Word is now making rounds in the MMA world that we are set for Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz 2. UFC President Dana White has now gone as far as to confirm the bout on twitter. While a rematch for the interim welterweight championship and right to fight Georges St. Pierre when GSP returns is certainly an appetizing pay-per-view event, one has to wonder if Condit is really making a wise decision to step into the cage with the Stockton scrapper again.
Although the decision was labelled “controversial” in some circles, it’s a wonder as to what the controversy was. It was a close fight, but not even the closest of the night. That honour goes to the Josh Koscheck-Mike Pierce fight. Condit landed the more effective strikes, dictated the pace and made Diaz fight his fight. He controlled where the fight would take place by refusing to allow Diaz to back him into the cage and keep him there. Condit also set a UFC record for leg kicks, an effective tool to slow Diaz down as the fight went on. Unless you’re Cecil Peoples, leg kicks count. The end of the fight visual told the story, as an emotional Condit seemed sure of victory, while a battered Diaz was already complaining to Lorenzo Fertitta before the decision had even been announced.
Aside from having little to gain from a rematch after being the clear winner of the first fight, Condit risks what he has presumably been fighting for this whole time, a big-money showdown with GSP to determine the one true welterweight champ. With GSP rumoured to return in late fall, the layoff would be a little bit longer than what Condit is used to, but certainly the literal pot of gold at the end of the rainbow would be worth it. There’s certainly more money and a higher-profile fight waiting for Condit against GSP, why risk loss or injury to compete again against someone you just outclassed?
Although I’m a Diaz fan and picked him to defeat Condit in last weekend’s match-up, I’m somewhat disappointed at the way he and his camp have conducted himself after the loss. Diaz, forever wallowing in his petulance, first insisted he was retiring after the fight. Then Cesar Gracie insisted it was the Nevada judges who had a personal issue against Nick and that was the real reason Diaz didn’t leave with his hand raised. This is the second time Team Cesar Gracie has levelled that allegation, the first coming after Diaz’s victory over Takanori Gomi was overturned after Diaz tested positive for marijuana. Diaz has also had his issues with the California State Athletic Commission. Two questions need to be asked at this point, when will Diaz stop blaming everybody else and take a look in the mirror; and when will Dana White stop rewarding Diaz for his childish behaviour?
As a fight fan, I will certainly be watching Condit-Diaz 2. But if I were part of Condit’s management, I would be telling him to relax and enjoy the summer. Take a vacation, maybe go with Greg Jackson on one of his ghost town expeditions. Focus on the bigger, more important challenge looming on the horizon. An undisputed title fight against the biggest star in the sport seems like a good enough reason to wait.
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