• UFC 137

Condit can't get mad at title giveaway - Rashad

Rashad Evans believes former Greg Jackson team-mate Carlos Condit should quickly draw a line under the UFC's decision to give his title shot to Nick Diaz.

Condit became the welterweight division's No. 1 contender when Diaz was pulled from his crack at Georges St-Pierre due to a series of missed media dates. However, after Diaz beat BJ Penn at UFC 137, president Dana White reinstated Diaz as St-Pierre's next challenge.

As a result, Condit missed out on the payday of fighting at UFC 137, and has now lost his title shot. In addition, it seems the change of hearts was prompted by Diaz's in-Octagon abuse towards St-Pierre, rather than his performance against Penn.

Evans has had his own missed title opportunities over the years, but he insists Condit must just focus on the fact that one more victory will ensure a crack at UFC gold in 2012.

"If anyone called me and told me I was losing my title shot I'd probably say, 'Again?'!" Evans joked with ESPN.

"You have to understand that the UFC is a business, and it is about putting together the fights people want to see. At the time it made sense for Carlos Condit to step up for the fight, but the reality of the situation was the real fight was Nick Diaz v Georges St-Pierre. So he can't be too upset about that.

"He was the first to be called [to replace Diaz] so he should know exactly where he is. So he should be thinking, 'OK, they thought enough of me to call me in that situation. If I win my next fight then I'll definitely be in that situation'."

The fact that it was Diaz's ramblings that led to his reinstating as No. 1 contender adds to a growing theme of fighters making WWE-style call-outs. Chael Sonnen recently challenged Anderson Silva to a loser-leaves-town match, while Evans himself has entered the Octagon after victories for Jon Jones.

Asked if it was dangerous for the sport to move towards such showbiz episodes, Evans replied: "We're fighters, but we're entertainers as well. People want to be entertained, so we've got to entertain!"

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