USA TODAY International Edition
Condit captures interim title
Carlos Condit spoiled a grudge match for the Ultimate Fighting Championship while frustrating Nick Diaz to the point of quitting the sport.
Condit outpointed Diaz on Saturday to win a unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 143 in Las Vegas. Two judges scored it 49- 46; one judge had a 48- 47 tally.
With the victory, Condit becomes UFC’S interim welterweight champion while 170pound titleholder Georges St. Pierre recovers from a knee injury. If Condit does not take another bout before St. Pierre returns to action, they will fight this year, possibly in the fall.
“It is an honor,” Condit said. “Georges is a guy I’ve looked up to since I was a young guy.”
Diaz tried to apply his trademark pressure to trap Condit against the fence and make him a target for high- volume punching combinations. But Condit circled constantly, often threw kicks and frequently countered while moving away as Diaz lunged with punches. Condit refused to fall for Diaz’s taunting attempts to bait him into stationary brawling.
“I landed a lot of effective strikes,” Condit said. “I stuck to my game plan. . . . If I sat there and fought Nick Diaz’s fight, he would probably be here sitting with this belt instead of me.”
Compustrike saw Condit landing more total strikes than Diaz in the first, third and fourth rounds. Condit outstruck Diaz 146 to 110, including a 104- 19 advantage in leg strikes, according to Compustrike.
Low kicks to Diaz’s legs formed a key component of Condit’s strategy.
“Nick Diaz’s pace is second to none,” Condit said. “He likes to walk guys down, so affecting his mobility, chopping down his legs, taking his wheels out from under him was a big part of the game plan.”
Diaz’s best chance to win came in the last 90 seconds, when he took down Condit and mounted his back. But Diaz lost the position seconds before the bout ended with Condit on top.
St. Pierre hoped Diaz would win to settle a feud that has been building since last year. But St. Pierre has described Condit as a more dangerous opponent because of the greater variety in his arsenal.
Immediately after the fight, Diaz said he would quit mixed martial arts. “I’m not going to accept the fact that this was a loss,” said Diaz, who usually disagreed with judges in his previous decision losses. “I pushed him back the whole fight. I walked him down. I got the takedown. . . . I think I’m done with this MMA. It’s been great out here. I’ve had a good career.”
A system that rewarded Condit for attacking with kicks to the legs while retreating frequently drew Diaz’s criticism.
“He ran this whole fight,” Diaz said. “I landed the harder shots. He kicked me in my leg with little baby leg kicks the whole fight. That was the way they understand how to win in here. I don’t want to play this game no more.”
Once the emotions from the loss dissipate, Diaz might change his mind, said Dana White, president of UFC parent Zuffa, though he didn’t speak to Diaz immediately after Saturday’s event.
Also on the card, Fabricio Werdum won a unanimous decision against heavyweight Roy Nelson by landing knee strikes repeatedly in the Muay Thai clinch.