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

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.

For full UFC 137 results, check out the jump.

UFC 137 Results

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011

Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas

Nick Diaz def. B.J Penn by unanimous decision

Cheick Kongo def. Matt Mitrione by unanimous decision

Roy Nelson def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic by TKO at 1:30, R3

Scott Jorgensen def. Jeff Curran by unanimous decision

Hatsu Hioki def. George Roop by split decision

Donald Cerrone def. Dennis Siver by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:22, R1

Bart Palaszewski def. Tyson Griffin by KO at 2:45, R1

Brandon Vera def. Eliot Marshall by unanimous decision

Ramsey Nijem def. Danny Downes by unanimous decision

Francis Carmont def. Chris Camozzi by unaimous decision

Clifford Starks def. Dustin Jacoby by unanimous decision

Penn is a former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion while Nick Diaz was the Strikeforce welterweight champion prior to leaving the organization for greener pastures.

Penn (16-7-2) comes into this three-round contest as the favorite over Diaz (26-7-1), as Penn has odds of -125 to top Diaz, who has a money line of -105. Both fighters have similar styles as each relies on boxing and jiu-jitsu to win fights. Penn may have the edge in regards to wrestling, but Diaz will have a big size edge in terms of mass and reach. Both fighters will be sure to leave everything in the octagon, which makes this fight very interesting.

The co-main event also has a very competitive contest as heavyweights Cheick Kongo (26-6-2) and Matt Mitrione (5-0) face off with the winner emerging as a top-10 contender in the division.

Mitrione is the slight favorite, with a money line of -140 while Kongo has odds of +110 to win. Both fighters are primarily strikers, but Mitrione packs the harder punch and is more mobile while Kongo has a slightly better ground game. Mitrione will look to keep the fight standing and stick-and-move while Kongo will look to utilize leg kicks and takedowns to finish the fight with ground-and-pound.

For complete UFC 137 betting odds, check out the jump.

UFC 137 Betting Odds & Fight Card

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011

Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV

Welterweight Bout -Nick Diaz (-105) vs. BJ Penn (-125)

Heavyweight Bout- Cheick Kongo (+110) vs. Matt Mitrione (-140)

Heavyweight Bout- Mirko CroCop (+220) vs. Roy Nelson (-280)

Featherweight Bout – George Roop (+265) vs. Hatsu Hioki (-325)

Lightweight Bout – Dennis Siver (+190) vs. Donald Cerrone (-240)

Featherweight Bout – Bart Palaszewski (+240) vs. Tyson Griffin (-300)

Bantamweight Bout- Jeff Curran (+300) vs. Scott Jorgensen (-400)

Light Heavyweight Bout – Brandon Vera (-500) vs. Eliot Marshall (+350)

Lightweight Bout – Danny Downes (+170) vs. Ramsey Nijem (-210)

Middleweight Bout – Francis Carmont (+100) vs. Chris Camozzi (-130)

Middleweight Bout – Clifford Starks (+100) vs. Dustin Jacoby (-130)

DIAZ VS. DALEY WAS BETTER THAN ADVERTISED
I had concerns about the main event falling short of expectations. Boy, was I wrong.

For three ticks shy of five minutes, these two went toe-to-toe, trading punishing blows and trying to put the other one away. Both men got rocked at different points in the frenetic first round, and even though they only used 1/5 of the allotted time, the fans still got what they came for and then some.

Whatever your feelings on the organization, you have to give Strikeforce their due: more often than naught, we’re treated to wildly exciting fights, and Saturday’s main event was no different.

Read the full article.

Nick Diaz is scheduled to defend his Strikeforce welterweight crown against Evangelista Santos Jan. 29 in San Jose, Calif., but that didn’t stop him from calling out UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre on a media conference call Thursday promoting “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg.”

“I want to fight Georges St. Pierre,” said Diaz.
Diaz’ Cesar Gracie teammate Jake Shields takes on St. Pierre at UFC 129 on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

“I think my partner (Jake Shields) is going to take him out to be honest, coming up,” added the Strikeforce champion.

“I got here and started fighting before most of them, including Georges St. Pierre, in the UFC. I was really mad at first that they were getting fights and recognition when I was here first,” said Diaz when asked how he stacks up against other top ranked welterweights.

Read the full article.

Jeremy Botter of HeavyMMA.com reports that Nick Diaz has signed a new multi-year deal with Strikeforce.

Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz won’t be testing the free agency waters after all.

Strikeforce officials today announced that the controversial California-based fighter has signed a new multi-year agreement with the promotion.

“I’m looking forward to continuing my career with Strikeforce,” Diaz said.

Diaz is currently riding an eight-fight win streak that includes victories over K.J. Noons, Scott Smith, Marius Zaromskis and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai. He is scheduled to defend his title against Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in the main event of Strikeforce’s Showtime-televised event on Jan. 29.

Diaz says he likes the competition currently available to him in the Strikeforce welterweight division.

“When I first got here, there weren’t a lot of great 170-pound fighters for me to fight, but that’s definitely changed,” Diaz said. “There’s a lot of really good fighters in the division now, and I’m ready to fight anyone who thinks they can beat me.”

Read more MMA headlines.

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- Chuck Liddell’s storybook run on “Dancing With the Stars” came to an abrupt end when his country-fried two-step failed to win over the judges.

- Half-crazy UFC vet Wes Sims was quickly choked to sleep by Justin Wren on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, extending Team Rashad’s undefeated reign of destruction.

- “The Simpsons” devoted an entire episode to MMA, in which Marge went from killjoy protester to ass-kicking cage-fighter.

- Brock Lesnar was as big and scary as a baby as he is now, and Nick Diaz had lost all ability to give a fuck by age six.

- We met Mika Nagano, one of Japan’s sexiest MMA fighters.

- After contract negotiations with the UFC fell apart, veteran fighter Dan Henderson is jumping ship to Strikeforce.

- Leaner and meaner, Ben Rothwell laid out his plan to beat Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 next Saturday.

- If Tito Ortiz is your favorite fighter, you are either Jenna Jameson, Donald Trump, or Tito Ortiz. No exceptions.