In our fifth and final part of our UFC 143: Diaz vs Condit coverage we are going to preview and predict the outcome of UFC 143's Main Event. Then after, we are going to give the betting lines and brief predictions of all the undercard fights for UFC 143.
UFC 143's main event is for the UFC's interim welterweight championship. This fight was made for two primary reasons. The first reason is because the UFC's dominate welterweight champion Georges St Pierre(GSP) injured his ACL in his left leg. This injury has caused the champion to be out of action for 10 months. Since the UFC did not want to tie up its welterweight division, which is arguably its deepest. That brings us to the interim title fight between "Stockton Bad Boy" Nick Diaz and Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit.
Condit is 12-1 in his past 13 fights. He holds wins over such notable fighters such as Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, Dong Hyun Kim and Frank Trigg. Condit who has 27 wins as a pro in MMA 13 have been from tko/ko, 13 from submission and only one decision. With the injury bug, and chaos of the card reshuffling at UFC 137, Condit was taken off the card when his title fight opportunity against Georges St Pierre went by the wayside when the dominant champion got hurt in training. It was Condit's plan to sit back and wait until GSP got healthy to challenge for the title. However Nick Diaz's post fight antics and comments enraged GSP, which then had the champion say he wants Diaz next. This forced the UFC's hand to book GSP vs Diaz for UFC 143. This move forced the UFC to also find Condit another matchup. Condit found one in the likes of former #1 contender and bad boy Josh Koscheck. When GSP went down with the injury, that would require him to be out of action for 10 months the UFC came calling to Condit again. Although not originally what Condit wanted, it is still the next best thing. A shot at the interim UFC welterweight championship.
Diaz is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion, and he has had only 1 mixed martial arts defeat since April of 2006. Over that span Diaz has gone 14-1-1 in his last 16 fights. The loan loss was because of a doctor stoppage due to a cut. When Zuffa, LLC (parent company of the UFC) bought Strikeforce, Diaz was able to successfully leverage a clause in his Strikeforce contract that allows him to box. When Diaz let Zuffa executives know of his desire to box, they brought Diaz in to renegotiate a "Exclusive" contract. Both parties emerged with a new "exclusive" contract. Diaz would give up his quest to professionally box, relinquish his Strikeforce welterweight title and fight exclusively under Strikeforce's big brother the UFC. As part of the "exclusive" UFC contract Diaz would be given the next opportunity to fight #3 P4P fighter Georges St Pierre at UFC 137 October 29, 2011 in Las Vegas.
Diaz after failing to appear at two press conferences to promote his upcoming title fight at UFC 137 against Georges St Pierre, was sensationally removed from his headlining spot by UFC president Dana White. White then went on to announce that co-main event particpant Carlos Condit would be inserted as the challenger to GSP's 170lb crown at UFC 137. With Diaz removed and apparently on the chopping block to be cut from the UFC roster, for failure to keep his committments, White announced that he would stay on the UFC 137 card and fight Condits orginal opponent, BJ Penn, and Condit now gets Diaz's title shot against GSP. Due to a training injury GSP occured, Penn vs Diaz got promoted to the the main event. Diaz in his bout thoroughly dominated the two time (welterweight and lightweight) champion, and earning fight of the night honors. Diaz during his post fight speech, called out current welterweight champion GSP. Diaz called him fake and that the champion is ducking him. This enraged GSP to anger levels that UFC president Dana White has never seen before. Diaz's antics did enough to get Condit pushed out of his promised title shot against the champ and be given back to Diaz to settle this grudge match. GSP vs Diaz for the UFC welterweight championship was set for UFC 143 February 4th, 2012. Due to injury GSP pulled out of the fight. Thus setting up the interim title fight between Diaz and Condit for UFC 143.
Carlos Condit +175
Nick Diaz -220
Diaz is on an amazing dominant run in Mixed Martial Arts. He has very high level jiu jitsu and boxing skills. In his most recent fights, he has taken some damage, due to his reckless style. This is where the fight will change against Condit. Diaz definitely is a better boxer. Condit, however is a bigger, stronger and above average kickboxer. The power Condit has will slow, the aggressive Diaz down. This fight will be an instant classic. Condit is a VERY under-rated fighter, that can dig down deep, and pull off a win when he is almost defeated. This will be a back and forth battle, that will go to the judges scorecards.
WINNER AND NEW UFC INTERIM WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION: CARLOS "THE NATURAL BORN" KILLER, UNANIMOUS DECISION (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
UFC 143 UNDERCARD FIGHTS AND BETTING LINES:(AT THE REQUEST OF THE WORLD FAMOUS RAMPAGE COLLECTOR) Highlighted in yellow are the winners we here at MMA OCTAGON TAKES are taking
MAX HOLLOWAY +350
DUSTIN POIRIER -500
A win here sets up Poirier as Jose Aldo's next opponent for Aldo's UFC featherweight title
HENRY MARTINEZ +300
MATT RIDDLE -400
Martinez takes this fight on short notice, but Riddle is a UFC veteran and gets back to his winning ways
ALEX CACERES +120
EDWIN FIGUEROA -150
Figueroa is 8-1 in Professional MMA. Of his 8 wins, all his wins have been finishes. Figueroa dominates and cruises to a victory.
CHRIS COPE +250
MATT BROWN -350
Brown has his winning percentage stay above 500 over Chris"The Nature Boy" Cope
DAN STITTGEN +210
STEVEN THOMPSON -280
Steven Thompson is a legit Mixed Martial Artist. Thompson is 37-0 in amateur kickboxing, 20-0 in professional kickboxing and 5-0 in MMA. 62-0 is an amazing feat. Not to mention the fact 46 of his 57 kickboxing wins were by KO/TKO. We all should be watching on Facebook his fight tonight. Don't blink in this one.
MICHAEL KUIPER +160
RAFAEL NATAL -200
Kuiper starts UFC 143 off with a bang. TKO's the UFC vet Natal
Do you ever feel your day is dragging and you needed a boost? If the answer is yes, check out Advocare's Slam Energy shot. Great tasting and 0 crash. Oh by the way it works. We here at MMA OCTAGON TAKES have tried it, and had success with it.
OVERVIEW
- Available in Bowl Game Berry, Strawberry Blast, LemonAid and Power Punch
- High-powered, portable energy source*
- Fast acting*
- Sustained energy without jitters*
- Sharpens mental focus*
- Sugar free
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.