UFC
UFC 143: Carlos Condit discusses his strategy against Nick Diaz - "[In] a battle, you want to pick the battleground"
Feb 7, 2012 - 3:30:39 PM UFC 143: Carlos Condit discusses his strategy against Nick Diaz - "[In] a battle, you want to pick the battleground"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Carlos Condit has received criticism over his performance at UFC 143, largely from Nick Diaz fans who have blasted him for "running away" for the entire fight. It was not a typical performance for Condit, who has gone to decision just four times in his career, but it was a specific plan to best Diaz and his style; and it worked.

"During the fight, I felt like I won four out of the five rounds," Condit said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "I watched it yesterday, and it looked a little bit closer. I probably would have given Nick two [rounds] and myself three."

"I think it was a tough fight to call, a tough fight to judge, and a lot of those rounds were really close."

Condit's strategy was to avoid getting cornered by Diaz against the cage. The former Strikeforce Champion has had considerable success in recent years getting opponents to stand in front of him as he unloads, but that wasn't a game Condit was going to engage in on Saturday night.

"When you fight a battle, you want to pick the battleground," Condit said. "Nick Diaz loves to back a guy up against the cage. For what I was trying to do in the fight, I wanted a little more range. I was wanting to fight in the middle of the cage. It was a constant battle of positioning in the cage. I was throwing with nothing but bad intentions. I was trying to put flying knees on his chin, trying to hit him with spinning back elbows. I was trying to finish the fight...

"It's footwork," he continued to explain about his work circling away from the cage. "For fans that want to see two guys standing right in front of each other and beating each other's faces in, that's what they like to see. And a lot of times I fight like that. But this time, I employed a different strategy to get the win, and people have a problem with that."

Condit says he'll wait to fight Georges St-Pierre provided that fight takes place no later than November, which has been St-Pierre's late guess for his return. If St-Pierre's return is delayed past that, Condit says he'd defend the Interim Title, but believes there are other challengers outside of Diaz that would have a claim to getting that shot.

Regardless of who exactly he fights next, Condit made it clear that Saturday's performance wasn't something that fans will always see from him, but that it was an effectively smart strategy to put him in position to hold the Interim belt and get his shot at GSP.

"It is what it is," he said. "Just because I employed this strategy this time doesn't mean that I'm not going to come straight forward and look for the kill next time."

Penick's Analysis: There isn't anything wrong with the way Condit fought on Saturday night, and though there are many fans that weren't happy with it, it's also not indicative of the type of fights he'll have in the future. It was an effective gameplan for a very specific opponent and a very specific challenge to get past. Condit's track record is proven; he has 13 TKO wins and 13 submission wins in his MMA career, with only two of his victories going to the scorecards. He's an immensely exciting fighter who just so happened to utilize a cerebral approach to this fight, and it has earned him the fight with Georges St-Pierre he would have just been handed at UFC 137. If St-Pierre can return earlier than November it will probably be in the best interests of the UFC and Condit, but if the Champ is delayed I'd expect we'll see Condit face off with Jake Ellenberger a second time should Ellenberger defeat Diego Sanchez next week.

[Carlos Condit art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]