Thought it was interesting when I saw this poll on the UFC.com website, asking fans who they thought won the UFC 143 Main Event. At the time it was 47% “Condit won,” 47% “Diaz won,” and “too close to judge” had 6%.
It made me wonder if we could see a Diaz vs. Condit 2 and would it be that surprising if the UFC tried to make it happen? I enjoyed watching those two warriors go to battle, but it seems to have ignited some controversy among fans and media alike. That usually happens though when any close title fight goes to the judges.
I personally scored the fight 48-47 Condit, but don’t get me wrong, I can understand why some people feel like Diaz squeaked it out. I’m curious if anyone explored the idea of it being a draw? I could have lived with that.
Whatever the case, “The Natural Born Killer” got the win, and he is the interim welterweight champion. He has the golden ticket to unify the titles with the real UFC welterweight champ, George St. Pierre.
The obvious question is will Condit and his management team wait nine to ten months for that shot? I say nine to ten because GSP has a serious knee injury that will need careful healing and a lot of eyes on the rehab. You can never fully trust a competitive athlete to decide when he or she is ready to compete again.
Even though GSP is an athletic freak of nature who will probably recover enough to train by the Fall, you can bet the UFC along with GSP’s handlers will not rush George back. I personally think it would be wise of the UFC to make sure that St.Pierre is more than 100% ready to compete again, however something tells me he won’t ever be the same. He is one of their biggest pay-per-view draws so it wouldn’t surprise me if the UFC ended up scheduling a GSP fight at the end of the year maybe December or even January at the earliest.
It’s crazy how exciting the welterweight division could become with one of the greatest in the world on the shelf. That’s a compliment to St.Pierre who has been dominating that division and making it look easy since 2007. But you can’t help get excited about potential match ups between guys like Koscheck, Hendricks, Fitch, Sanchez, Ellenberger, and maybe by year’s end we could be talking about Martin Kampmann being in the mix. It would be a perfect time for the UFC to clear up some of the log jam in the welterweight division.
So if GSP is going to be out for a long period of time, why not put together a rematch between Diaz and Condit. As of right now Condit’s manager, Malki Kawa of First Round Management told Damon Martin of MMA Weekly that they will wait for GSP to recover.
The one fight that makes the most sense for Carlos Condit’s career is Georges St-Pierre. The money that he’s going to make in that fight, he’s not going to make in any other fight. As much as I personally would love for him to go out there and beat Nick Diaz a second time, I can’t see myself sitting here telling him it’s the best thing for him. I think he won the first fight, I think he’d win a second fight again.
In the end the mighty dollar rules the day. Just like Condit’s latest performance, a solid strategy in career direction and management is just as important as the fight strategy that goes on in the cage. However, I can’t believe for a second that Carlos Condit will wait ten to eleven months to fight again. In my humble opinion a rematch between Diaz and Condit is the smart decision, and Kawa’s comments above could be positioning to try and get a big pay day when that rematch is presented.
We have seen this movie before with Rashad Evans back in 2010. Evans decided to wait for his title shot against Shogun Rua who had to recover from knee surgery. Evans chose to be inactive and unfortunately sustained an injury in training and didn’t fight again until Tito Ortiz at UFC 133 late last Summer. It has taken Rashad Evans two years to get back into the number one contender spot. It’s not wise for any fighter to be inactive for more than six months. Too many things could happen in training, and to be honest, best laid plans in the UFC could change on a dime.
I found it interesting to see the UFC put up that poll on their website. Maybe it’s some well thought out marketing research. If you combine that with the mixed opinions within the social media universe, you have to believe the UFC sees some value in trying to set up a rematch. It sets up a good beginning to what the UFC could market as a great competitive rivalry. Nothing beats a good rematch and rivalry ie: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard one and two. If Condit vs. GSP is too far off in the distance, the UFC and everyone involved could cash in on a rematch.
Something tells me that the offer isn’t too far away. We’ll see if Condit and his management team continue their stance on waiting for GSP or decide to take the money and accept a rematch that you know the UFC will offer. It makes sense but it will be interesting to see how Condit and his handlers play this.
UPDATE: Looks like my hunch was right. Dana White confirmed via Twitter that Diaz vs. Condit 2 is set. It seems that the pot was sweetened for Condit to accept a rematch. More details to come when fight is officially announced. Stay tuned on MMASucka.com.
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-Corner Man-
Trevor Dueck
