UFC 143 Preview and Predictions

By Robert Nash

UFC  143: Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit

The UFC returns to las Vegas this Saturday night where two of the best weltweights on the planet will face off in a guaranteed all out war and what has certainly the potential to be the best fight of the year, as bad boy Nick Diaz takes on Carlos Condit for the interim weltweight championship belt with the winner set to face the current welterweight champion George St-Pierre who is currently out of action, at a later date to unify the belts.


Forget game plans and technique this fights simply comes down to which fighter can take the most punishment and the one left standing will emerge victorious.  It is stylistically a dream matchup for fans, you have two elite fighters who love nothing more than to stand and bang until they knock there opponent out. Make no mistake about once that bell rings these fighters are going to meet in the centre of the octagon on Saturday night and they’re going to start banging.


Nick Diaz has a somewhat unique style of fighting. When the kid from Stockton California steps into that octagon he doesn’t think about how to take advantage of fighters weaknesses or think of a game plan... his objective is simple, he just goes in there fights you and does not stop coming forward until he finishes you, his weapon of choice, his boxing.


Diaz is arguably the best boxer in the organisation and delivers spectacular combinations to the body like no other fighter in the UFC. His boxing ability together with his take down defence and outstanding cardio allows him to constantly put pressure on his opponents which is something that is very hard for them to deal with. We saw a classic example of that in his last fight when he defeated the legendary BJ Penn back in October at UFC 137.


BJ Penn of course a former welterweight champion and widely believed to be one of the very best skilled fighters in the world, and Diaz just walked right through him for three rounds chasing him around the cage, delivering combinations and punches in bunches while also breaking the record for most significant strikes landed in a fight. No fighter has ever been able to do that to BJ Penn.


Diaz has proven himself to the other fighters that he is a force to be reckoned with now that he is back in the UFC and is ready for his toughest challenge yet, as he will try and look to unleash his famous “Stockton slap’ on Condit and become the first man to knock him out.

Carlos Condit is a very well rounded fighter who has no weakness what so ever, he’s a knockout artist and equally as dangerous on the ground. Condit is a similar to Diaz in that he likes to utilise his striking and look for the finish, and that’s why this makes for a really exiting matchup. In saying that however, Condit differs to Diaz in that he mixes up his striking utilising knees and kicks instead which his training camp feel could be the key to his victory. 


The ‘natural born killer’ has one objective and that is to go in and finish you as quick and as nasty as possible, his last three wins have all come by way of Knockout and he looked spectacular when he took on the Dong Hyun Kim. Kim was undefeated at the time and was feared by most of the fighters in the division, and it only took Condit 3 minutes to unload a flying knee followed by sum vicious ground and pound putting the’ Korean Zombie’ to sleep.


The hungry lion is well aware of the danger that Diaz posses, but he is used to being the underdog and will utilise all his tools, and believes that by doing that he will emerge victorious on the day.


It is very difficult to determine a winner for this fight. Both men will not go down easily as we have seen in the past. Nevertheless, it is very rare to have this kind of matchup, one which UFC fans have been craving for some time, where two young fighters at the top of their game collide in an epic battle. Whatever the outcome expect fireworks and one thing is for sure, someone is going down.

Roy Nelson vs Fabricio Werdum

Also to be featured on the fight card is a matchup between two heavyweights that are eager to get back into title contention, as Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson welcomes back former no one contender Fabricio Werdum to the UFC. This is also a fight between two very similar fighters.  You have two elite black belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artists who over the years have developed there striking game making them complete fighters and a real force to be reckoned with. The winner will stay in the top five of the division but for the looser, it’s back to the drawing board.


Roy nelson was widely believed by many to become the next number one contender for the heavyweight title, but two losses in a row set back the ultimate fighter season ten winner. Nelson aiming to become that feared fighter he once was has changed the way he trains, his work ethic and has slimmed down considerably. ‘Big country’ is coming off a great win over mma veteran Mirko Cro Crop when he defeated him via technical knockout in the third round back at UFC 137. Nelson has heavy power in his right hand and he believes that if he lands that one punch on Werdums chin, his hand will be raised. Now Nelson is ready to get back on route to the top  and show the world that he is one of the very best fighters in the division, but first he get passed hard hitting Werdum.


Werdum shares a similar story to Nelson. In one point in time he was one fight away from getting a title shot but lost in a shocking upset to the then new comer band now current heavyweight champion junior dos Santos. The Brazilian was released from the UFC and worked his way up in Strikeforce fighting championship instead where he became the first man to defeat and end the mystique of Fedor Emelianenko by submitting him by way of a triangle choke.


While Werdum possesses a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu he also has very good Muai Thai and has knocked out the likes of Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga. Werdums game plan going into this fight is to stay out of Nelsons reach and not circle into his power hand.


But Nelson as we know has an iron chin so he may take the fight to the ground and look for the submission.

Other fights on the card.

Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Bantamweight bout: Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen
Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks