Nick Diaz doesn’t like politics and he doesn’t like losing.
He especially doesn’t like losing over what he thinks is politics.
In the main event of UFC 143 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Diaz lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Condit for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship.
It was a close bout from start to finish with Diaz getting off to a fast start and then Condit finding his groove in the later rounds. Each round was debatable, but Condit inflicted more damaged and controlled the pace for the final three rounds. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for Condit.
Following the fight, Diaz said he was quitting MMA because he felt he won the fight and Condit did nothing but run from him. Instead, how I saw it was Condit used footwork to stay out of the pocket and then hit Diaz with leg kicks and hooks to win rounds.
Now, with Diaz out of the picture, Condit will face Georges St. Pierre to unify the UFC titles once GSP returns from a torn ACL.
In the co-main event, Fabricio Werdum made a big statement with his dominant decision win over Roy Nelson in the heavyweight division. Known for being a submission specialist, Werdum used his striking to get the victory on Saturday night. Werdum locked Nelson up in a thai clinch in the first round and then worked some powerful knees to Nelson’s face and body that took “Big Country” out of the match.
Over the final two rounds, Werdum did enough to win the round against a tired Nelson. The win was an impressive one for Werdum, who now legitimately thrusts himself into the top 5 of the division alongside Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez, and Frank Mir
For complete results from UFC 143, check out the jump.
Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were expected to win their fights at UFC on FOX 2 Saturday night, and they did just that.
Evans defeated Phil Davis by unanimous decision to become the No. 1 contender for the light heavyweight title while Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping by unanimous decision to earn a future shot at the middleweight championship.
In the main event, Evans simply out-classed Davis with his superior wrestling and striking. Davis, who was in the biggest fight in his career, seemed overwhelmed by the environment and his opponent while Evans remained calm and implemented his game plan.
Evans didn’t look overly impressive but he did enough to win and now will face Jon Jones at UFC 145 in a fight that everyone has been waiting for.
Sonnen had a much more difficult time with Bisping than what was expected. Bisping showed the ability to stay off his back, but he didn’t quite do enough in the eyes of the judges to win the striking contest.
All three rounds were razor thin and there was some debate as to who won, but ultimately the judges all scored the fight in favor of Sonnen. He will now face Anderson Silva for the second time later this year. Sonnen clearly had the best performance against Silva than anyone in the UFC, as he was an arm triangle away from pulling out a decision win over the champion.
For full results from UFC on FOX 2, check out the jump.
The UFC Featherweight Champion and top 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the world put another highlight reel KO on his resume at UFC 142, finishing Chad Mendes with 1 second left in the first round thanks to a knee to the head.
Aldo (21-1) had control of the fight from the start, as he landed a number of leg kicks that seemed to bother Mendes. The contender attempted a number of takedowns, but Aldo managed to escape them all. As the opening round winded down, Aldo landed a big knee during the exchange and followed up with two big right hands on the ground that put Mendes out cold.
Following the win, the champion sprinted into the raucous Brazilian crowd, nearly causing a riot. But, disaster was averted.
Now, the big question for Aldo is what is next, as he has wiped out the 145-pound division and left no legit contenders.
In the co-main event, another local hero, Vitor Belfort, scored a first round win over Anthony Johnson by rear-naked choke.
Johnson came in 12 pounds overweight on Friday, but it didn’t seem to hurt Belfort and only left Johnson fatigued late in the first round.
With Johnson worn down, Belfort found his striking range and sent Johnson to the ground before taking his back and securing a choke late in the opening round.
The other highlight of the night had Edson Barboza putting his stamp on the lightweight division by delivering a wheel kick KO against Terry Etim.
The two had a very competitive first two rounds, but with two minute to go in the final round, Barboza unleashed a picture-perfect wheel kick that knocked Etim out cold on contact.
Barboza has now thrust himself into the top 10 of the division and looks to be a real threat in the 155-pound weight class.
Alistair Overeem proved he was more than just hype on Friday night by retiring Brock Lesnar from the UFC.
In his octagon debut, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion made quick work of Lesnar, beating him by TKO at 2:26 of the first round following a body kick.
Overeem was able to stuff the few takedown attempts from Lesnar and land some powerful knees to the body that softened Lesnar up for the finish. Overeem will now face Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight title in the near future.
Following the loss, his second in as many fights, Lesnar retired from competition. With a pair of bad knockout losses, his aura has faded. With a title shot not likely to come any time soon, it made sense for Lesnar to call it quits. It hurts the UFC as he was their top draw, but I am sure they can market Overeem.
In the co-main event, Nate Diaz had an impressive decision win over Donald Cerrone. Diaz used his boxing to pick apart Cerrone. The Cowboy took a number of unanswered punches throughout the 15 minutes.
In a big upset, Johny Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds. Fitch, who had just one loss in the octagon to Georges St. Pierre, had been off for nearly a year due to shoulder surgery.
Fitch threw a couple of punches in the opening seconds but then walked in to a big left from Hendricks that put him out cold for a moment.
The loss for Fitch is devastating, as he was close to earning a title shot, and now will fall well back into the contender list. Due to a lack of exciting fights, Fitch can’t expect to headline an event any time too soon.
For complete results from UFC 141, check out the jump.
Jon Jones was proven to be human, if even for just a minute.
But perhaps even more frustrating for the UFC light heavyweight contenders, Jones didn’t cower in the face of adversity as many though he may.
After taking his first significant damage in a UFC fight in the result of a collection of straight punches from Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC 140 on Saturday, Jones rallied and finished off another opponent in the second round to retain his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Jones looked a little unsure of himself in the first round against Machida, as the challenger landed some nice counter punches that staggered the champion. Machida looked confident and won the first round in my book.
However, in the second round, Jones closed the distance between the two and used his wrestling to take Machida to the ground. From there, he landed a devastating elbow that opened up a big gash on Machida. Moments later, the two simultaneously threw left hooks, but Jones’ landed first. Machida crashed to the ground and Jones got a hold of his neck and finished him with a modified standing guillotine that choked him out cold.
Jones looks to be the real deal, as he overcame a slow start to still put on a dominant finish. Rashad Evans has to be the only man in the division to possibly stand a threat to Jones’ title, and even that seems doubtful.
In the co-main event, Frank Mir earned something even more rare than a UFC title, he submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
After being the first man to finish him by TKO back at UFC 92, this time Mir broke the arm of the legendary jiu-jitsu master. Big Nog seemed to be on the verge of knocking out Mir as he landed a series of big punches, but Mir managed to keep his senses and eventually locked in a kimura. Nogueira tried to roll out of it, but Mir held on. When Big Nog refused to tap, Mir had to break the arm and force the stoppage from the ref.
For the full results for UFC 140, check out the jump.
Did you eat to much turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving? This is the time of year where most people lose any progress they’ve made all year. Athletic builds suddenly add a spare tire around the belly.
It’s the perfect time to start an intense workout regiment, and emulating the MMA guys is not a bad idea.
MMA World Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre is now a legend in the MMA community, and now he’s sharing his workout program and training secrets with a new series of MMA workout DVDs.
We love MMA, but now it’s more than just a sport or a form of entertainment. It has spawned a new lifestyle approach, and central to that is the sculpted look you see with the best MMA fighters. Women love that look and guys are inspired by it.
It’s only attainable, however, if you’re willing and able to undergo an intense workout program. You have to be committed, and you have to be the type of person that sets the bar high. You might not be able to fight like St-Pierre, but you can achieve that same look through persistent hard work.
UFC 139 didn’t have a title fight as the main event, but the battle between Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua couldn’t have been any better.
The two competed in the first five-round non-title fight since the UFC added the new five-round rule to any main event, and in the end, Henderson managed to narrowly out-point Rua for a unanimous decision.
It appeared that Henderson would end the fight early as he landed some big right hands on Rua, but the former UFC champion survived and pushed the fight into the later rounds where Henderson became exhausted. The final seven minutes were all Rua, but it was too little, too late, as Henderson had done enough to win 48-47 on all three judges’ scorecards.
The win pushes Henderson into the top 5 of the UFC light heavyweight division, but an immediate rematch with Rua may be in order due to the reaction from the fans and UFC brass on the fight itself.
In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva proved he is still dangerous as he beat Cung Le by TKO in the second round in a middleweight contest.
Early in the fight it looked as if Silva may not get out of the first round, as he took a number of big kicks and punches from Le, but he survived and then came out aggressive in the second round. Silva caught Le with a big right hand and then followed up with some devastating knees in the clinch that led to the stoppage.
While Silva still has a long way to go to be near the title picture, he still remains a relevant fighter in the UFC.
In bantamweight action, Urijah Faber defeated Brian Bowles by guillotine choke in the second round to earn another title shot at Dominick Cruz. Faber controlled the fight from the start, as his hand speed and diverse striking were too much for Bowles to deal with.
For complete UFC 139 results (courtesy of MMAMania.com), check out the jump.
In the UFC’s anticipated debut on FOX, it didn’t take long for the inaugural fight to end.
Junior dos Santos won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in a little over a minute as he knocked out the champion, Cain Velasquez from the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Dos Santos came into the fight as the betting underdog, but a devastating right hand early in the first round caught the champion in the ear and sent him crashing.
With Velasquez’ equilibrium admittedly thrown off, dos Santos was able to finish the fight with a series of ground-and-pound strikes that left Velasquez face down in the octagon.
The Brazilian exploded with joy as he becomes the third Brazilian to hold a UFC title, joining middleweight champ Anderson Silva and featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo.
In the night’s co-main event, Ben Henderson earned a lightweight title shot against Frankie Edgar with his unanimous decision win over Clay Guida.
The contest was very competitive and neither man seemed to have an obvious superiority over the other, but Henderson was able to gain more dominant positions than Guida and he also exhibited more control during the fight.
For complete UFC on FOX 1 results, check out the jump.
The UFC makes its national television debut on FOX Saturday night with one of the biggest heavyweight fights in the history of the organization as Cain Velasquez defends his heavyweight championship against Junior dos Santos.
Coming into the fight, the oddsmakers like the champion Velasquez to retain, as he has a money line of -190 to win on Saturday night. Dos Santos comes in with odds of +155. These two will clash from the Honda Center in Anaheim at 9 p.m. ET live on FOX.
Here is a look at both fighters and my pick for the winner.
Cain Velasquez (9-0) – The former wrestler from Arizona State is unbeaten in his short MMA career and he holds wins over top fighters like Cheick Kongo, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Brock Lesnar. Velasquez started as a wrestler, but has quickly developed his boxing and turned into one of the top knockout artists in the division. The questions for the champion coming in are his conditioning and health, as he is coming off rotator cuff surgery that has sidelined him for over a year. His longest fight in the UFC is 15 minutes and he struggled to make it to the end there, so if this fight goes deep, he could be in rough shape.
Junior dos Santos (13-1) – The Brazilian is 7-0 in the UFC and holds wins over the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Mirko CroCop, Roy Nelson, and Shane Carwin. Junior is a powerful striker that likes to throw heavy punches. His uppercut has been his signature strike to finish opponents, but he also works in devastating body shots. A black belt in jiu-jitsu as well, dos Santos hasn’t had to show those skills because he has been able to dominate fights standing. The test for him in this fight will be whether or not he is able to stuff the takedowns of Velasquez, as he has not faced a tough wrestler in the octagon. Like Velasquez, dos Santos hasn’t been pushed past 15 minutes yet, so fatigue could be an issue if this bout reaches the championship rounds.
Who Will Win? – This fight could go 25 minutes and it could go 25 seconds. Both fighters have a lot of explosiveness to them but both also have some big questions coming in. Ultimately, I feel Velasquez’ striking is closer to matching dos Santos’ as opposed to dos Santos’ wrestling being anywhere near Velasquez’. I think both fighters will land some early strikes, but Velasquez will be the one to get the fight to the ground and control Junior from there. I am actually going to be part of the minority that sees this fight going the distance due to Velasquez going with the wrestling.
Nick Diaz proved that he is no minor league champ on Saturday in the main event of UFC 137.
The last Strikeforce Welterweight champion overcame a slow start to dominant the final two rounds against UFC legend, B.J. Penn, as Diaz picked up a unanimous decision win for perhaps the biggest win in his career.
Diaz survived the opening round as Penn came out with a fast start, using dirty boxing and grappling to control the round. Penn had Diaz’ back at one point, but Diaz was able to get out of the dominant position and get into the later rounds, where he started to work his boxing.
Diaz used relentless jabs and combinations to pick apart the tiring Penn, who ended up with a busted nose and bruised face before the final bell sounded. The decision wasn’t really in doubt, as Diaz had clearly closed out the final two rounds.
Following the win, Diaz called out UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, whom Diaz was originally scheduled to face before being pulled from the title bout by the UFC as a disciplinary action for missing pre-event press conferences.
Still, Diaz is likely in line for a title shot against GSP or Carlos Condit, who will be fighting for the title in early 2012.
Penn announced his retirement from the sport following the loss, his third in his last five fights. Penn will go down as one of the all-time greats as he held titles in two different weight classes and was arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world during his prime.
Nick Diaz doesn’t like politics and he doesn’t like losing.
Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were expected to win their fights at UFC on FOX 2 Saturday night, and they did just that.
Everyone knew Jose Aldo was a bad man.
Alistair Overeem proved he was more than just hype on Friday night by retiring Brock Lesnar from the UFC.
Jon Jones was proven to be human, if even for just a minute.
UFC 139 didn’t have a title fight as the main event, but the battle between Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua couldn’t have been any better.
