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.

UFC 143 Results

Mandalay Bay Events Center – Las Vegas

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012

Stephen Thompson def. Daniel Stittgen by first round KO (4:13) via head kick

Rafael Natal def. Michael Kuiper by unanimous decision

Matt Riddle def. Henry Martinez by split decision

Matt Brown def. Chris Cope by second round TKO (1:19) via punches

Edwin Figueroa def. Alex Caceres by split decision

Dustin Poirier def. Max Holloway by first round submission (3:23) via triangle armbar

Ed Herman def. Clifford Starks by second round submission (1:43) via rear-naked choke

Renan Barao def. Scott Jorgensen by unanimous decision

Josh Koscheck def. Mike Pierce by split decision

Fabricio Werdum def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision

Carlos Condit def. Nick Diaz by unanimous decision to win UFC Interim Welterweight Championship

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.

UFC on FOX 2 Results (Courtesy of MMAMania.com)

United Center – Chicago, Illinois

January 28, 2012

Rashad Evans defeats Phil Davis via unanimous decision

Chael Sonnen defeats Michael Bisping via Unanimous Decision

Chris Weidman defeats Demian Maia via Split Decision

Evan Dunham def. Nik Lentz via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 of round two

Mike Russow def. Jon Olav Einemo via unanimous decision

Cub Swanson def. George Roop via TKO (punches) at 2:22 of round two

Charles Oliveira def. Eric Wisely via submission (kneebar) at 1:43 of round one

Michael Johnson def. Shane Roller via unanimous decision

Lavar Johnson def. Joey Beltran via KO at 4:24 of round one

Chris Camozzi def. Dustin Jacoby via submission (guillotine) at 1:08 of round three

Lose out on one prominent college football head coach? No problem, just hire another.

Just days after Chip Kelly spurned them by deciding to stay at the University of Oregon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired Rutgers’ Greg Schiano to be their next head coach. He takes over for Raheem Morris, who was fired after a disastrous 2011 season in which the Bucs lost their final 10 games while stumbling to a 4-12 record.

The three finalists to take over as coach of the Bucs were apparently Panthers’ offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, fired Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, and Schiano. Just 45 years old, Schiano gained the respect of his peers and media members after impressively transforming Rutgers into a Big East power. Since 2001, the Scarlet Knights have gone to six bowl games, winning their last five. Schiano led them to a win in their most recent bowl game, a 27-13 victory over Iowa State in the 2011 Pinstripe Bowl.

What’s interesting is that Kelly and Schiano couldn’t be more different in terms of offensive philosophies. Oregon has had one of the most dynamic offenses in college football under Kelly, who runs a zone-read scheme that is unlike any system currently in the NFL. Schiano, meanwhile, has always run a “smashmouth,” run-first offense that uses a heavy dose of running back committees.

The contrast in styles makes you wonder whether or not the Bucs knew what they wanted in their next head coach. Did the Glazers just want to make a splash hire following their Morris tenure? Were they focused on a disciplinarian? Did they want to use the same blueprint as the 49ers, who obviously just had a ton of success following the hiring of former Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh last year?

Schiano is a great football coach and appears to be less of a gamble than Kelly, whose offense may not have survived in the pros. But it’s odd that in the end, the Bucs’ top two choices had such contrasting styles (at least offensively).

Following the Detroit Tigers’ acquisition of free agent first baseman Prince Fielder on Tuesday, Miguel Cabrera is expected to move to third base.

There was some initial talk that the club would use a rotation at the corner infield spots, as Fielder and Cabrera would each play first base on some days while Cabrera moved to third base on others. But Cabrera told the Venezuelan newspaper Lider en Deportes that he would move to third base to accommodate Fielder.

“I will come back to the third base, which is my natural position,” Cabrera said via a translated version of the story. “The arrival of Fielder will benefit us.”

Cabrera played third base with the Florida Marlins before being traded to Detroit and eventually shifting over to first. At 240 pounds he’ll likely need to get into better shape this offseason in order to gain more flexibility for the position, but his willingness to move has to be comforting for the Tigers. (Especially considering the small rift that occurred in Miami earlier this offseason where Hanley Ramirez gave the Marlins some gruff by stating he would not move to third base in order to make room for free agent acquisition Jose Reyes.)

Fielder batted .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBI in his final season with the Milwaukee Brewers last year. Since 2007, he hasn’t hit less than 30 home runs in a season and outside of 2010 (83), he has never drove in less than 100 RBI.

He and Cabrera now make a dangerous duo in the middle of Detroit’s lineup. Cabrera drove in 105 RBI last season while belting 48 home runs and hitting .344. The addition of Fielder eases a lot of doubt created by the loss of Victor Martinez, who suffered a torn ACL during winter conditioning and could miss the entire 2012 season.

Quarterback Drew Brees seems optimistic that he’ll receive a contract offer soon from the New Orleans Saints. In fact, Brees even used the words “beyond stunned” if he didn’t re-up with the team between now and when free agency starts in March.

“Now here we are at the end of the season and it’s time to pick up discussions again, obviously once we all get a chance to step away and decompress and let this season kind of settle,” Brees said in a conference call with the New Orleans media on Friday. “But I’ve had conversations with (Saints General Manager) Mickey Loomis and my agent and at some point very soon we’re going continue to talk and hopefully we will get a deal done very soon.

“Really the sooner the better. I would even say that between now and free agency (in March) I’d really like to have something done. Obviously there’s a lot that goes into it. It’s not as easy as maybe some people think it is. I just think there’s a lot of factors, variables, things to consider. The fact is we’re all very confident that a deal will get done sooner than later.”

It has been projected that Brees will receive somewhere around $18 million a year and there’s a chance he could become the richest player in league history. But the Saints also have to make decisions on top free agents Carl Nicks and Marques Colston, which could impact the process moving forward.

That said, at this point it seems highly unlikely that Brees will be in another uniform next season. He’s been the NFL’s most prolific passer over the past half-decade and is just two seasons removed from winning a Super Bowl with New Orleans. He isn’t going anywhere.

On Saturday, he just confirmed it once again.

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.

For full results for UFC 142, check out the jump.

UFC 142 Results (Via MMAMania.com)

HSBC Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes via knockout at 4:59 of round one

Vitor Belfort def. Anthony Johnson via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:49 of round one

Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Massenzio via submission (heel hook) at 1:02 of round one

Carlo Prater def. Erick Silva via disqualification

Edson Barboza def. Terry Etim via knockout at 2:02 of round three

Thiago Tavares def Sam Stout via unanimous decision

Gabriel Gonzaga def Ednaldo Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:22 of round one

Yuri Alcantara def Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision

Mike Pyle def Ricardo Funch via TKO (strikes) at 1:22 of round one

Felipe Arantes def. Antonio Carvalho via unanimous decision

Jeff Fisher has finally come to a decision on which rebuilding process he wants to overtake:

He’s headed to the “Show Me State.”

The St. Louis Rams have named Fisher as head coach per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Fisher chose the Rams over the Miami Dolphins apparently due to the structure that St. Louis offered. One can only estimate what that means, although the Rams do have a potential franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford, a workhorse back in Steven Jackson, and the No. 2 overall pick in next April’s draft. At least from the outset, there appears to be more to work with for Fisher in St. Louis than in Miami.

The Rams are also expected to make Fisher one of the league’s highest-paid head coaches and he will reportedly have a say in who the team will hire as general manager.

Fisher had the NFL’s fifth highest winning percentage from 1998 to 2008, before falling out of favor in Tennessee. It was no secret that he and former No. 3 overall pick Vince Young didn’t have the best relationship, which put strain on the entire Titans organization. Now he has an opportunity to work with a young man in Bradford who had a ton of success in his rookie season but took a step backwards in his sophomore campaign. (Mostly due to injuries, a new offensive system and an overall lack of talent around him.)

This was exactly the type of hire that St. Louis fans were hoping for. Following back-to-back losing tenures of Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo, respectively, Rams patrons were clamoring for a big name. Outside of maybe Jon Gruden, who reportedly wants to stay in TV for the time being, the team couldn’t have landed a bigger name in Fisher.

At least on the surface, this would appear to be a great fit. But Fisher has a lot of work to do in order to get the Rams to where the franchise was early last decade.