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RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST: (4.0)
I'm sick, and I'm crabby. I have also run out of patience for the internet. If one more person tells me Carlos Condit fought like a sissy, I'm going to, well, I won't do a damn thing, but I'll be even crabbier. If anyone deserves to be criticized it's Nick Diaz. Diaz is the guy who refused to adapt. Diaz is the guy who wasn't landing. Diaz is the guy who was eating leg kicks. Diaz is the guy who refused to use his world class BJJ until it was too late. Diaz was the guy who pulled off his best Eric Cartman impression when he didn't get his way and said, "Screw you guys, I'm going home." Don't let the door hit you in the ass. Actually, after choosing to eat more than 100 leg kicks last night, if the door wanted to hit you in the ass, it's going to damn well hit you in the ass.
I'm also crabby because while it was a fine main event, clearly we (and by 'we' I mean everybody) had unrealistic expectations. It was a nice little fight, but not the seminal moment we all expected it to be. If they fought 100 times, this is the worst fight they could possibly put on for us. Fun, but empty, like Studio 54 in 1981.
As for the rest of the show, the less said the better. Werdum looked like a killer. Thompson looked great against the worst middleweight in UFC history, and Poirier did something nasty to the arm of a white belt. I'm still sick, I'm still crabby, so I'll take inspiration from the heart of the 209 and say, "Screw you guys, I'm going home."
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST: (6.5)
A very hit and miss card. The prelims didn't hit big until the last scheduled fight between Dustin Poirier and Max Hollaway, when Poirier had that slick submission for the win. Same for the KO of Dan Stittgen by Stephen Thompson. The main card started out nice with a submission of Clifford Starks by Ed Herman. Even the Koscheck fight was lackluster, as he seemed frustrated from being there, let actually wanting to be there. Luckily, Werdum and Nelson had a great fight, that showcased what a tough guy Nelson is. Though he didn't leave with the victory (Werdum won via unanimous decision), he still left as the favorite of all the fans in attendance. Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit put on one hell of a fight. Diaz tried to bait Condit with his trademark taunting, but Condit kept his cool. Condit was able to get the decision, unanimously. In the end, the card was just so-so, but was really the last two fights that kept it from terrible.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR: (7.5)
I'm kind of torn on the final fight. It would have been nice to see more fireworks, but Carlos Condit stuck to his gameplan. I still don't think that titles should be won or lost by decisions. I think the only way to win a title, interim or not, should be by finishing your opponent. I understand that's not always possible, though, so we've got to live with decisions. Congrats to Carlos Condit.
I'd be more willing to cut Nick Diaz some slack if he didn't have a history. I also think that he'd say the exact same thing even if you ask him about this in two months. I understand he's frustrated, but he needs to quit playing the retirement card. Newsflash, the MMA world existed before Nick Diaz and will exist long after he's gone. No one in the UFC is bigger than MMA. If Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, and Anderson Silva all retired tomorrow the sun would still rise at the same time and the UFC would continue doing business.
On a final note, Roy Nelson must have steel plates in his head or something. Fabricio Werdum was laying into him with some vicious shots but couldn't stop him. Roy is like the real-life Homer Simpson.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR: (8.5)
UFC 143 held a lot in the balance mostly in the main event, but the fights on the main card provided a much needed dose of entertainment after the UFC on Fox 2 fights. Ed Herman was beat up badly in the first round but came back to pull off a great submission against Clifford Starks. In the future I hope opponents don't underestimate Starks' right hand. As expected Barao steamrolled Jorgensen on points, but I fully expect to see Jorgensen back in the near future as his all around game is solid. After that things started to get sketchy, I had Mike Pierce winning his fight against Josh Koscheck 29-28 but the judges clearly saw things differently. Koscheck didn't look as dominant as usual and was once again taken to school by a better striker, he needs to work on that aspect of his game and stop expecting his only striking talent - an overhand right - to carry him through fights that stay standing. Werdum vs. Nelson was one of the best heavy weight fights I have seen in quite some time; Werdum put every ounce of his striking ability right on Nelson's chin and Roy just shook it off, even avoiding a submission attempt, definitely a contender for fight of the night as Nelson hung in there through the very last seconds of the fight - with his new, not-nearly-as-round physique.
Now we have the steak and potatoes; the main event of Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit vs. Nick Diaz - this fight was created to be beautiful. If you are a twitter user as most of us here at the Torch are, there was a wide array of scores coming in from all sides of the world from fans and MMA fighters alike that had this fight scored in all directions with different scores in each one. Nick Diaz looked cocky as usual for the start of the fight and Condit looked uncomfortable which I would expect with Diaz's mind games. Nick very clearly wanted to continue to play with Condits head through the entire fight but was completely outclassed on his feet for five rounds. It was a great fight, especially late in the fifth round when Diaz was fighting for a submission. I was on the edge of my seat throughout and can't say a single negative thing about Condits gameplan - however Diaz did not execute, and how he looked confused at the judges decision and how he was is beyond me. It was clearly Condit's constant striking that won him the fight - although Diaz was certainly no slouch, landing a large number of punches and scoring a late takedown. Personally, I would rather see Diaz vs. Condit 2 than see Carlos defend against whomever is deemed the #1 contender at this point in time - there are quite a few fighters with legitimate arguments for the spot. Jake Ellenberger is facing Diego Sanchez, and Koscheck looked less than great tonight, so lets get a rematch for this ASAP. I know soon we will see Rich Hansens fights to make after UFC 143 - I hope to see Hendricks Vs Koscheck on that list.
This is a UFC card that you can wait for on DVD but you will be hearing about the Nelson Vs Werdum fight and Diaz vs. Condit fight constantly until you see them for yourself. Also be sure to look into Dustin Poirier's incredible submission of Holloway when you get the chance. Overall a great card that provided us with everything you want, especially on the top end of the card.
MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST: (6.0)
Oh, where to begin. First off, I think we'll be seeing Condit-Diaz II sometime in the spring while GSP continues to heal. I had it 48-47 Diaz. I thought he clearly won the first two rounds, Condit won three and four, and Diaz sealed the fight in the last minute by taking Condit's back and going for a couple of submissions. Condit ran away literally the entire fight. And that wasn't the only awful decision on the card. The Martinez-Riddle fight was also a joke. Martinez easily won the first two rounds, but apparently Riddle's berserker routine in the last thirty seconds of round two was enough to make two judges forget about the first four and a half minutes. The card was largely a letdown, but was still obviously newsworthy with the crowning of an interim champion, plus it gets some bonus points for two highlights in particular. The first was Stephen Thompson's roundhouse KO of Dan Stittgen. I'm excited to see another karateka in the UFC, and his finish is yet another highly memorable KO already in this young year. The other was Dustin Piorier's topside triangle armbar submission of Max Holloway. Sure, Holloway is super young, and was even superer overmatched on the mat, but it was the first real submission highlight in a KO filled year so far. Nothing else really stood out to me, other than Renan Barao's performance against Scott Jorgenson. His striking was on point, and he completely shut down Jorgenson's wrestling game. He'll be an interesting challenger for the Cruz-Faber winner.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR: (8.0)
UFC 143 started with a new intro and the retirement of the old gladiator footage. The new intro was great, and it honors some of the best fighters ever.
Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks started out with very exciting exchanges on the feet and was a great back and forth battle. Ed Herman was losing that battle before catching Starks in rear naked choke. Good fight between a good veteran and a great new comer. Clifford Starks is a name you need to remember. Once he learns more that wrestling, he will be someone to reckoned with at middleweight.
Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen saw two bantamweight fighters that fought a high paced and very entertaining fight. Barao's kicks were great to watch and his ground game is at a very high level. I have not seen Barao fight before and I am sure he has the skills to fight for the title in the not too distant future. Barao won a close decision victory over the veteran Jorgensen. With a record of 31-1-1 he will be fighting for the title this year if he can earn one more win in the UFC.
Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce started with Koscheck refusing to touch gloves and ended with a three round action packed fight that was too close to call. Koscheck came into the fight the heavy favorite, but the three rounds of action was one of the closest fights in recent memory. The split decision for Koscheck was not a surprise, but it was when he flipped off the crowd while Joe Rogan interviewed him after the fight. Classy.
The first round of the Roy Nelson vs Fabrico Werdum fight was one of the best first rounds I have seen in a long time. Roy Nelson's ability to take punishment is amazing. Werdum's knees are lethal and world class. It was a good fight, but Werdum clearly won every round. Werdum is now in the mix for the heavyweight title and I think Nelson will be forced to drop to light heavyweight or be dropped from the UFC.
The main event between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz was a nail biter. Both fighters were focused and seemed like they stayed to their game plan. This fight was spent the on the feet until the last 90 seconds when Diaz took Carlos down and got his back. It was a super close fight in a night filled with super close fights. I am glad I did not have to score this fight. I know how many people are going to question the victory decision for Condit. I thought he controlled three rounds and won the fight.
Nick Diaz was talking about retiring after the fight because he was robbed by the judges. He should have finished the fight and not left it up to the judges. I am positive that those comments are not really the last time we will hear from Diaz in the Octagon.
The victory by Condit sets up a great title fight between GSP and Carlos Condit later this fall. Great night of fights and five hours of action between the FX under card and the pay-per-view.
JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST: (7.0)
Good card, but not great. I was fairly bored by some of the undercard fights, but things picked up on the main card.
The main event really brings up my score because it delivered a competitive five round fight, and those are awesome. It wasn't the crazy battle of attrition that Nick Diaz fans are used to, but that's because it's a high level mixed martial arts contest for a UFC championship. The fact of the matter is that Nick Diaz fights an exciting style that's meant for mid to upper mid-tier welterweights. At the elite level, guys aren't going to let you box them up along the fence and drag them into your fight. Condit was simply able to keep his back off the fence, counter effectively and out land Diaz.
The co-main event between Fabricio Werdum and Roy Nelson was fun for the first round, but but like most heavyweight fights, got progressively worse as the fight continued. It didn't get too bad, but things slowed considerable. On the plus side, we got a good look at some of the improvements Werdum made to his game and firmly cemented Nelson in his tough-but-not-great heavyweight gatekeeper role.
Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce was tough to watch, but it needs to be said that Mike Pierce's style just isn't suited to win decisions in MMA. He's really gotten jobbed on close decisions in the past and it will continue to happen if he doesn't score clear undeniable offense.
Renan Barao really proved that Nova Uniao has one hell of a wrestling coach against Scott Jorgenson, but slowing down like that indicates to me that the Brazilian would get eaten alive in a 25 minute fight against UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz.
Good, but not the greatest card in the world. It certainly wasn't UFC on Fox 2 bad, but it was no UFC 141 or 142.
SHAWN ENNIS, MMATORCH SENIOR COLUMNIST: (8.0)
I haven't been able to see the prelims yet, so this is strictly a main card rating. I really enjoyed the fights tonight. Even Koscheck-Pierce, which had its moments of weirdness and stalling, was mostly fun to watch. I'm going to focus mostly on the main event here, and I'll talk about it more in the thumbs up/thumbs down.
For those saying that Carlos Condit won by running away, I ask you this: how do you run away and outland your opponent? Diaz landed some clean shots, yes, but Condit landed a lot more consistently. The other main point to make about Condit's gameplan: show me someone in the last five years that has stood in front of Nick Diaz and won. You can't. If you stand in front of Diaz and try to go toe to toe, you lose. It's that simple. You saw some of the shots that Condit landed tonight - most notably a couple of headkicks that landed full-on, shin to face, and Diaz didn't flinch. You can't hurt him, so why would a smart fighter stand toe-to-toe with him? And people want to take issue with the way Condit fought? Please.
Also, if you're in the Matt Lindland school of judging, look at the damage to the faces. Diaz was clearly more marked up than Condit was. There was no question who won the fight and who was the smarter fighter. The thing about Diaz is that he can't (or won't) dictate where the fight takes place. He was losing the fight on the feet, and there's no denying that. Yet not until the end of the fifth round did he decide to attempt to take the fight to the mat. We all know that Condit didn't hurt Diaz or come close to finishing him.
But if not getting hurt was the only criterion upon which fights were judged, Diaz would only lose to Jeremy Jackson. If Diaz had decided to either take the fight down early or cut off Condit's angles instead of talking trash, he might have won a round or two more. Instead, he decided to tell Condit that he wasn't hurt. That's not offense. And as far as Diaz retiring, if you choose to retire rather than analyze a fight that you clearly lost and see how you can improve your game, that's fine. Take your ball and go home. At least Tito Ortiz would actually admit to losses, even if he claimed injury.
Fabricio Werdum was a different fighter tonight than I can ever remember seeing. If that version of Werdum had fought Alistair Overeem, we might have seen a different result. Werdum absolutely battered Roy Nelson from pillar to post tonight. Nelson may be unfinishable (if that's a word [Ed. note - It's not]), though that may also be to the detriment of his health. I'm hoping for a Werdum-Mir fight. That would be fun.
Renan Barao didn't blow the doors off of Scott Jorgenson, but I don't think that means his win was a disappointment. Jorgenson is a tough guy. The timing is probably right for Barao to take one more fight rather than waiting for a season of TUF followed by Faber-Cruz, so I'd like to see him fight the winner of Torres-McDonald with a title shot at stake.
That's all I've got for now, but I'll have more in the form of Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down after I see the prelims. Until then, if you didn't enjoy Diaz-Condit, or if you think Condit ran away, I really don't know what to tell you. This is one of the first times I've been truly baffled by the reaction to a fight.
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