The fight card for UFC 143 was an ever-changing one, especially the main event. When the card was initially announced it was slated to be UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre taking on Stockton-native Nick Diaz. However, with GSP suffering a hyper-extended knee back in December, Carlos Condit was given the shot to face Diaz for the interim welterweight title.
The winner will go on to face GSP to unify the welterweight titles later this year. This is how the main card played out;
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| Diaz vs. Condit stole the show at UFC 143 for multiple reasons. |
Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit for the Interim UFC Welterweight Title: Diaz came in with an 11-fight win streak and had won 12 of his last 13. Condit, on the hand, had won four straight and 12 of his last 13 as well. It was a battle of similar styles. Both men are skilled strikers and both are black belts in jiu-jitsu. Neither fighter had lost a title night, but on this night one would walk away with a title and the other would just walk away.
All five rounds could have gone either way and it was one of those “instant classics” that fans will be talking about for months to come. The first two rounds seemed to go the way of Diaz who controlled the bout with his boxing and movement around the octagon. Condit kept avoiding any hard shots by staying off the cage, but Diaz was able to land some hard shots.
The third and fourth rounds saw Condit utilize his karate skills more so than the first two rounds. Condit kept Diaz at a distance by throwing short combinations then running out of danger before Diaz could counter. It wasn’t a strategy fans agreed with, but it earned him those two rounds. The two warriors would head into the fifth and final round seemingly knotted up on the scorecard.
As the fifth round began it was evident that both fighters were looking to finish and earn the interim title. It was a pretty close and hard-fought round with neither looking like they had gotten the edge, but with over a minute left Diaz got the first takedown of the bout and attempted a rear-naked choke. Condit spun out as time expired and the bout went to the judges.
As is always the case, the judges decision would leave one fighter happy and the other disappointed. On this night, a night that many people had Diaz winning the fight, the judges ruled a unanimous decision victory for Carlos Condit. Only one judge had Diaz winning two rounds and the other two had him winning one. And, in true Diaz fashion, he pouted and announced a semi “retirement”.
Condit wins via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) and is the new UFC interim welterweight champion.
Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum: Werdum via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
In his first fight in the UFC since 2008, Werdum showed that he deserves to be in the octagon with a dominating performance veteran heavyweight Roy Nelson. A constant array of knees in the first-round by Werdum broke Nelson’s nose and left “Big Country” bleeding throughout the fight. Nelso put forth a gritty effort, as he always does, but the former-Strikeforce heavyweight proved to be too much.
Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce: Koscheck via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).
This was slated to be a highly contested welterweight bout and the two fighters did not disappoint. Each round of this three-round battle was close and could have gone either way. All aspects of this fight (striking, wrestling, grappling, etc.) were even. The crowd was decidedly behind Pierce, but Koscheck was able to maintain some type of control thru the first two rounds. That is what won him this fight.
Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen: Barao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
The Brazilian Barao controlled this three-round bantamweight fight against Scott Jorgensen. Jorgensen was kept at a distance and was unable to get close enough to do any type of damage. On the hand, Barao controlled the tempo and threw impressive kick and punch combinations. The Brazilian extends his win streak to 18-fights and is now 30-1-1 in his pro career, including 3-0 in the UFC.
Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks: Herman via 2nd-round submission (rear-naked choke).
After the first-round Starks looked to be in total control of the bout. He was using a solid array of strikes to stifle Herman. Early in the second it was much of the same. Until Herman got a takedown and was able to maneuver into position for a rear-naked choke and second-round submission victory. It was Herman’s third-straight victory.
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