Keller's Take
KELLER: Dana White said something in the midst of today's GSP-Diaz UFC 137 press conference he shouldn't have said
Sep 7, 2011 - 6:54:28 PM KELLER: Dana White said something in the midst of today's GSP-Diaz UFC 137 press conference he shouldn't have said

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One item lost in the disappointment and head-scratching regarding Nick Diaz was Dana White saying at the press conference today he only scheduled Nick Diaz for a title shot against GSP because the fans wanted it. He said he would have given the shot to Carlos Condit if he was to give the fight to the most deserving.

Should the fight promoter really be saying he is giving a less deserving fighter a title shot over a more formidable, deserving opponent?

I understand UFC is a business and the goal - behind the scenes - is to schedule and manipulate within certain creative freedom in this sport the most marketable fights. MMA, in that sense, is not pure sport (although is there such a thing as pure sport, really?)

However, the "fan's choice" matches should be reserved for non-title matches - Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie, Rich Franklin vs. Tito Ortiz, Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva, etc. Some of those were relevant to the title contendership, some really weren't, but all were intriguing matches booked more - but not entirely - for marketing reasons more than finding out who the better fighter was from a title picture standpoint.

But a Welterweight Title shot should go to the top contender, the most deserving fighter, and the one who is most likely to give the toughest challenge to the champion based on wins and losses, and subjective yet expert analysis of all available data.

Does White believe Condit has a better chance to beat GSP? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he thinks neither have much of a chance, but Condit is all-around a better fighter. Or maybe he's just marketing his fallback plan now that Diaz forced his hand.

In any case, I don't think White should go around saying things like that. It hurts the perceived integrity of the sport. The NFL can't create a more desirable Super Bowl match-up between two marquee big-market teams with well-known liked or hated big name players. They set up a structure and let the game play itself out and goes with those results to determine who is in the Super Bowl.

The San Antonio Spurs were not the fans' choice to win so many NBA Titles. Tim Duncan, for years, led a "boring team" to one playoff series run after another. The Big Fundamental wasn't a ratings draw, but he was the best at what he did, and his team at times was the best collection of teammates in the league. Yes, the NBA suffered a bit without a loudmouth Charles Barkley or flashier Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals, but the integrity of the game was more important than any one season.

I don't want to overplay this because I think everyone believes Nick Diaz was a legitimate top contender. Holding the Strikeforce version of the championship made it much more justified to put him in that spot. And most - including the MMATorch staff - believe Diaz is higher ranked in the Welterweight Division than Condit. (Nick Diaz was ranked no. 5, Condit no. 7 in the September MMATorch Rankings that came out earlier today.)

The point isn't that Diaz isn't deserving, it's that the guy who booked the fight (with Joe Silva) admitted he put someone he thought was less deserving in a fight because "the fans wanted it." That may be true, but he shouldn't say it.