Though we've established that Carlos Condit presents a less-compelling matchup with Georges St-Pierre than Nick Diaz would, despite his victory at UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit, there's one big thing getting in the way of a potential Condit-Diaz rematch: Diaz doesn't deserve it by any stretch of a rational imagination.
Oh sure, a Condit vs. St-Pierre fight won't sell as many pay-per-views as the alternative, but this was a unanimous decision that made sense in every way. Even though I'm personally a Lyoto Machida fan, I knew that the first matchup against Mauricio Rua was absolutely bogus and that a rematch was required. We're not on the level of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard here.
Diaz fought and lost fair and square. Maybe you don't like the way that Condit fought, but it was all within the rules, and he out-landed Diaz with punches and kicks. Some folks say Condit was running, I saw a fighter who was circling and not engaging Diaz at his game. We're talking about a guy who used to complain that wrestling shouldn't be allowed in mixed martial arts. What else do you need to hear? Diaz wanted Condit to stand in front of him and slug it out, a fight that Diaz surely would have won. But why cripple yourself?
What happened was simple: Condit utilized a gameplan and Diaz, along with his corner-men, did not adapt to the gameplan at all. Condit circled out to the right about 100 times in that fight, and not once did Diaz adapt to it. Whereas he says that Condit was running and avoiding a fight to get to the decision, the same can be said for Diaz, content to walk him down and not really go for a finish.
A rematch might be smart for the UFC and for Dana White, but it's not smart for Condit and, the most important thing? Once again, Diaz doesn't deserve it. He fought, he lost, there's nothing controversial about it. 170 is too stacked to have this kind of thing mucking it all up, Diaz fan or not.
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UFC 143 Results: Nick Diaz Rematch Might Be Smart For Dana White, But He Doesn't Deserve It
Feb 7
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