UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit was as solid a show as the UFC has offered in some time and could have been legendary with a different strategy from new interim champ Carlos Condit. However, he took the smart route, outpointing Nick Diaz while constantly moving around and satisfied a vacancy in his trophy case if not the appetites of those in attendance. Now the question becomes, what’s next?
In What’s Next I’ll be looking at how all of the featured fights went while also offering up commentary on how I see things unfolding for each of the involved athletes down the road.
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In a series of videos previewing last weekend’s UFC 143 headliner between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit it seemed clear both men were out for blood in their bout with “The Natural Born Killer” labeling the match-up as likely turning into a “dogfight”. However, when the smoke cleared it was Condit who emerged with a closely contested decision victory after employing a cautious counter-attack rather than being baited into any significant exchanges with a more-than-willing Diaz.
Only a few days removed from the disappointing duel, Diaz’s manager/trainer Cesar Gracie has come forward to express his disgust in what he witnessed on Saturday night, pointing fingers as the way Condit’s camp operates and what he feels may be bias from judges in general based on Diaz’s gruff demeanor.
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Josh Koscheck has revealed the reason for his decision to part ways with the American Kickboxing Academy gym in San Jose, California, as it appears founder Javier Mendez is surprisingly the primary reason.
This past weekend, Koscheck defeated Mike Pierce in one of the highlighted bouts at UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit. At the post-fight press conference Koscheck announced he would no longer be training at AKA to the shock of many in attendance. Instead, Koscheck will be working out at his own gym in Fresno, California, but said he plans on bringing several fighters from AKA to the gym in preparation of upcoming fights.
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Brazil, Japan, Canada, the United States, England, Holland…the list goes on and on in terms of countries often associated with being hotbeds of MMA. However, it looks like the UFC has designs on another international destination when it comes to implementing a season of the Ultimate Fighter – India.
If you don’t know the name Pablo Popovitch then chances are you don’t know much about BJJ. The 32-year old has had a ton of success on the mat including multiples wins on submission-grappling’s biggest stages.
In this MMATraining Technique of the Day, Popovitch will demonstrate a number of ways to sweep an opponent when caught in half-guard. As always, just because a competitor is on bottom doesn’t mean he/she can’t still attack rather than purely defend.
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The outcome from this past weekend’s fight between UFC welterweights Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz could not have played out much better than it did. No, I’m not under any sort of medication or hallucinogenic substances. Yes, I saw the same bout the rest of you did. However, consider the amount of conversation the controversial result created as well as how it’s set up the rest of the year to play out in comparison to how things might have gone.
By the crowd’s overwhelmingly negative response to Josh Koscheck’s UFC 143 and post-fight demeanor, not to mention him giving the booing fans a single-finger salute, it’s unlikely the 34-year old will be winning any popularity contests in the immediate future. However, that’s not to say Koscheck doesn’t still make himself available for the public as evident in a recent video from the UFC where “Kos” responded to questions fans had submitted online.
Among the topics discussed, Koscheck breaks down some 90s ninja-related action and who is the better trash-talker between himself and Chael Sonnen. Koscheck also talks about an interesting fighting Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, and Michael Bisping.
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One of the top grapplers out there is undoubtedly Marcelo Garcia, winner of numerous ADCC tournaments as well as other BJJ-based matches. He’s also come out with a win the last fourteen times he’s hit the mat.
In this MMATraining Technique of the Day, Garcia will demonstrate ways to maintain your hooks in an opponent rather than risk losing an advantageous position.
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