• UFC 143

Opinion divided as Condit earns decision over Diaz

Carlos Condit claimed a unanimous win over Nick Diaz © Getty Images

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Not for the first time this year, controversy reigned over a high profile judging decision as Carlos Condit booked a shot at Georges St-Pierre by beating Nick Diaz at UFC 143 on Saturday.

Fighting for the interim welterweight belt, created by St-Pierre's injury-enforced absence from the sport, this fight was less about establishing the future king of the division and more about discovering which man had the "big-fight" mentality to challenge the untouchable St-Pierre.

A unanimous 49-46 49-46 48-47 decision for Condit says it is he who has what it takes to beat the Canadian, but once again that decision will go through the meat-grinder of endless debate, with some observers convinced the fight belonged to Diaz. Most importantly Diaz felt he had the victory, and now promises to retire as a result.

There are two schools of thought on how to judge Saturday's main event. Either you side with Diaz because he applied all the pressure, forcing his foe on the back foot throughout the fight where it is difficult to generate any power. Or you side with the winner Condit, who did the better technical work - landing more accurately and applying a highly tactical gameplan designed to outwit the suffocating style of Diaz.

Statistics support the view of the judges. In only one of the five rounds, the second, did Diaz land more strikes. More importantly, only in round two did he land more significant [power] strikes. Statistics do not always tell the story of the fight, but when there are two such differing cases they provide a strong argument for why it is Condit heading for St-Pierre.

The first round saw both men feel each other out, Condit turning the judges his way with a series of leg kicks, none of which bothered Diaz as he kept stalking forward. The second was then all Diaz, so much so that he dropped his hands and taunted Condit who continued to move backwards or circle away from the Stockton fighter's trademark punches.

Condit truly got Diaz's attention in the third, though, mixing up his attack with push kick/head kick combinations and inventive knees. He failed to carry that assault into the fourth, but crucially he was circling rather than backing up, and once again Diaz made it far too easy for Condit to point-score as he stalked him down.

In the final stanza the crowd favourite momentarily slowed, eating more strikes before slipping a punch to take Condit's back, where he tried and failed with a fight-ending rear naked choke. It proved crucial.

"My endurance has always been a strong point," Condit said. "It's always been a part of my game where I felt like I could overcome my opponents and outpace them, and, in this fight, I was able to hang with him. In a lot of my other fights, I've kind of come on strong in later rounds, and I did in this one. I started to find my flow. Hat's off to Nick Diaz. He's a warrior, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for how he fights."

Fabricio Werdum outclassed Roy Nelson © Getty Images

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The co-main event went the way of Fabricio Werdum, who may be heading for a big heavyweight fight in Brazil later this year after he dominated Roy Nelson. The jiu-jitsu specialist this time relied on his improving Muay Thai to take out Nelson, constantly trapping him in the Thai plum to smash away with knees, leaving his foe a bloody mess in a unanimous 30-27 decision victory.

The judges were also required to divide Josh Koscheck and Mike Pierce, with Koscheck earning a split decision against his gritty counterpart. Pierce is built like an ox, never easy to beat, and the majority of the bout was a battle for position in the clinch, narrowly won by the welterweight division's former No. 1 contender, who took a 28-29-29-28 29-28 decision.

Brazil's Renan Barao is surely heading for a bantamweight title shot after he chalked up his 18th straight victory over the always-tough Scott Jorgensen. Barao employed excellent takedown defence to keep the fight standing, where he displayed his full array of weapons, attacking the legs, head and body of Jorgensen who was distinctly second-best other than one big right hand in the first.

The night's other main card fight saw Ed Herman inflict a first career defeat on Clifford Starks, winning via rear naked choke. The improving middleweight was bloodied up by Starks' striking, but in the second he tripped his man into side control, moving to mount before taking his back for victory.

UFC 143 results:
Carlos Condit defeats Nick Diaz via Unanimous Decision (49-46 49-46 48-47)
Fabricio Werdum defeats Roy Nelson via Unanimous Decision (30-27 30-27 30-27)
Josh Koscheck defeats Mike Pierce via Split Decision (28-29 29-28 29-28)
Renan Barao defeats Scott Jorgensen via Unanimous Decision (30-27 30-27 30-27)
Ed Herman defeats Clifford Stars via Rear Naked Choke - Round 2 (1:43)
Dustin Poirier defeats Max Holloway via Mounted Triangle/Armbar - Round 1 (3:23)
Edwin Figueroa defeats Alex Caceres via Split Decision (28-27 27-28 28-27)
Matt Brown defeats Chris Cope via KO (Strikes) - Round 2 (1:19)
Matthew Riddle defeats Henry Martinez via Split Decision (28-29 29-28 29-28)
Rafael Natal defeats Michael Kuiper via Unanimous Decision (30-27 30-27 29-28)
Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson defeats Dan Stittgen via KO (Headkick) - Round 1 (4:13)

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