UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit Poster by Anton Tabuena
Carlos Condit was able to use movement to keep Nick Diaz from really ever getting off through the majority of five rounds in the UFC 143 main event and it was good enough to win him the interim welterweight championship. As for Nick Diaz? It was enough to send him into retirement.
...or at least what he says will be his retirement.
I scored the fight 49-46 for Condit, it seemed pretty clear to me that he won the first four rounds, even if the first two were reasonably close. I thought the fight was a thoroughly enjoyable affair that saw Condit fight smart and never allow himself to get pinned up against the cage where Diaz has done his best work over the past few years. While many felt it was "running," to me it was taking advantage of Diaz's footwork and openings to get back out into the middle of the cage where he could score with leg kicks and pick and choose when to engage with combinations.
The reality is, strategy is important at the upper end of fight sports. In the same weight class where we saw the whole "Georges St. Pierre got too strategic once he got to the top of the sport" cries, we now are seeing it with Condit. Maybe it's that there are so many dangers at 170 that sometimes it takes a strategic approach to get the win.
Asking Condit to stand and trade with Diaz is asking him to do the same thing that got fighter after fighter busted up by Nick.
Carlos earned his victory and his shot at St. Pierre. I know I'll be looking forward to that fight when the time comes.
- I have a feeling Diaz thinks by "retiring" from the UFC, he can try the boxing thing that he has floated so often. Once the UFC lets him know that their contract doesn't exactly allow that, I have a feeling we'll see Diaz right back in the UFC Octagon.
- Diaz is still absolutely one of the best 170 pounders in the sport and will trouble almost anyone in the sport. I hope he really isn't walking away, even if I do really hate his inability to ever handle failure with any semblance of professionalism.
- I can't wait for the next round of cries that Roy Nelson suddenly cut to 205 pounds and learn a completely new way to fight at 35 years of age. The Roy Nelson who has proven time and time again that he can't handle top end heavyweights is the real version. He's the only one you're getting, so just accept it.
- Fabricio Werdum's muay thai looked very solid tonight. He was able to work knees, leg kicks and decent punching combinations to wreck Nelson over three rounds. He had some scary moments where Nelson appeared to get in with big enough power to sting him, but Werdum would just fire back and take the fight right back over. I'm not sure I buy into the idea that he can hang with Junior dos Santos because he was better at beating up Roy Nelson, but it was an impressive performance.
- Josh Koscheck survived an ugly, ugly fight against Mike Pierce. I don't know what to say other than that Pierce's toughness and Koscheck's inability to diversify his striking beyond "throw right hand hard" made the fight a bit harder than it really should have been.
- The real defining moment from the Koscheck/Pierce fight was Herb Dean not taking a point from Koscheck. After one warning "in the action" for reaching out with his hands open, and then a time where Dean stopped the fight to warn Koscheck to not poke the eyes, Koscheck eventually poked Pierce in the eye. That is exactly a situation where a point should be taken. Koscheck was given a clear warning and did not heed the referee's instructions, resulting in a foul. That was a failure on Herb's part, and totally inconsistent from earlier in the evening when he took two points from Alex Caceres for a second horrible low blow.
Much more after the jump...
SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit
- Renan Barao beat a very tough opponent in Scott Jorgensen at 143. But he displayed some cardio issues that cause some concern for a potential title fight and he also wasn't quite exciting enough in victory to elevate him to that status as a title challenger some of us were hoping for. I think he needs one more solid win before putting him in a title fight.
- Clifford Starks is a talented fighter and good enough that Ed Herman's win over him carries some solid meaning. Herman's last few fights have been very impressive and encouraging after a horrible injury layoff.
- Max Holloway did a good enough job despite being trounced by Dustin Poirier that people are still saying that he's got a bright future. I can't say I disagree but I'm still more excited about Poirier's future as I remain more impressed by him every time I see him.
- Alex Caceres lost his fight against Edwin Figueroa entirely because of a two point deduction for kicks to the groin. For those wondering, a two point deduction is completely legitimate and the violence of both kicks make me not too upset about it having happened.
- Chris Cope will hopefully never be on another UFC card. Props to Matt Brown for finishing him in violent fashion.
If Diaz goes to box
He will be destroyed and/or outpointed.
I like Diaz, although I hate his attitude that if you don’t play to his strengths you didn’t come to fight
IRodC - February 5, 2012
This is what pisses me off about the reaction to this.
It’s somehow on Carlos the fight Nick Diaz’ fight. A championship level fighter(and corner) would have adjusted based on what their opponent was doing. It’s just like when Frankie beat BJ and his corner was there calling Frankie names instead of telling him to do stuff. Koscheck even adjusted his gameplan when Pierce was pressing him against the cage.
HaterSlayer - February 5, 2012
Recced for thruth.
If Diaz was a good as people built him up to be, then why couldn’t he adjust his gameplan when it was obvious that his usual “back opponent into cage” tactic was going to work? He’s still a great fighter, but Condit exposed and exploited a glaring hole in his game.
doomrider7 - February 5, 2012
because his corner thought he was winning
Listen closely, Nate tells him he’s up 3-1 heading into the 5th round. That’s just awful, awful, awful corning advice. If he at least thought he was losing, he would have had a sense of urgency in the fifth instead of getting outstruck again before making things interesting in the final minute.
Brian Hemminger - February 5, 2012
I'm going to write a fanpost on this
Cornermen in MMA are terrible most of the time. Never tell your fighter they won a round unless there on some 10-8 shit.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
Yeah, Nate just can't say something like that...
….it can clearly change a fighters mind set…..what fight was Nate watching?
BrothersGottaAndyHug - February 5, 2012
Condit fought to win, not to finish, and i can respect that
What he did is equivilant to a Football team running it up the middle against a weak running defense. is it pretty? no. will you get flashy touchdown catches and highlight reel moments? no. but will you win because of it? Yes.
Besides, you know all these haters will be right back on his bandwagon the second he knocks out GSP. in fact, someone should go ahead and list the people who think he is a runner now so they can get called out for being bandwagon fans.
justsomehawkeyefan - February 5, 2012
Condit seemed to be trying all kinds of flashing strikes in there. Conservatively sure, but he did attempt spinning backfists, flying knees etc. What did Diaz actually do?
UncleMax - February 5, 2012
Well, he did ask Condit if they were going to be throwing spinning shit…
Empty Thoughts - February 5, 2012
exactly i really dont see how carlos didnt get 4 rounds but whatever UD for the home team im just glad this hype train is over for nick and we can get back to guys who actually are martial artists. nick diaz doesnt have the attitude of one and he showed it tonight he’d showed exactly why i dont like him like really talk shit in fights your losing? be a sore loser and say your retiring cause you hate gameplans? oh i forgot your trainer is a jack ass as well. im sorry im just happy that the 209 is once again in pieces
Mac Marley - February 5, 2012
Forrest Condit...
Run Carlos, RUN!!!!
Martial Artist, Really? Watching Condit was like watching the Tae Kwon Do point scoring events in the Olympics (except of course, the Olympians don’t sprint away at the first sight of a counter attack).
oousty - February 5, 2012
What exactly is the problem with what Carlos did?
Did he get outlanded? Nope. Did he outland? Yes.
Is it his attitude for not going for the finish—whatever that means?
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
how are you supposed to fight someone who literally jogs away?
Carlos ran, backpedalled, retreated, avoided all contact, etc once Nick got within range. Not the type of game plan that should be rewarded with a belt. Jab with a kick, throw a punch then “oh shit! run!”
His attitude is similar to:
1. any NFL receiver that will not go over the middle for a ball
2. an MLB outfielder not diving for a ball.
3. JMM running from Manny in their last boxing match
4. Old Rashad Evans lay and pray (he is such a better fighter now then he was under the Jackson system)
oousty - February 5, 2012
So, it is his ATTITUDE that bothers you.
I mean, he did a good counterfight, and outlanded Nick. He did more damage.
And he ran away like a scaredy cat, too. And? I mean, I was rooting for Nick, but what Carlos did was effective and dangerous, he wasn’t fucking around.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
or, you know
don’t be a boxer with no takedowns who doesn’t power punch. Perfect gameplan against Nick.
Also he didn’t, but keep imagining that he did.
Cory Braiterman - February 5, 2012
It’s amazing how that works. When the guy supposedly running away steps in to hit, you hit him first. Even better, when the guy supposedly running away starts to run away you cut him off and hit him.
Btw, that isn’t how the fight played out anyways. Easier to go with it that than just admit that Diaz expected Condit to stand and brawl with him and couldn’t adjust when he didn’t.
Empty Thoughts - February 5, 2012
Right. It’s Leites vs Anderson all over again. Thales can’t get Anderson to the ground where he wants to fight and it’s somehow Anderson’s fault.
crinow - February 5, 2012
People don’t understand that it’s Diaz’s fault. He walks at you and doesn’t cut off your retreat points like what it really means to “cut off the cage”
Brent Brookhouse - February 5, 2012
Fucking angles?
How do they work?
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
I suspect the people claiming it’s Condit’s fault were mocking Fabricio Werdum for pulling guard against Overeem. Surely by their logic Alistair was obliged to fight Fabricio’s fight, right?
VenusBlue - February 5, 2012
If you can’t get the fight to where you want it and keep it there, you lose. Nt to mention that Carlos was hitting nick with some serious shots everywhere in he cage. He exchanged a shot or two to create space almost every time he was backed up against the fence.
crinow - February 5, 2012
That's a terrible joke.
av1o3 - February 5, 2012
your face is terrible.
oousty - February 5, 2012
Go to bed
halitosis - February 5, 2012 via mobile
brush your teeth
but i am going to bed now
oousty - February 5, 2012
Get lost oousty
Condit landed some awesome combos, I can’t really recall what Diaz did, at all besides the take down. Diaz should have adjusted. This isn’t Strikeforce, or BJ Penn who is going to get emotional during a fight and get caught up in Diaz’s up-against-the-cage-swinging-away game.
UncleMax - February 5, 2012
It wasn't even so much that Penn got emotional
As that he got gassed and couldn’t get off the cage midway through the second.
Scott Whitaker - February 5, 2012
Also, nobody likes C-Murder
Thanks Luke
IRodC - February 5, 2012
Second Chance
J_Maddux - February 5, 2012
Weird-to-bad reffing tonight all the way around.
Herb breaking up fights way faster than he should have. Weird inconsistency with taking points/warnings. Just not so good, by some usually good refs.
Dave Strummer - February 5, 2012
To take off 2 from Caceres and then none from Kos for the eye pokes was ridiculous
sun yue - February 5, 2012
Agree
At that point, it was blatant.
Jay Bittner - February 5, 2012
I don't think he was purposefully trying to poke him,
but he warned him and he kept doing it.
sun yue - February 5, 2012
Normally I'd agree
But it isn’t nearly the first time Kos would be accused of dirty fighting. After two warning and an eyepoke he was STILL doing it briefly. At that point, I feel you have to assume it’s intentional.
Jay Bittner - February 5, 2012
Kos is a cheat, and unapologetic about it.
Remember the illegal knee Daley hit him with?
Oh…right, Kos faked getting fouled,just like Wayne Rooney falling from a phantom trip inside the box.
Snatchl - February 5, 2012
snatchi
thats precisely why i hate koscheck. he cheats when he gets in bad spots. and he lost last night too.
UFC Champ 42O - February 5, 2012
Really shitty officiating IMO
There was no precedence.
Alex literally landed two illegal kicks and was docked 2 points. That’s ridiculous.
TheFilt - February 5, 2012
Those were pretty bad kicks though
it clearly took a lot out of Figueroa, especially the last one.
av1o3 - February 5, 2012
I kind of got the feeling that Figueroa was playing it up,
especially after he faked getting dick kicked. There’s no room in MMA for flopping.
sun yue - February 5, 2012
Then he should have took a DQ win instead of a tainted decision.
TheFilt - February 5, 2012
He might not have received his win bonus for a win by DQ, though – some fighter contracts give that option to the promoter.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
Didn't know that
Thanks for the info
TheFilt - February 5, 2012
@TheFilt
….I see what you did there, working in the word “taint” regarding a fight that featured multiple low blows….#genius
BrothersGottaAndyHug - February 5, 2012
I actually disagree
Here’s the difference:
The low blows really made a difference to how the Caceres/Figueroa fight played out. Figueroa wasn’t the same afterwards. It wasn’t something he could completely recover from.
The same isn’t true of the eye pokes. Pierce wasn’t fighting differently, his vision wasn’t shot, etc.
So here’s the principle I figure Herb Dean was relying on: the ref shouldn’t make him/herself the story of the fight. In the one case, the story was already going to be low blows. In the other case, the fight played out more or less naturally, but if Herb had deducted a point, the story would have been “Herb Dean gave Pierce a decision win”.
phenylenginerods - February 5, 2012
Herb Dean was great and then horrible in the span of 2 hours
Earl Montclair - February 5, 2012
amen
inthepipes - February 5, 2012
The first thing I thought was what kind of lose will he accept. Does he feel he needs to be obliterated in order for it to count. He’s getting the warrior way stuff mixed up with sports. Does he want a GSP-Koscheck broken orbital and out for a year kinda beating in order for it to count. I think he does.
Inspectorxr5 - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Koscheck isn’t pulling the trigger anymore. That was a CLOSE fight.
Inspectorxr5 - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Condit showed the best running game I have seen since houston alexander pulled that gem against kimbo.
The_Devil_You_Know - February 5, 2012
such a good fight
Cory Braiterman - February 5, 2012
and for the diaz fans
Cory Braiterman - February 5, 2012
FOTC quote requires an FOTC gif
sun yue - February 5, 2012
Our Bovine Public - February 5, 2012
Power can be a curse.
Kos and Nelson looked horrible with their striking tonight.
sun yue - February 5, 2012
Tell me about it
Leonard Garcia is championship caliber
halitosis - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Loll @ Chris Cope will hopefully never be on another UFC card
And at Fabricio Werdum pointing at the floor trying to get big country looking away while eating knees.
In my opinion, Roy Nelson got robbed the same as Tery Etim got stopped early versus Barbosa…I mean…the guy still had his guard up…
All around a good night of fight.
Maesterz - February 5, 2012
Oh yeah
And that Stephen Thompson high kick was N.I.C.E.
Maesterz - February 5, 2012
Exactly. Diaz seemed like he expected Condit to just “bring it.” Instead, Condit outsmarted him and outstruck him.
pud333 - February 5, 2012
Diaz always expects that of folk.
And so far they have been nothing but obliguing. Had Carlos fallen in Nick’s game, he could have either a) gotten winded and outpointed by the Stockton slap, or b) KTFO’d Nick real quick during a heated brawl.
Carlos went with option c) which entailed not fucking falling into Nick’s game.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
You know who didn't do that
BJ Penn
and Diaz beat the fuck out of him
IRodC - February 5, 2012
But that's because it's fucking BJ Penn
if he didn’t show up fat he probably could have continued beating Diaz after the first round.
av1o3 - February 5, 2012
I was impressed with Carlos’ discipline and ability to stick to the game plan.
pud333 - February 5, 2012
He really fought an absolutely perfect fight.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
An "absolutely perfect fight" isn't a controversial split decision that could have gone either way.
Condit fought good. He got a decision against another very good fighter. But the hyperbole is out of control. Diaz easily could have gotten that decision. I think he earned it but it was close. And close fights mean the winner didn’t fight “perfect” of anywhere close to it. GSP was perfect against Fitch. Anderson was perfect against Forrest. Condit was good against Diaz.
pdl - February 5, 2012
It wasn't a split decision
But agreed with everything else.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
Blame gin.
I’ve had a lot of it.
pdl - February 5, 2012
*Spilled
AusEagle - February 5, 2012
What, precisely, could Condit have done better than he did tonight? What mistakes did he make? He had the perfect gameplan to beat Diaz – throw tons of low kicks, strike to set up your movement, don’t get caught against the cage, and don’t go to the ground – and he executed it flawlessly. The fact that the fight ended in a close unanimous decision is more about how evenly matched Condit and Diaz are than the quality of Condit’s performance.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
People wanted a brawl like Shogun vs Hendo. That's what.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
Fair point.
That would’ve been fun, but I’m plenty satisfied with what we ended up with.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
He could have not let the rounds be close.
He could have stayed off the cage instead of needing to escape it. He could have sat down on his leg kicks and gone under Diaz’s leg kicks. He could have not given his back and not needed to fight a choke in the fifth. He could have landed more strikes to the head . He could have slipped Nicks strikes and countered with power instead of retreating. He could have led with a straight right, gone under the counters, and exited at an angle.
Saying Condit fought a perfect fight is badly misunderstanding what the word perfect means. Or a severe disconnect from what happened in the cage.
pdl - February 5, 2012
*gone under Diaz's counters, not leg kicks.
Again… gin.
pdl - February 5, 2012
I am of the idea that the fighter knows better than the viewers, in that case.
He did enough to win a close fight when Diaz wouldn’t fucking slow down after having his legs fucking kicked to hell, and also his head.
I mean, do you at least admit he won?
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
I scored it 48-47 for Diaz live and stand by it until I can rewatch.
But I said before the scores were called that it was close and if it went Diaz then I wouldn’t raise hell over it. Still people calling Condit brilliant and saying he fought a perfect fight are being dumb. He won a narrow decision. Floyd Mayweather fights perfect fights. Condit just won a tough one.
pdl - February 5, 2012
Sure
I’m saying that Condit fought to the absolute limits of his abilities – in my mind, that constitutes perfection, contextually speaking. Condit isn’t Shogun or Edson Barboza in terms of the power behind his low kicks; tonight was as much power as I’ve ever seen him display in his kicks, and if you have counterexamples by all means share them. Maybe I’m missing something. Same goes for his countering and taking sharp angles on those counters; that’s not his game, and wouldn’t have fit with the gameplan even if it was.
Point is, you’re judging Condit’s performance against an abstract idea of the perfect performance. I’m judging Condit against the body of evidence we have as to the limits of his skill sets and physical talents. He’s not Anderson and he’s not GSP, he’s Carlos Condit, and that should be the standard of comparison.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
He wasn't perfect
Early in that fight he ate some big shots, and got out grappled toward the end.
Lets reserve perfect for fights like Silva/Griffin or Jones/Shogun.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
I think a big part of that
was that he had a lot of respect of Nick.
TheFilt - February 5, 2012
Yes.
I remember for a long time people kept putting down Nick’s punching as “pitter patter.”
pud333 - February 5, 2012
He looks more powerful every fight. Those body shots (when he got tight enough to use them) were absolutely brutal.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
C-Murder I never liked your nickname the only reason I wished him to lose violently
MaZZacare - February 5, 2012
The boxer’s who train with Diaz say that he has great hands, but his footwork isn’t that good, and we saw that tonight. He couldn’t cut off Condit all night.
Dana just said Diaz has at least 1 more fight on his contract with UFC, and that he’d love to see a Diaz/Koscheck fight, so I bet we see Diaz again.
dpk875 - February 5, 2012
My thought process when this happened (I love me some Big Country)
Cmon Roy…. Cmon…
YES! Get him, get him, get him…shit! …nononononononono!
Get the hell out of there! Don’t be a hero! Don’t pull a Fedor!
It’s a twap! Alright, whew…WTF are you doing let go of his legs!
That was an awesome fight.
jason18 - February 5, 2012
I like both guys and I was yelling when Roy dove into his guard.
That almost turned out really band for Country.
HaterSlayer - February 5, 2012
Even though I was rooting for Roy
That was the most awesome moment of the fight for me. So much tension on both ends (first Roy getting the knockdown, then Werdum almost getting the submission).
And god damnit if it isn’t hilarious how Werdum grins like a goofball every time someone knocks him down and follows into his guard.
Scott Whitaker - February 5, 2012
I love Brent's venom towards Cope
Because I agree with it completely.
Jonathan. - February 5, 2012
Wooo!
Pyrgz Krum - February 5, 2012
You mean
Wo…… :(
Jonathan. - February 5, 2012
same here
that guy is a card stain.
Dave Strummer - February 5, 2012
I hope Roy drops to 205
so people realize that heavyweights aren’t very talented after he gets shitkicked by 205ers.
pdl - February 5, 2012
He's 35. He can't fight differently, now.
He’d get trucked, most likely.
Or…Dana could offer him a money fight after Forrest trucks Tito.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
Matyushenko would roll Roy Nelson at 205. Thiago Silva would put him in the hospital.
Alex Gustafsson would shitkick Roy badly. Let him drop to 205 and remind people why heavyweights are heavyweights.
pdl - February 5, 2012
Agreed
The only things Nelson has going for him are his chin, his size in top position, and his big right hand. None of those things translate well to LHW.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
Unless he fight Shogun.
Both are pretty immobile now and would put a hell of a rock-em-sock-em fight. But that’s just me being an amoral bastard, and I’d rather they not give me the pleasure of watching it.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
That could be fun
But only for Nelson to play punching bag again. If Nelson couldn’t keep up with Werdum’s movement at heavyweight, he won’t be able to handle Shogun’s angles (imagine the low kicks, the horror, the horror!) at 205.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
Shogun didn't do any of those things against Hendo.
He didn’t even try. I think he may just have shifted his style to accommodate his loss of mobility.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
Clear reason for that
Hendo countered the low kick with his overhand right every time – that was what caught Shogun in the first, so he stopped throwing them – but Nelson isn’t fast enough to do it effectively.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
Hadn't noticed that.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
Shogun would do violent, bad things to Roy.
And Shogun is a middleweight. He’s too fast and too strong and too good on the ground. Roy is maybe half as good as Shogun at anything and isn’t as good of a natural athlete.
pdl - February 5, 2012
Shogun fights light heavywieght
hasn’t fought middlewieght since rings in the early naughties
Cameron Daddo - February 5, 2012
He's talking about Shogun's frame
Given the context of “Is Nelson a fat 205er?”
VenusBlue - February 5, 2012
Shogun would do bad things to Roy.
Sweet Scientist - February 5, 2012
Having a good chin and knock out power is good for every division.
Kefka - February 5, 2012
sure Condit won
but its the way he won the Greg Jackson way. Can anyone say they are that excited to see GSP/Condit after tonight? After all the fotn/foty talk this didnt live up to the hype at all. Diaz was spot on in the post fight thats how u wanna win? The games changes ladies look at last week with rashad now this good luck building a new fanbase UFC with main events like these.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
"he won the Greg Jackson way"
Like, being smarter than his oponent?
Maesterz - February 5, 2012
By point fighting
and winning a boring decsion.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Not everyone found it boring.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
While I understand your point
I think it is smarter not to fall into an opponent’s game. I can appreciate a good slugfest as much as any other guy but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fighting smartly and I do think I got my money’s worth from this PPV.
Maesterz - February 5, 2012
I saw a good fight. Sure, it was a little repetitive. But maybe if Nick had something besides taunting to get people to play his game…
Basically this was a it takes two to tango situation. Diaz doesn’t like to bring it; he likes it when his opponents act like punching bags.
toxic - February 5, 2012
Wasn't the war people expected, wasn't boring either.
Sweet Scientist - February 5, 2012
In other words, yes, by fighting smarter than him
justsomehawkeyefan - February 5, 2012
I think people find offense to a fighter committing more to winning whatever the cost than to winning by finishing.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
fair enough.
let me ask you this did any of you pay for the ppv? if so did you feel you got your moneys worth? this ppv relied heavily on the main event which didnt deliver bottom line.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
I did
and yeah I was satisfied. Bottom line.
Dootch - February 5, 2012
can i borrow 50$ then?
since u like to piss away your money. Wow that baro/jogensen fight was a real nail bitter. how about ed herman and clifford starks? koscheck and roy nelson did what they do best chear (eye poke) get punched in the face alot and gas respectively.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Here's 50
go buy a box of kleenix, Diaz lover.
Dootch - February 5, 2012
i have wanted to see diaz get ko'd
in every fight i root against him i just dont agree with the way Condit won and see it as the future of mma its posioning the sport point fighting/wrestling/lay n pray whatever u want to call it
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Jesus
here’s another 50, buy a comma. I can’t understand wtf you just wrote.
Dootch - February 5, 2012
a grammar nazi too?
thats fucking orignial did you go to yale? sorry im using my phone and refuse to use correct punctuation here is one of your fifties back come be my proof reader and proof read my be posts.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Why are you so mad?
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
its annoying when people play the grammar nazi card
and just a pathetic attempt at an insult like they litteraly cant fire off a comeback so thats the last result really? cmon now you can read it without commas just go slow sound it out insert your own commas in your head it wi be fun since you love grammar and puncuation so much
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
I meant in general.
Is it Condit’s attitude? B/c it seems that he did win that fight. It was close, but whatever.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
I'm tossing in $50
To buy you the complete set of Felony Fights DVDs. That seems right up your alley.
Ironbuddha - February 5, 2012
Shut up.
Geez
halitosis - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Don't get my hopes up.
That will never happen. He’s some angry kid.
Dootch - February 5, 2012
NICE ONE! Jabbing him like he went to one of the best schools in the world.
You tell him.
Body Triangle - February 5, 2012
Tough for them
this is a sport
^ the only thing that matters.
Cory Braiterman - February 5, 2012
*Changed not changes.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Two dedicated and very intelligent fights facing off?
Yes please.
Condit vs. Diaz was like watching Kasparov play chess against a toddler. There was a huge skill divide in the mind battle. Condit vs. GSP though… that’ll be like Kasparov vs. Bobby Fischer or something. Heck yeah
Pyrgz Krum - February 5, 2012
wow
MMA fans are never happy. I picked Diaz so, bummer there……..it wasn’t FOTY material but it was a good fight and a good card all around IMO.
OmoPlata - February 5, 2012
I fully accept and enjoy the version of Roy Nelson that we have now. While I wish he would lose weight for long-term health reasons, I like having him as a HW. He goes out and, for the most part, puts on entertaining fights that both casuals and hardcores will enjoy.
The man is a great gatekeeper. He stops the Struves of the world and then allows the better HWs to put on nice striking displays. Just look at what he did for Werdum. His last fight in SF we saw him flopping to mat like Aoki and now we see him trying wheel kicks and schoolyard “point to the ground before I hit you” stuff.
Leave Roy where he is. If nothing else, he’s a HW fighter that people will talk about and that’s rare enough these days.
Scrawl - February 5, 2012
Bud, health reasons? You realize that having a bit of fat on you isn’t actually bad for you, right? You don’t need a six pack to be healthy. The 20 pounds of extra fat Nelson has is in no way detrimental to his health.
toxic - February 5, 2012
Is it only 20?
And yeah, right now it’s not an issue. What about when he’s done fighting and isn’t working out so much?
Regardless, you’re probably right. I’ve been brainwashed by the trainers at my new gym.
Scrawl - February 5, 2012
If Roy Nelson wants to improve his long-term health
Not getting thumped in the head dozens of times in the space of 15 minutes might be the place to start.
VenusBlue - February 5, 2012
Loved the poiting to the ground stuff.
Sweet Scientist - February 5, 2012
If you listen closely to the replays, you can hear him telling Roy, “Hey, your sock’s untied.” Big props to Roy for not falling for that old gag.
( . Y . ) - February 5, 2012
Apparently Kos got booted from AKA
Tonley - February 5, 2012
What?
SAUCE.
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
News that went down at the press conference...
And I’m listening to Breen on Beatdown After the Bell and according to him, Kos ditched training camp for a week.
Tonley - February 5, 2012
Was he just training at his own gym then? Doesn’t he have an AKA affiliate of his own?
Scrawl - February 5, 2012
I guess that Fitch vs Koscheck fight might be happening after all...
Unabomberman - February 5, 2012
I'm a fan of neither
But I’ll gladly pay to see that fight.
Scrawl - February 5, 2012
I hope Diaz goes to boxing
Where he will face far more defensive fighters and stick-and-move guys than he does in MMA.
By absolutely every measure, Condit won. “Octagon control” is silly—what’s more important is controlling the distance, and he did that far better. He landed more strikes, and if you look at their post-fight pics, he did a lot more damage to Diaz’s face.
If Diaz fans are complaining about Condit’s kicks that did no damage… well, most of Diaz’s punches are thrown without power too. So are you counting power or volume? If you’re counting power-strikes, Condit landed more—he landed very solid kicks, knees and hooks. If you’re counting the sheer volume, Condit still landed more. If you’re looking at the damage, Diaz’s face is cut up and Condit just has a mouse. If you’re looking at that last round submission attempt by Diaz, Condit escaped and just about got Diaz’s back.
Don’t whine “Diaz face always gets cut” — he gets cut because he takes hits to deal hits, only this time, he wasn’t able to deal his damage.
So chill, Diaz fans. It was close in the sense that it wasn’t a Jon Jones domination or a KO or submission, but Condit out-worked Diaz in every way.
spamslots - February 5, 2012
everyone is mad
cuz the card was mostly boring fights with a main event a lot of ppl disagree about and ended with Nick Diaz possibly retiring from the sport. also, Goldie spay mad fightmetric stats at us all night and i missed the new opening.
lukustra - February 5, 2012 via mobile
i also thought nick had probably won.
i gave him the 1st, 2nd, and 5th. mainly cuz he back peddled the first two without landing much. but i can’t see how cp gave condit 4 rounds especially 3rd to Diaz. horrible judging.
lukustra - February 5, 2012 via mobile
So according to some logic here
If Matt Riddle fights like Matt Riddle, he sucks
But if Condit doesn’t fight like Matt Riddle he sucks too
IRodC - February 5, 2012
Seems to be the trend in here.
Sweet Scientist - February 5, 2012
And if Matt Riddle doesn't fight like Matt Riddle
he still sucks.
phenylenginerods - February 5, 2012
Roy Nelson is too old to cut to 205
But really, that’s where he should have been all along. It’s amazing that he got as far as he did in the heavyweight division, because he is fricking small compared to every other heavy in the UFC.
He is short, short-limbed, and not powerfully muscled. A lot of his fighting weight is LITERALLY fat. If you plastic-surgeried the fat off, Nelson would weigh around 220 and have the build and size of a light-heavy.
I agree that he can’t make it down a weight class anymore, but Roy Nelson just isn’t a true heavyweight.
spamslots - February 5, 2012
He'd probably be around 200lbs
If he was ripped.
TheFilt - February 5, 2012
LOL
he’d be lucky to be 185 without cutting if he was ripped. riddle probably has a larger structure/muscle then Roy.
lukustra - February 5, 2012 via mobile
You might be right
But obviously we are on the same page.
TheFilt - February 5, 2012
I'm a Diaz fan, I was rooting for him
but I gotta admit that Condit came in with the perfect game plan. He didn’t lose his cool when Diaz taunted him, he stuck to the plan the entire time, and didn’t get stuck against the cage where Diaz likes to trap people. It wasn’t one of the most entertaining fights of Carlos’ career, but it worked, and that’s what mattered in the end. Nick is still one of my favorite fighters to watch, but my hat goes off to Condit for coming in and getting it done.
flyingkneetoface - February 5, 2012
Leg kicks have come a long way
at least to judge cp. just a couple years ago Shogun couldnt win a fight with leg kicks against machida even while he pressed forward the whole fight. Tonight Condit won with leg kicks while circling and running away.
nickrodamous - February 5, 2012 via mobile
I saw this during the live blog, but does Velasquez vs. Werdum interest anyone?
kreally - February 5, 2012
It would be interesting
Even though think Cain wins
IRodC - February 5, 2012
I love Fabricio
But he couldn’t handle Cain’s pace. Fabricio could win a round, possibly submit him if they went to the ground, but he’d be toasted by the halfway point.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
Not quite sure where to say this but.. THE BUS FEEDERS RAVAGED SOULS TONIGHT. FOUR OF THE TOP THIRTEEN FED BUSES.
T.C. Engel - February 5, 2012
Awesome
I was pretty close on doing terrible. If Natal got finished in the third round I would’ve had like 30 or something.
av1o3 - February 5, 2012
It's okay.
My boy milk shat the bed and got a 10, so that was obv. our score that got cut, but apart from that, we should be moving closer to INEPT and first place.
T.C. Engel - February 5, 2012
you know your final score?
CPC killed it too
Our Bovine Public - February 5, 2012
No, I don't, sorry man
I just know that four of us kicked ass.
T.C. Engel - February 5, 2012
We had 7 scores over 80. And only 2 below the camp average, 1 of which wont count
Our Bovine Public - February 5, 2012
Holy hell.
Maybe I overestimate my team’s performance then. Me, Horselover, and two of my rooks were above 88.
T.C. Engel - February 5, 2012
I thought Diaz won
But I’ll only be upset if Diaz retires. Condit is a good fighter and I’ll continue to root for him, but I really hope Diaz keeps fighting. I would love to see him fight GSP one day.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
Honestly I thought anyone who thinks Diaz won is crazy
But maybe peeps value cage control more than me?
FightingFighting - February 5, 2012
In one exchange early in the fight Diaz got Condit against the cage for about four seconds
And hit him six times (which was pretty crazy). It was a good game plan, but lets not act like Diaz wasn’t landing hard, head snapping shots.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
"throw right hand hard"
Truer words have never been spoken about Kos’ inability to diversify his striking and that range movement he was doing was illegal? his hands were open quite a few times.. should have been deducted a point IMO.
elmojo - February 5, 2012
Yeah Herb should have deducted a point for that eye poke.
Rob Young - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Like a 4th of July party: The show was great until the grand finale ended up being dud.
I gotta say, though. Watching Roy take all those hits was like watching Homer Simpson box in that one episode.
dajulzta - February 5, 2012
I just don't understand why
Josh won’t close his left hand and throw the damn jab. Your one-two shouldn’t consist of an eyepoke and a right hand.
traydawg - February 5, 2012
Ever since he knocked out Yoshida
he’s thought he was some amazing boxer.
av1o3 - February 5, 2012
Feed him to Diaz.
Dootch - February 5, 2012
love this
Our Bovine Public - February 5, 2012
How bad was the Koscheck fight?
and the Barao fight? I missed both of those.
Any news on why Koscheck isn’t with AKA anymore? Fitch vs. Kos sounds good but I feel like it would just be a sloppy kickboxing match.
av1o3 - February 5, 2012
Barao outclassed Jorgensen, he was clearly better in every phase; the Koscheck fight wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t memorable either – lots of work along the cage, close striking exchanges, and a decision that probably could’ve gone either way.
Patrick Wyman - February 5, 2012
The Barao fight was okay
Jorgensen was outclassed, but he was tough and was trying to win till the end.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
I'm kinda bummed we didn't get any type of new BE meme our of this clusterfuck
IRodC - February 5, 2012
I dunno
I thought Nick asking Carlos “so we’re throwing spinning shit” during the fight was pretty awesome.
traydawg - February 5, 2012
Damn, I didn’t catch that. What round was that in?
Scrawl - February 5, 2012
not sure
but Carlos said it at the press conference. Nick asked him “so we’re throwing spinning shit now?” after a technique and Carlos said “yes we are”. lol
traydawg - February 5, 2012
zing!
That is pretty cool dude.
dajulzta - February 5, 2012
lol yeah, loved him mentioning that and his response as well. Funny stuff.
Empty Thoughts - February 5, 2012
Condit vs. Diaz was an awesome fight
Tired of reading comments saying it wasn’t what they expected.
SSreporters - February 5, 2012
I actually would like to see a rematch. I would be curious to see if Nick changes up, or if he’s not capable of changing his game plan.
Dootch - February 5, 2012
Agreed
Carlos applied a nice gameplan. I wanted Nick to move the fight to the ground earlier but i didnt really see any openings. Carlos knows how to use the cage.
MirCatOrgy - February 5, 2012
People are just mad there was no KO
thats literally the only reason they are bitching. Condit fought in a way that meant there was no KO, so they are pitching a fit about it.
justsomehawkeyefan - February 5, 2012
Carlos conditioning
was impressive
MirCatOrgy - February 5, 2012
He's always had great endurance.
ElliotMatheny - February 5, 2012
If Nick was pissed about how Carlos fought, what did he think GSP would do if they fought? GSP is well-coached and disciplined. He’d defuse Nick’s strengths and dictate where and how the fight took place, I’d guess, and Nick would bitch about that as well.
The early line at Bookmaker has GSP -315, Condit +225, if anyone’s looking to get down a bet before the lines change.
( . Y . ) - February 5, 2012
Wow Condit won the first 3 rounds. really?
I didn’t realize Simple Jack wrote for this website.
cbrody111 - February 5, 2012
Condit vs GSP is going to go one of two ways
pure legendary war with Condit winning by KO at some point or a slower match where GSP will win by points.
justsomehawkeyefan - February 5, 2012
SO, Couture should have
kept the fight standing so Toney could fight better? Carlos did what he had to do to win. YOU wouldn’t fight someone at their strength would you?
Huggy Bear - February 5, 2012
Couture would have beat the shit out of Toney standing
Couture’s dirty boxing would have lit Toney up.
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
Opinions and analysis
There guy fixed it for ya
WARMMA - February 5, 2012
Roy Nelson has cemented his position as the most talented heavy bag in the UFC
UncleMax - February 5, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Bloody Elbow to post a comment.