Every day MMATraining.com delivers a piece bright and early providing some op-ed material related to one of the numerous blips on MMA’s radar screen. Called The Opening Round, topics have ranged from breaking down particular match-ups to reviewing events to roster cuts to curious business decisions to…well, you get the idea.
In case you missed any of this past week’s offerings, The Final Bell will give readers an opportunity to review each piece by reading below where you can find all five items succinctly listed with brief summaries of each…
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The combined efforts of Fabricio Werdum and Roy Nelson resulted in a Fight of the Night award at UFC 143 after the two exchanged in a heavyweight war for three rounds. Nelson survived a submission attempt early by Werdum, though Werdum continued to be the more effective striker, landing several punches and kicks to the former Ultimate Fighter winner. Each was awarded $65,000 for their performances.
Werdum eventually went on to claim a decision victory, giving him a win in his return to the Octagon. Werdum’s last UFC appearance was a knockout loss to current UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos.
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While a number of eyes were tuned in attentively tonight at UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit, the pair of peepers with the most interest in the headlining tilt between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit undoubtedly belonged to welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre who was scheduled to face the winner once he heals up from a torn ACL. GSP had publicly rooted for Diaz to win in hopes of settling a personal score yet also shares coaches with Condit at Greg Jackson’s gym, an interesting predicament to be sure.
GSP’s wish would not come true, however, as Condit earned a decision win over Diaz after counter-striking his way to earn the judges’ nod. After the scores were read Diaz explained he was done with MMA, disgusted by the way things had been scored.
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In what turned out to be an unfortunate tease it appears Brandon Vera will no longer be fighting Thiago Silva in May at UFC on FX 3 as was announced a few days ago after Vera suffered an injury while training for the fight. The change in status was revealed by UFC officials earlier today, though no specifics were given on Vera’s actual condition or if Silva was still expected to compete on the card.
The two originally met at UFC 125 where Silva outmuscled and outpointed Vera only to have it come out that he’d used steroids to help with a back injury in the months leading up to the event. The win was quickly made a “No Contest” and Silva was suspended for a year. He was recently reinstated with Vera taking notice, calling him out online, and ultimately getting the fight only to now watch it slip through his fingers.
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It might surprise some fans to learn Demian Maia’s first professional victory came as the result of a 48-second knockout. However, the talented BJJer has not stopped an opponent with strikes since despite having shown signs of improvement over the past few fights.
It also might surprise some fans to learn Maia actually felt his stand-up would make the difference in last weekend’s loss to Chris Weidman, believing so much in that being the case he opted to go for a knockout rather than focus on submissions/grappling.
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With Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz set to duke it out tonight at UFC 143 at least one of their fellow welterweights will be watching closesly – champion Georges. St Pierre. GSP was originally slated to face Diaz at the event before tearing his ACL.
In honor of the fallen St. Pierre, this MMATraining Technique of the Day features “Rush” teaching the rarely-seen Omoplata to a group of student in a way even those at home can understand.
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Carlos Condit, who meets Nick Diaz tonight to crown an interim UFC welterweight champ in the main event of UFC 143, has just as good of resume as his opponent. However, “The Natural Born Killer” can’t seem to catch a break from fans, media, or his employers when it comes to being the man to exit the event with a future crack at Georges St. Pierre.
Let’s take a quick look at Condit’s resume and let you re-think any bets you may be planning to make.
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UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck has called himself a “moneyweight” in the past before, expressing a willingness to fight at 170 pounds or 185 pounds depending on how big the fight was in terms of a potential payday. While Koscheck’s bout tomorrow night against Mike Pierce at UFC 143 may not be the highest profile pairing he’s been involved in, it’s certainly one with a significant paycheck attached to it, and in the end it appears that’s all he ultimately cares about.
“I get paid the same whether I am fighting Mike Pierce or Carlos Condit, so I don’t care who I fight,” Koscheck explained in comments at the open workouts. “I am a gold digger, I fight for money. You’d be a dumb SOB to fight for free but I do enjoy my job and I fight my ass off. I have a big mouth and I don’t want to lose and I want to look good out there.”
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