would be a solid victory regardless.

Josh Koscheck: I don’t know…Jon Fitch maybe? Koscheck’s win did fuck all for him in terms of moving up those pointless rankings lists, and his one-dimensional striking attack surely isn’t going to win him a title anytime soon. His recent split with AKA opens up the Fitch fight, and I, for one, would just like to see two guys from that camp quit playing BFFs and fight. What’s Mike Swick doing these days?

Renan Barao: After dominating a former contender in Jorgensen the way Barao did, it’s safe to say the kid is ready for the ultimate step up. If wins over Eddie Wineland and Takeya Mizugaki can get Urijah Faber a shot at Dominick Cruz, then Barao has easily earned one with his wins over Jorgensen, Brad Pickett, and Cole Escovedo, after those two settle their beef, of course. If he doesn’t want to wait that long, give him the winner of Torres/McDonald, granted he is able to walk away injury free.

Dustin Poirier: He was originally set to face Erik Koch at this event, and the fight makes more sense than ever now. Winner gets a title shot. Make it happen, Sean.

Ed Herman: Herman has looked better in his most recent octagon run than he ever did after placing second in the TUF 3 finals. His striking is ever-improving (though a little reliant on the 6), he can take a hell of a shot, and he packs a slick submission game to boot. Pairing him off against the winner of the Brian Stann/Alessio Sakara match would be a great litmus test for the comeback kid.

Thoughts?

*No. Obvs.

**Probably.

***Who the fuck knows?

-J. Jones

Who Made What at UFC 143

(“If you’re gonna tease me, at least let me shove this down your shorts, homie.”)

The Nevada State Athletic Commission today released the salaries for Saturday night’s UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The entire payroll for the show, which was attended by 10,040 fans and earned a reported live gate of $2.3 million, was $880,500.

Nick Diaz took home the biggest paycheck out of the night’s combatants with $200,000, not including discretionary back room bonuses which are rumored to have brought Diaz’s payday to the $1 million range. The next highest payout went to Josh Koscheck, who doubled up on his $73,000 base salary with his razor-close win over Mike Pierce, bringing him to $146,000. In third was Carlos Condit, who took home $110,000 for his win over Diaz including a $55,000 win bonus.

Fabricio Werdum’s UFC salary remained the same as his Strikeforce one as he netted his customary $100,000 flat rate for his win over Roy Nelson, who is still at the lower end of the pay scale of the UFC’s upper-echelon of fighters thanks to his TUF contract. To put it in perspective, Scott Jorgensen took home $500 more than “Big Country” for his loss to Renan Barao, while Mike Pierce matched salaries with the former heavyweight IFL champ.

(“If you’re gonna tease me, at least let me shove this down your shorts, homie.”)

The Nevada State Athletic Commission today released the salaries for Saturday night’s UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The entire payroll for the show, which was attended by 10,040 fans and earned a reported live gate of $2.3 million, was $880,500.

Check out the complete list after the jump.

UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Carlos Condit: ($110,000 including a $55,000 win bonus) def. Nick Diaz ($200,000)

Fabricio Werdum ($100,000) def. Roy Nelson ($20,000)

Josh Koscheck ($146,000, including a $73,000 win bonus) def. Mike Pierce ($20,000)

Renan Barao ($22,000, including an $11,000 win bonus) def. Scott Jorgensen ($20,500)

Ed Herman ($62,000, including a $31,000 win bonus) def. Clifford Starks ($8,000)

Dustin Poirier ($24,000, including a $12,000 win bonus) def. Max Holloway ($6,000)

Edwin Figueroa ($16,000, including an $8,000 win bonus) def. Alex Caceres ($8,000)

Matt Brown: $30,000, including a $15,000 win bonus) def. Chris Cope ($8,000)

Matt Riddle ($30,000, including a $15,000 win bonus) def. Henry Martinez ($6,000)

Rafael Natal ($20,000, including a $10,000 win bonus) def.Michael Kuiper ($6,000)

Stephen Thompson ($12,000, including a $6,000 win bonus) def. Dan Stittgen ($5,000)

UFC 143 Results: Is Carlos Condit Afraid of a Rematch with Nick Diaz?

Following his controversial decision win against Nick Diaz in the main event of UFC 143, Carlos Condit is now in the prime position to vie for the 170-lb. title held by Georges St-Pierre. However, a rematch and a first defense of his interim belt again…

Firstly, St-Pierre could be out of action for nigh on a year and secondly, to silence some of the critics with regards to the outcome of their most recent outing.

Even Dana White publicly stated that he’d be all in favor of a rematch.

“It’s crazy, but…I was thinking about it after the fight,” said White in an interview with MMAJunkie. “People are bitching, and people think that was close…we could do that fight again before GSP comes back.”

Presently, Diaz is out of the picture for the time being as he subsequently announced his retirement from MMA following the decision. However, that could all change if Condit and Co. come calling.

Though, prior to their bout, Condit’s manager Malki Kawa had intimated that he’d consider a defense of the interim title if his charge came out victorious—well, that’s not the case anymore.

The Condit camp wants nothing to do with a rematch and have their sights set on a championship clash with St-Pierre.

“At this point, [a rematch] is not something we’re looking to do,” he said. “We’re looking for Georges. People forget, Carlos waited a long time to get this fight. He was moved around, and shuffled around between fights. He won the fight. It doesn’t interest us at all. I think clearly and decisively, he won the fight. Even [UFC president] Dana [White] scored it for him. All of the opinions that matter scored Carlos as winner,” Kawa said.

Whilst “The Natural Born Killer” may have been the victor, his strategy (hit-and-run game plan) of refusing to fully engage with Diaz, suggests that he must’ve had serious reservations regarding the Cesar Gracie fighter’s striking prowess.

And now that it’s over and he’s been able to gauge what Diaz is all about, he now wants no part of him.

This leads me to the conclusion that Condit and Kawa are afraid of a rematch with the Stockton brawler and would rather wait next to 12 months for a shot at St-Pierre’s crown.

Why else would they refuse a rematch that most of the public are in eager anticipation of?

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

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