The Aftermath of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

What a night of fights Saturday’s UFC 143 was and while there were some close judge’s decisions and a few heartbroken fans, the night delivered. An interim welterweight champion was crowned, sparking a fan meltdown across the internet and the loser taking his ball and heading home. The night had a little bit of everything including an impressive debut, some odd calls from the referee and one bummed out UFC champion.

Stephen Thompson

• Thompson came into the UFC debut with a lot of hype behind him and with a first round head kick knockout, he didn’t disappoint. The KO earned him an extra $65k from the knock out of the night bonus. His karate style was very fun to watch and was firing off strikes from all over the place. He might want to work on bringing his hands closer to his face as he might want to block some punches when he faces tougher competition.

Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa

• Caceres lost the fight via split decision but it was two low blows that were the deference. After being warned by referee Herb Dean with the first low blow kick, Caceres inadvertently landed a second one in the final round which resulted in Dean taking not one but two points away from the TUF 12 fighter. The judges scored the bout (28-27, 27-28, 28-27) in favor of Figueroa and the odd two point deduction cost Caceres. The typical one point deduction would have cause the fight to be a majority draw (28-28, 27-29, 28-28).

Renan Barao

• Barao improved his winning streak to 18 with an impressive outing against highly ranked Scott Jorgensen. Barao made a name for himself on Saturday, even getting compared to his Nova Uniao teammate and current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. The comparisons aren’t farfetched either; Barao appears to have it all and has proclaimed himself ready for a title shot.

Josh Koscheck

• Koscheck didn’t look good against Mike Pierce and could have easily lost that split decision. Pierce is a tough dude and pushed Koscheck to the edge of defeat before a late takedown swayed the judges in favor Koscheck. After the bout Koscheck reviled that he had left AKA San Jose and while he didn’t use it as an excuse, the tough camp appeared to affect him inside the Octagon.

Fabricio Werdum

• Since defeating Fedor in Strikeforce, Werdum has looked like a different fighter and his performance against Roy Nelson showcased the new Fabricio Werdum. Known for his high level BJJ, Werdum brought with him to Las Vegas a massively improved striking arsenal that would have finished most heavyweights not named Roy Nelson. Werdum now jumps right into the heavyweight mix but with loses to Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem already, he’ll need a few more wins before whispers of a title shot.

Nick Diaz

• Losing is never easy for anyone, but Diaz took he’s loss to Carlos Condit pretty hard on Saturday. In his post fight in ring interview with Joe Rogan, Diaz was clearly pissed at the judge’s decision even went as far as saying he was done with MMA. Diaz hadn’t lost a fight since 2007 so maybe when he cools off some he might rethink the retirement statement.

Carlos Condit

• Condit executed a game plan to perfection against Diaz and didn’t get suckered into the toe to toe brawl so many fighters before him have. He massively out kicking Diaz, keeping him on the outside which allowed him to escape danger along the cage. It was that escaping that had Diaz and some fans claiming he was running away. Condit now has a decision to make, defend the interim title or wait for GSP.

Tags: Alex Caceres, Carlos Condit, Edwin Figueroa, Fabricio Werdum, Josh Koscheck, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Nick Diaz, Renan Barao, Stephen Thompson, UFC, UFC 143, UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

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