Fight Hub TV Locker Room: UFC 143: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit post fight thoughts

When the lights go down in the city, all seems to be at peace, correct? In a city that is always lit and where the fun never ends, fans seemed to walk away from UFC 143 disappointed and confused as to what happened and understandably so after last years super bowl weekend (UFC 126) gave us the greatest highlight reel KO – ever.

Did Carlos Condit really do enough to win the interim championship? Is Nick Diaz retirement talk legit? Why was Herb Dean so stern in his officiating? All these items factored with the entire card, both on FuelTV and the pay per view portion is in the books, welcome to another edition of Fight Hub TV “Locker Room: UFC 143”

211 AT MANDALAYBAY

Saturday night had its share of disappointments; some of the biggest were robberies from rightful winners of their bouts. Starting with Caceres v Figueroa; even though he did hit Figueroa with two low blows, they were non-intentional and after the first, he received a warning; the second came with Caceres waiting five minutes for the fight to restart and Herb Dean deducted two points from the score cards! One point would have been adequate in an intentional situation but when accidents happen, this seemed severe for the former TUF bantamweight. In the end, losing the points was his own kick in the balls, Figueroa walked away with a split decision victory.

Fast forwarding to the main card, Josh Koscheck planned on going and taking apart our friend, Mike Pierce. A crisp jab, combos and wrestling defense showed that Pierce was ready for the elevated competition the former AKA fighter brought to him. At the end when scores were announced, “K-Sos” received the split decision victory; a decision that truly should have been in the other man’s hands. Koscheck said he wanted to fight either Diaz or Condit next, perhaps he needs one more outing and clearly show he without a doubt beat his opponent before he thinks of entering a bout where a title or title contention is discussed.

LOOKING GOOD:

The featherweight and bantamweight divisions have hot prospects in their roster. Dustin Poirier and Renan Baroa were both outstanding in their fights. Poirier finished the prelims with a beautiful mounted armbar of UFC newcomer Max Holloway in the first round; Baroa showed Scott Jorgenson that leg kicks, quick punches and his win streak were nothing to be taken lightly. The victory was the twenty-seventh consecutive win for the Brazilian.

GLORIOUS RETURN:

Fabricio Werdum was wrongfully released from his first UFC contract. He was let go after losing to then rookie Junior Dos Santos. He then moved onto Strikeforce where he submitted Fedor Emelianenko and then was able to last three rounds with Overeem before the SF heavyweights were disbanded.

Walking into the octagon against the heavy handed, BJJ black belt Roy Nelson, Werdum was not given the easiest comeback trail, or so that appeared. A new striking game and Muay Thai skills (courtesy of master Rafael Corderio) had “Vai Calvao” looking comfortable on his feet, landing big knees and punches to Nelson. Although he was not finished, Nelson hung in the entire time, hitting Werdum with solid shots and he kept coming. Rightfully winning “fight of the night”, Werdum is in a great position for his new UFC stint and hopefully “Big Country” can come back better next time around.

DON’T LEAVE IT TO THE JUDGES:

Carlos Condit came into Las Vega sand said he would return to New Mexico with a UFC title, he did just that. Not playing into the mental games of Diaz (that he was employing all night), Condit looked perfect by landing his shots and getting out of trouble. Although it looked like he was running away, he was not allowing Diaz to corner him and fire off his strong boxing arsenal.

As easy as it is to say Diaz put on the pressure, Condit landed more significant strikes and was the better man. Post fight, Diaz criticized MMA judging and said he was done playing the game – this is true on many levels. As a fan, watching the bout saw Diaz winning, judges however saw someone running away and going in and out as the effective fighter. Fighting your own fight is an individual task that does not always find men winning but confused and irritated. Whether he quits or not, this is nothing he has not threatened before but MMA will miss him if he is gone, if he stays there are still plenty of matches left for him – Dana White is even entertaining the thought of a rematch between the men before GSP is back in action.

Think we overlooked something? Agree or disagree with what is said in the Locker Room? Sound off on Twitter @FightHubTV #FHTVLockerRoom or tell me directly @BigWilly805