Cagewriter Blog

Angry Nick Diaz face, Dustin Poirier’s submission and more pictures from UFC 143

Check out Tracy Lee's pictures from Saturday night's fights. See Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit's fight played out in pictures, Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum's Fight of the Night, Dustin Poirier's submission and more.

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Video: Double knockout as fighters crash through faulty cage door

MMA is a dangerous sport. The kicks, punches, chokes, armbars, kneebars, calf slicers and all the rest make it a sport not for the faint-hearted. But all the dangers and difficulties in MMA usually come from opponents, not the cage the two are fighting in.

In Kentucky this weekend, the cage got the win. Skip to the 1:27 point in the video.

Brandon Bishop and Braedon Ward crashed through a faulty cage door in the co-main event at Hardrock MMA 43 on Saturday. The fall appeared to knock both men out, but as the video shows, they both walked away on their own. A hinge in the cage door had been damage earlier in the evening, but the staff though it was fixed. The fight was called a no-contest, and according to the notes for the video, both fighters received their win bonuses.

The playing surface getting involved in the game is not unique to MMA, as it happens in every sport. Michael Irvin and Wendell Davis both suffered career-ending injuries in football thanks to the poorly-done AstroTurf at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Gus Frerotte's neck was injured after he celebrated a touchdown by headbutting a wall at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. Mickey Mantle's legendary career was almost stopped before it started because he tore his ACL when his foot was caught on a drainage ditch at Yankee Stadium during his rookie year.

It's even prevalent at the college levels, as Houston's Patrick Edwards suffered a nasty broken leg when he ran into a cart just past the end zone. At this year's Carrier Classic, Michigan State's Branden Dawson tweaked his ankle on the court's slippery logo. Two football coaches implied that University of Missouri's Faurot Field was to blame when two different players had season-ending knee injuries.

So even in the best circumstances, playing surfaces fail the players they are supposed to support. Luckily, both fighters were able to walk away from the fights.

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UFC 143′s Three Stars: Thompson, Poirier and Barao

OK, so maybe UFC 143 didn't knock your socks off. The extremely close contest between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit left me wanting to see three more rounds. However, as always, there were fighters whose stars shined a little brighter.

No. 1 star -- Stephen Thompson: It's no surprise that the man nicknamed "Wonderboy" has a kick like a swinging baseball bat. Thompson started off UFC 143 with a stiffening knockout of Daniel Stittgen. He won a $65,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the kick, which is a nice infusion of cash for a fighter making his UFC debut.

No. 2 star -- Dustin Poirier: Why yes, that was a triangle armbar that Poirier pulled out to submit Max Holloway, and yes, he did win a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus. Starting in the WEC, Poirier is on a five-fight win streak, which is even more impressive when you consider he is just 23.

No. 3 star -- Renan Barao: Speaking of young fighters with impressive resumes, Barao picked apart Scott Jorgensen, a fighter with an impressive track record of his own. Barao has 27 straight wins, including five under the Zuffa banner.

Who were your three stars? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Judging, Koscheck’s options and more: UFC 143 Octagon Observations

LAS VEGAS -- Watching the main event of UFC 143 from my spot on press row, where the fight can often look quite a bit different than it does on television, I thought Nick Diaz won his interim welterweight title fight against Carlos Condit. I had Diaz winning the first three rounds and Condit taking the last two. The fight was close enough that you can't call it a robbery, but I did feel Diaz was effective enough over the first three rounds to earn the decision.

In the aftermath of the decision, and the heated debate that came with it, though, I've been left to wonder: On what do MMA judges base decisions, these days?

Among the several factors judges are supposed to consider under the Unified Rules is aggression. Diaz was the clear-cut aggressor in the first three rounds.

Octagon control is also supposed to be considered when judging a round. Condit seemed to spend most of the early rounds backpedaling. He even ended the third round literally scooting backwards on his butt to get out of Diaz's way.

And yet, you never seem to hear anything about aggression and Octagon control these days when judging is dissected after the fact.

There was a time when turning an MMA fight into a track meet was not considered a virtue. John McCarthy docked Jamie Varner a point in his UFC 62 loss to Hermes Franca for running when he employed similar tactics. Kalib Starnes was just about mocked out of the sport entirely for running sprints in his UFC 83 bout with Nate Quarry.

This is supposed to be a fight, right? With fighting for points increasingly becoming en vogue, maybe it's time to take a closer look at the actual criteria laid out for the judges when scoring a round. Aggression is supposed to be rewarded and weighted more heavily than defense. Backpedaling and sprinting is not supposed to be a point in a fighter's favor. Let's nip this one in the bud before MMA turns into Olympic tae kwondo.

• Much is being made of the fact that Condit outstruck Diaz in the fight. According to CompuStrike, he outlanded Diaz, 146-110. All this tells me is that MMA statistic keeping is still in its infancy and has a long way to go before it's a rock-solid method of measuring a fight. Sure, a 36-strike discrepancy could be an accurate portrayal of a fight. It could also mean the when one fighter has another cornered, he connected solidly on a single straight right, only to have his opponent throw a wild flurry of four of five punches, none of which did damage, then scamper to safety. And yet the latter fighter in that example would have a 5-1 strike advantage. Which leads us to the next stat, "significant" strikes, which Condit also took Who gets to define "significant?" That's a subjective decision and thus has minimal value as an objective fight measure.

• In hindsight, maybe Herb Dean should have just docked Alex Caceres after his first kill shot to Edwin Figueroa's groin, then docked him another after the second one, rather than issue a warning after the first one and deduct two later. While Dean's two-point deduction was certainly unusual, I can't get too worked up about it. The first one was right up there with the nastiest groin shots I've seen in six years over covering MMA. Dean issued Caceres a "strong warning," and within a matter of seconds after the fight resumed, Caceres went right back to throwing wild kicks, to the point you could tell there was going to be another foul if the fight went on for any length of time. I wouldn't want to see referees start handing out two-point deductions left and right. But Dean, in my opinion, is one of the two best refs in the business along with Josh Rosenthal, and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on the call in this instance. Hopefully Caceres, an energetic bantamweight with some upside, will use this experience to become a smarter fighter.

• Just over a year ago, Josh Koscheck looked like a fighter without many viable options. He had just lost his title challenge to Georges St-Pierre in one-sided fashion, and he suffered a cracked orbital bone in the process. It was his second loss to GSP, and the No. 2 guy in the division, Jon Fitch, was his teammate for life at the American Kickboxing Academy. But now Koscheck has a variety of intriguing options. Should he be the next opponent for Diaz (c'mon, you and I both know Nick isn't retiring)? Should he get a hot up-and-comer like Jake Ellenberger or Rory McDonald? Or is that off-limits fight against Fitch maybe on the table now that Koscheck is no longer with AKA? Love him, hate him, or love to hate him, Josh Koscheck remains one of the UFC's most interesting fighters.

• Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson apparently never heard of the famed "Octagon jitters" fighters are supposed to experience in their UFC debut. The Simpsonville, S.C., native looked poised and confident from the get-go in his bout with Dan Stittgen, right up until the highlight-reel head kick that won him both the fight and a $65,000 knockout of the night bonus. Sure, one fight is far too soon to label someone a potential contender, but Thompson impressed inside the cage and was humble at the post-fight press conference, so you know he has the right attitude. Way to make a first impression, kid.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma

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Plenty of outrage over Diaz-Condit decision, winner defends his approach

Defense is an underrated aspect of mixed martial arts. That's unless you're a judge.

Carlos Condit picked his spots and had Nick Diaz whiffing with his punches for much of the night at UFC 143. His strategy and executed resonated with the judges, who scored it 4-1, 4-1 and 3-2 in favor of the new UFC interim welterweight champ. But Condit's ring generalship didn't go over well with many fans.

Here's sampling of tweets from fights fans who thought Condit simply ran the entire night.

Condit didn't see it that way.

"I was pretty confident that I had won the fight. I landed a lot of effective strikes. I stuck to my gameplan. I did what I went in there to do. I punched him in the face. Kicked him in the face. You know, landed more effective strikes than he did in the fight," Condit said. "That's what it boiled down to. If I sat there and fought Nick Diaz's fight, it'd probably be him sitting here with this belt instead of me."

UFC president Dana White agreed.

"The fans are mad about the way Carlos Condit fought ... too [expletive bad]. You're mad at the way he fought? He went in there and he fought a great fight," White said. "He stuck to his gameplan. Nick Diaz is the master of getting you to fight his fight. [...] Carlos Condit kept his cool tonight. He fought a perfect fight."

Condit said when did Diaz did catch him, the shots were weak.

"They weren't all that effective. For the most part, if he did hit me with anything, it was kind of past the power zone. They didn't have a lot on them," said Condit.

Condit thought his kicks paid dividends later in the fight.

"Chopping his legs and affecting his mobility from the very start was working," Condit said. "You don't see the effects of that until later on in the fight. But he stopped coming forward on me."

As Diaz began to talk trash, Condit also stayed under control. He recalled one funny line when Diaz responded to one of the 10-plus spinning backfists and elbows that Condit threw his way.

"We're throwing spinning [expletive] now?," Condit said repeating what Diaz said in the cage. Condit wasn't about to play Diaz's mind games.

"I planned for that. I knew that I to be mentally prepared as well as physically prepared to face Nick Diaz," Condit said. "That's something I had in my mindset as well as the talking and the taunts and stuff. I just needed to stay focused and execute my gameplan. No matter what he said or no matter how many punches he took from me, I couldn't let my focus stray."

What's next for Condit is anyone's guess. The fighter and promotion were non-committal on when he gets back in the Octagon. The champ Georges St-Pierre is hoping for a November return from ACL surgery. Nine months is a long time for the top of the 170-pound division to stay dormant.

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With AKA split, Jon Fitch vs. Josh Koscheck could happen says Dana White

Dana White has said it for years, the fight game isn't a place for team camaraderie in the long run, The fight game will eventually will split up even the best of friends.

The heat between former teammates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans has been palpable for over a year and now we could see two guys, who appeared to be even closer, fighting in the future.

Josh Koscheck is done with American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Ca. That could mean the roadblocks are gone for a Koscheck match against Jon Fitch.

As teammates they said they'd never fight each other unless it was for a title. That always drove their boss nuts. Now that Koscheck is on his own, would they pass up a chance for a title shot if it meant they had to fight?

Koscheck gave a cryptic answer when conversing with White during the UFC 143 postfight press conference.

"That's what I whispered to him," White told the media. "I said, 'Now I'm doing the Jon Fitch fight.' He said, 'Good luck with that.'"

Koscheck gave no details as to why he split from the camp. He first indicated things were on shaky ground during the week when he said he was fighting for "Team Me" not "Team AKA."

He confirmed things during the postfight.

"I'll be training out of Fresno for now. I'm no longer affiliated with some of the people at the gym that I've been training at. I'm going to do my own thing," said Koscheck.

What happened at AKA? Koscheck wouldn't even mention the gym by name.

Koscheck barely squeaked by Mike Pierce and admitted his motivation to fight was less than stellar. Between the drama of leaving his longtime team and Pierce not being a huge name, the veteran UFC star produced a lackluster performance.

"Josh looked flat tonight. I expected Josh to have the faster hands. He didn't really let his hands go tonight," White said. "He looked flat."

Maybe a Fitch fight, with the winner getting a title shot, is exactly the energy Koscheck needs. For now White said he's not planning on Fitch-Koscheck, but he's open to it.

"No. I'm just [expletive] with him. If the fight made sense ... because there was a time when those two were [at the top of the rankings] ... but if the fight made sense, yeah, I'd try to make it. I wouldn't do it just to do it," said White.

Fitch needs to get back in there as soon as possible. Knocking on the door for a second title shot for the last three years, Fitch's chances got crushed when he was knocked out in just 12 seconds at UFC 141 against Johny Hendricks. In the USA Today/Bloody Elbow 170-pound rankings, he dropped all the way down to No. 7.

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Carlos Condit pulls upset on Nick Diaz to take UFC interim welterweight title, loser says he’s done with fighting

LAS VEGAS -- Nick Diaz is brilliant at playing mind games with his opponents, but it didn't work on any level tonight.

Carlos Condit never took the bait before or during the fight, stuck to the gameplan and outsmarted Diaz to get himself a share of the UFC welterweight title.

Condit moved beautifully all night and landed 60-plus kicks. He never stood in front of Diaz for more than a few seconds. It all added up to a unanimous decision victory, 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, in the main event of UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

It was a difficult fight to score. Judge Cecil Peoples scored it 49-46 (Condit 1, 2, 4, 5), Patricia Morse Jarman had 49-46 (Condit 1, 2, 4, 5) and Junichiro Kamijo 49-46 (Condit 1, 3, 4). Aside the from the fourth round, each round was razor thin.

When the decision was read, Diaz was shocked. His behavior is nearly impossible to predict, but he threw everyone for a loop during his postfight discussion with UFC analyst Joe Rogan. He complained about the decision and then said he's had it with the sport.

"I'm not going to accept the fact that was a loss.That ain't right. I pushed him back all fight. I walked him down. Carlos is a great guy. I'm happy for him and his family, but I think I'm done with this MMA," said Diaz.

Diaz (26-8, 7-5 UFC) appeared to be the aggressor all night, but was it "effective aggression" as the unified rules state in detailing how to score a fight? Condit's constant move stymied Diaz, who was outlanded outlanded 159-117 according to Fight Metric. Compustrike had total strikes 146- 110 in favor of Condit. It also said kicks landed were 104-19 for Condit.

The loss ended an 11-fight, four-year win streak. Diaz is just 28 years old and one of the rising stars of the sport. He's got a bright future with massive earning potential.

"You guys pay me way too much, but I don't think I'm going to get enough to keep going in this. I don't need this [expletive]," Diaz said. "I pushed him backwards the whole time. I landed the harder shots. He ran the whole time. He kicked me in my leg with little baby leg kicks. I don't want to play this game no more. I'm out of this [expletive]."

Condit (28-5, 5-1 UFC) picks up the UFC's interim welterweight belt. After undergoing surgery for a torn ACL, The champion Georges St-Pierre is sidelined until late 2012. Before the fight, UFC president Dana White couldn't say for certain if the winner tonight would sit out 8-9 months until GSP is ready.

Coming into tonight's tilt, Condit was sizable underdog at plus-185. A possible Diaz-GSP fight was expected to be one of the biggest UFC fights of 2012. A St-Pierre-Condit fight won't have the same sizzle, but it should be a helluva brawl based on what the new interim champ showed tonight.

The judges made the right call. The first round was tough to call with Condit starting out strong and Diaz closing well. Condit ran a little too much in the second and lost the round. He corrected his mistake from there and was simply brilliant over the final three rounds. Diaz stalked him for 15 more minutes eating kick after kick. In most cases, when Diaz tried to settle and throw punches, Condit was nowhere to be found. He scooted out of the way in when it looked like a classic Diaz 10-12 punch flurry was coming. The early work to Diaz's legs really sapped him late. He looked a step slow in the final round.

The fight didn't end without drama and that's where Diaz backers may have their biggest complaint. With 1:23 left, Diaz got standing back control, immediately dropped to the ground and quickly got his hooks in.

With 1:02 left, Diaz changed his legs to a body lock. He work for the choke, but never got his hands in position. Diaz had his right arm across the face, but Condit did a good job of tucking his chin. With around eight seconds left, Diaz threatened with an armbar attempt, but Condit was too slick and slipped out instantly. Some thought that was enough to take the round. It's hard call after watching Condit make Diaz look desperate and slow for the first three and half minutes of the round.

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Roy Nelson is tough as hell, but it’s not enough to compete with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143

LAS VEGAS -- Roy Nelson is slowly shedding the blubber around his midsection, but he still has a ways to go. Fabricio Werdum showed that tonight.

The Brazilian, fighting for the first time in the UFC since 2008, actually picked apart Nelson on the feet to cruise to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards.

"Roy is very tough and can endure a lot of beating, but I found his weak spots," said Werdum.

With a giant belly and a mullet, Nelson is the everyman, and the crowd at Mandalay Bay roared in approval of the Las Vegas native. He came into the fight at just 246 pounds, his lightest weight in years. But even minus the extra 20 pounds he used to fight with, Nelson was still taking big deep breaths midway through the second round. He was a sitting duck.

Werdum is generally regarded as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu artists in the division, but no one's ever raved about his striking. He beat the heck out of Nelson on the feet. The 6-foot Nelson played perfectly into the 6-5 Werdum's gameplan of working head control to throw knees. Werdum opened a huge gash on Nelson's forehead.

"This fight was important to me. I trained hard every day for this fight. I had a good strategy going into the fight but the main thing for me was to come out with a victory," said Werdum. FightMetric had Werdum outlanding Nelson 91-26.

Nelson (16-7 , 3-3 UFC) took a beating to the chin and body along the cage over the first five minutes. It just got worse from there. An exhausted Nelson tried to throw the home run overhand right for the next 10 minutes. In doing so, he moved forward and kept ducking his head. Werdum landed more knees and pounded Nelson to the face with his jab.

Reality is that Nelson is a tweener. If he really got in great shape, he'd probably still weigh 220 pounds. That's too small for heavyweight and way too big for the 205-pound division. Werdum is a massive guy, but still quick enough to avoid the plodding Nelson.

"I never really dwell on losses. I think it makes you a better fighter depending on how you look at it. Yeah it sucks, but I'll get back in the gym and get better."

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With UFC 143 crowd against him, Josh Koscheck takes decision

LAS VEGAS -- It wouldn't be a Josh Koshceck fight if the fans weren't trying to boo him out of the building, would it?

Everyone's favorite UFC villain was it again on Saturday night at UFC 143, frustrating the crowd during his fight against Mike Pierce and taunting them on the mic afterwards. Koscheck took a split-decision victory every bit as close as it sounds, winning on two of three judges' score cards, 29-28.

"Hey, you guys boo me all the time," Koscheck said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. "I'm the most hated guy in MMA, guess what, deal with it man! I find a way to win."

Round one was a very close affair; a tight positional battle with lots of grappling. According to Compustrike, Pierce outlanded Koscheck 22-16 in the round.

In round two, Koscheck picked up the pace and opened up a deep cut in Pierce's scalp, above his left eye. Koscheck landed a late takedown fairly easily, but couldn't do much with it.

At the start of round three, the Mandalay Bay Events Center crowd serenaded Koscheck with a "Koscheck sucks" chant, then another close round ensued. Koscheck then further aggravated the crowd with an apparent eye poke late in the round.

Judge Junichiro Kamijo gave Pierce rounds one and two; Jeff D'Amato and Jeff Collins both gave Koscheck rounds two and three.

"Mike Pierce is a tough guy," said Koscheck (19-5) "I knew this going in."

Koscheck has won both of his fights since returning from a broken orbital bone he suffered in his Dec. 2010 loss to Georges St-Pierre.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma

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Renan Barao proves he’s for real with easy win over Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143

LAS VEGAS -- Still doubting Renan Barao? No need to anymore.

The young Brazilian cruised by a pretty game fighter in Scott Jorgensen taking a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three cards, on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Barao entered the fight with a brilliant 27-1 record. That includes winning the last 27 straight. The 25-year-old is now a perfect 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Brad Pickett and now Jorgensen. He was a minus-250 favorite and brought home the victory with ease.

Jorgensen (13-5, 2-1 UFC) is generally regarded as a top seven fighter at 135 pounds. He went the distance in a five-round loss against UFC champion Dominick Cruz. Barao picked him apart on the feet the entire fight. Even more impressive was his takedown defense. In a division, with plenty of former college wrestlers, Barao showed he's not going to have an issue of defending from his back.

Jorgensen, a three-time Pac-10 wrestling champion at Boise State, never came close to threatening Barao for a takedown. He tried three times in the opening round and Barao powered out of the attempt in each case. Twice, he controlled Jorgensen and turned the clinch to his advantage along the cage. For the fight, Jorgensen was 0-for-7 on takedown attempts.

That left Jorgensen with almost no path to a victory. The shorter fighter, with a less developed striking game, Jorgensen couldn't reach Barao with most of his shots. When he did, the power just wasn't there. Barao outlanded Jorgensen 118-58. Barao's jab landed just about every time he threw it over the first two rounds. He pieced together some beautiful three-punch combos.

"Barao's a tough guy, he's a very well-rounded fighter. I had no sense of urgency and I felt too comfortable in there. It's a tough loss," said Jorgensen.

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Ed Herman continues win streak with UFC 143 win

LAS VEGAS -- If there was ever any doubt that Ed "Short Fuse" Herman was back, he likely erased them with his victory over Clifford Starks at UFC 143 on Saturday night.

Herman missed all of 2010 after a knee injury. But he won both of his bouts in 2011 and looks ready for a step up in competition in the middleweight division after finishing Starks.

Herman (20-8) absorbed several big right hands from Starks in a first round that was mostly a tight positional battle. But in the second round, "Short Fuse" found his opening, scoring a trip and using textbook positioning to get Starks' back and sink in a rear-naked choke. Starks tried to roll out of it, but Herman tightened his grip and Josh Rosenthal called off the fight at 1:42.

"You know, he was landing some good right hands on me," said Herman. "Luckily, I've got a strong chin. I pulled it off."

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma

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Fouls lead to an Alex Caceres loss while Matt Brown is back on track at UFC 143

LAS VEGAS -- Twice, Alex Caceres landed kicks to Edwin Figueroa's groin that looked like he was attempting to nail 60-yard field goals. But they cost him an extra point and the decision in their bantamweight bout on Saturday at UFC 143.

Caceres landed his first kick early in the first round at Mandalay Bay, which sent Figueroa rolling across the mat in agony. Referee Herb Dean issued Caceres a "strong warning" after Figueroa signaled he was able to continue.

The rest of the first round was wild, as Figueroa connected with a head kick and nearly finished the fight, but Caceres rallied and went for several submission attempts late in the round.

Midway through the second, Caceres struck again. This time, Dean took the highly unusual step of docking the fighter two points for the infraction as the fight continued.

Figueroa won round three on all three cards. The scores were 28-27 across the board, two for Figueroa and one for Caceres. If there had been a standard one-point deduction, the bout would have been a majority draw, with two 28-28 cards and a 29-27 for Caceres.

"I felt like it was a hard earned paycheck," said Figueroa. "He was a good fighter. I had to dig deep for this one. He came out and landed a few shots early. It was a tough fight but I came out the winner."

The loss was the third in four fights for Caceres, the former "TUF" standout. Figueroa was won two straight.

"Immortal" Brown back on track.

Matt Brown may or may not be "Immortal," as his nickname suggests, but he sure has managed to hang around in the UFC's welterweight division.

Brown has grinded his way through 11 UFC fights since 2008, showing promise, but never quite building enough momentum to break through. But he's hoping to turn the page in 2012 after scoring a knockout victory over Chris Cope at UFC 143 Saturday.

"That's exactly what I need to be doing," said Brown (13-11) "I got away from who I am."

Brown controlled the action in round one against a tentative Cope (5-4), but never got an opening to do serious damage. That changed early in round two, when he feigned a left, followed with a big right hand that connected, then floored Cope with a left hook. He landed a few more shots on the ground before referee Kim Winslow stopped it at 1:19.

The win came as a relief to Brown, who had lost four of his previous five fights. "I've got a right hand to knock out anybody, I hope to see more of that."

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma

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Dustin Poirier schools young Max Holloway with wicked submission at UFC 143

LAS VEGAS -- Dustin Poirier dealt with Max Holloway's standing onslaught for close to two minutes. That's when he had enough. Time for Plan B.

Poirier took the fight to the ground and taught the 20-year-old a lesson. He mounted him, tried an armbar, switched it to a triangle and then wound up getting the submission finish with a nifty armbar from a topside triangle at 3:23 of the first round at UFC 143.

Give Holloway some credit. He took the fight on less than a month's notice against a guy who's one of the brightest prospects in the division. Poirier's finish is currently the lead candidate for Submission of the Night. That could be good for $65,000.

UPDATE: Poirier got the nod for Sub of the Night and the $65,000.

"I never underestimated Max. I was in his shoes before. He's a tough fighter and good kickboxer. He was quicker than I expected though and hit me with a few shots," Poirier said. "I came here to get a win, and I got the finish. I'm one step closer to being a champion."

Holloway's standup attack was pretty slick.

Working behind both hands, some flying knees and plenty of kicks, he had Poirier on his heels. Poirier went for his first takedown with 3:06 left. He got it easily and lifted the slim Holloway into the air before slamming him to the floor. He moved to mount immediately. Poirier simply overpowered Holloway on the ground pinning his arms down on several occasions.

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UFC 143 openers: ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson posts the KO of the Night

LAS VEGAS -- There aren't too many karate practitioners succeeding at the highest level of mixed martial arts. Meet Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. He might change that.

A kickboxer with over 50 fights, Thompson made his UFC debut a spectacular one at UFC 143. Thompson sized up Dan Stittgen for a few minutes and when his opponent relaxed a bit, Wonderboy landed a nasty roundhouse kick on Stittgen's chin. He was out cold in a split second at the 4:13 mark of the first round.

That's a helluva bar Thompson just set for Knockout of the Night. The UFC awards KO of the Night, Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses usually good for $65,000. Thompson looks like a shoo-in right now.

UPDATE: Thomson got the award and the $65,000.

It certainly wasn't the fight of the night. Stittgen, also making his promotional debut, never looked comfortable in the Octagon. His strength is supposedly jiu-jitsu, but he never got close enough to Thompson to even attempt a takedown.

"No words can describe how I feel right now. I'm beyond happy to have this win. It's my first win in the UFC and I can't wait to get back out there and do it again. I took my time and felt him out," said Thompson.

Thompson's kickboxing pedigree is impressive. He reeled off 57 straight victories before moving over to MMA in 2009, where he's now 6-0.

Natal's takedowns too much for striker Kuiper

Rafael Natal isn't pretty, but his grinding style was effective tonight against young Michael Kuiper.

Natal scored multiple takedowns in each of the first two rounds and worked top control. That was enough to get a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, in fight No. 2 of the night.

It wasn't easy for Natal, who got blasted and rocked by a Kuiper uppercut just a few seconds into the third round. Kuiper, 22, jumped on top, but Natal (14-3-1, 3-1-1 UFC) used his grappling skills to minimize damage. Kuiper got off some effective body shots, but nothing huge to Natal's head.

Natal admitted to UFC analyst Joe Rogan that "everything went black" for a second after Kuiper landed the big right.

With 2:40 left in the fight, Natal got to his feet. Seconds later, he scored a big slam takedown of Kuiper. Down big in the round, Natal grabbed back control by working side control to a mount where he eventually slapped on a head and arm choke. Kuiper was caught in the submission hold for 40 seconds, but never tapped.

This was the first loss for the 22-year-old Dutchman. Kuiper (11-1, 0-1 UFC) did get the nod in the final round from Patricia Morse-Jarman.

Riddle notches win over gritty Martinez

Henry Martinez has some stones, but it just wasn't enough to get him the win tonight on short notice. Matt Riddle eked out a split decision over the Jackson's MMA fighter, 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

"This fight was a war, but it's nice to be back on the winning end again. Henry hit hard and his hands were quick. I was impressed by him and that's why I picked it up in the second and third rounds," said Riddle.

The 5-foot-6 Martinez, who's really a lightweight, put the pressure on for the first few minutes. His big hooks threw Riddle off his game. The second round was dead even with Martinez landing early in the round. The end of the round had the crowd roaring as the fighters teed off on each other.

Riddle finally got the fight where he wanted when he landed a third-round takedown. That's his comfort zone. Riddle briefly threatened by taking Martinez's back. Martinez avoided any serious trouble and got back to his feet before Riddle landed another takedown. This was Riddle's best moment of the fight. Trapped along the cage, Martinez ate some big shots.

"I had fun out there. It was a great fight and Matt is a tough guy. Even if you go in with the best plan in the world and study your opponent, they can change it up on you. We pushed each other hard but had a great time," said Martinez

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UFC 143 picks, Vegas-style: Making the hard calls on three big fights

LAS VEGAS -- Cashing UFC tickets may not be an task this weekend. The top of the card at UFC 143 features some difficult calls.

The underdog price of plus-175 on Carlos Condit makes him an inviting play, but Nick Diaz is on a 11-fight win streak dating back to 2007. He's pretty much destroyed or broken every opponent along the way.

On paper, Josh Koscheck (minus-265) should be a bigger favorite over Mike Pierce. So why isn't he? Are the sports books and sharp bettors onto something?

Roy Nelson versus Fabricio Werdum features grappler vs. grappler. Does that mean we don't see any dangerous scenarios unfold on the ground? Can someone pull off a submission? Or do we see a plodding stand-up battle? Werdum is a small favorite at minus-155.

Listen here as Frank Trigg, Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole and myself made picks during our "MMA Insiders" show on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas.

UFC 143 betting odds:
Best plays in bold

Carlos Condit (+175) vs. Nick Diaz (-210) - Welterweight
Scott Jorgensen (+210) vs. Renan Barao (-250) Bantamweight
Josh Koscheck (-250) vs. Mike Pierce (+210) - Welterweight
Roy Nelson (+135) vs. Fabricio Werdum (-155) - Heavyweight
Matthew Riddle (-380) vs. Henry Martinez (+315) - Welterweight
Matt Brown (-340) vs. Chris Cope (+280) - Welterweight
Alex Caceres (Even) vs. Edwin Figueroa (-120) - Bantamweight
Dustin Poirier (-525) vs. Max Holloway (+415) - Featherweight
Ed Herman (-300) vs. Clifford Starks (+250) - Middleweight
Stephen Thompson (-300) vs. Dan Stittgen (+250) - Welterweight
Rafael Natal (-170) vs. Michael Kuiper (+150) - Middleweight

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Overlooked Condit has local Las Vegas writer rooting against him

LAS VEGAS -- This week has been all about Nick Diaz and George St-Pierre. There's one problem, they're not fighting at UFC 143. In tonight's main event, Diaz has to beat Carlos Condit to get GSP later this year.

While many on press row may be secretly rooting for the Diaz-GSP megafight, Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal isn't hiding his feelings.

I don't know much about Carlos Condit. Everyone seems to think him a nice guy. Married his longtime girlfriend. Has an infant son. Great mixed martial arts fighter. His father was Chief of Staff to former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. There is nothing wacky about Condit of note.

Which is why I hope he loses tonight.

Ed may seem like a jackass, but he's not. Outside of the Condit family and Diaz haters, it's what most people watching UFC 143 will be rooting for tonight. Along with Chael Sonnen versus Anderson Silva, a Diaz-GSP fight will be one of the most anticipated tilts of the year.

Before you get all huffy over Graney's opinion, read the rest of the story. He may be the only newspaper columnist in the country who actually pens real columns about the sport in the traditional, old-guard media.

He's dubbed St-Pierre "Rain main" because the UFC star said he had demons in his head, just like Diaz. When he tried to explain those demons, he said he's OCD. Not exactly the scariest "demons" out there.

Condit knows the deal. He's the guy in the way of the big show.

"I feel like they're planning that fight before this one has even happened," Condit said (0:49 mark). "That's fine because I have the opportunity to get in there and spoils those plans."

It's just not Condit's nature to lash out or be rude about being overlooked, so he'll have to make everyone pay for disrespecting him through his actions in the Octagon. If that happens, Graney may be hanging his head.

It's nothing personal, but I think most would rather see Rain Man finally fight the crazy guy who talks in tongues.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Heavy’s UFC 143 Fight Day starts at 6 p.m. ET

UFC 143 weigh-in: The new Nick Diaz avoids drama, main eventers hit the mark

LAS VEGAS -- UFC 143 has brought us a new Nick Diaz.

That's probably not the case, but the Stockton terror showed some self-control this week at the prefight press conference and again at Friday's weigh-in. No pushing, no shoving. The main event is a go. Both main event fighters checked in at 169 pounds.

Some in the media thought Condit looked a bit drawn and may have had a tough weight cut.

Over the years, Diaz has consistently gotten a little close to his opponent during photo opportunities at pressers and weigh-ins. Frank Shamrock got the finger. He got up close and personal with Evangelista Santos. He got even closer with B.J. Penn. He almost got into it with Paul Daley. Diaz has two postfight dust ups. Once following a KJ Noons victory and the other after his teammate Jake Shields won and was approached in the cage by Jason Miller.

There was a bit of shock in seeing a thinner Roy Nelson. The former 265-pounder, once labeled a bloated truck driver by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, slimmed down to 246.

UFC 143 weigh-in (courtesy MMAjunkie)

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

Carlos Condit (169) vs. Nick Diaz (169)
Roy Nelson (246) vs. Fabricio Werdum (246)
Josh Koscheck (170) vs. Mike Pierce (170)
Renan Barao (136) vs. Scott Jorgensen (135)
Ed Herman (185) vs. Clifford Starks (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

Max Holloway (144) vs. Dustin Poirier (146)
Alex Caceres (136) vs. Edwin Figueroa (135)
Matt Brown (171) vs. Chris Cope (171)
Jorge Lopez (169) vs. Matt Riddle (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Rafael Natal (186) vs. Michael Kuiper (183)
Dan Stittgen (170) vs. Stephen Thompson (171)

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Georges St-Pierre answers questions on Nick Diaz, changing weight classes and a spinning back kick

LAS VEGAS -- Georges St-Pierre has been in the cage with some of the world's most fearsome fighters over the years, from Matt Hughes to B.J. Penn to a whole host of others.

But the most fearsome strike he's seen was one thrown by someone who sits outside the Octagon.

In a Q & A session for UFC Fight Club fans Friday afternoon at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, St-Pierre said he's never seen anything like UFC color commentator Joe Rogan's spinning back kick.

Speaking about time spent training at Eddie Bravo's gym, St-Pierre said "Joe Rogan was helping me out with the spinning back kick. Joe Rogan has the best spinning back kick I've ever seen in my life. It's incredible. If he was in a fight, if he hits anyone with the spinning back kick, I don't care who he is, he's going down. I don't care who it is, how big he is, it's amazing."

Mike Goldberg, the Q & A's MC, stepped in at that point and told people to check it out on Youtube, so we did, and it's pretty awesome. Don't believe us? Watch it yourself.

[ Video: Watch UFC 143 live on Yahoo! ]

Rogan's back kick was just one of many topics covered by St-Pierre -- who incidentally is now the second-longest reigning champion in UFC history, having surpassed Tito Ortiz's light heavyweight title reign -- in a half-hour question and answer session done in front of what seemed to be a majority of Canadian fans:

On his UFC Primetime comment that Nick Diaz is "fake crazy:" "What I believe is, he's a very smart guy. He knows what he's doing. He would not be able to do what he's done in his career if he wasn't smart. I do believe maybe he has some mental issues ... I do not believe he is a bad human being. Truth my eyes, because he has been very disrespectful to me and because maybe we'll fight, he's disrespectful, but to you guys, I'm sure if you saw him and asked him for an autograph he'd give it to you.

What if Carlos Condit beats Diaz on Saturday? "I wouldn't be surprised at all if Carlos Condit wins. I would not be surprised if Carlos spoils the whole thing. If he wins, you know, that means he's the best man, and I want to fight the best man. That means Nick Diaz would be out of a title shot and I want to go against the winner."

On whether Hughes should keep fighting: "Matt Hughes is an amazing fighter. It's just, at one point, I'm just concerned about his motivation, if he still has the fight. I'm concerned about Matt Hughes. Physically, Matt Hughes still has the skills, he can still kick ass. It's just up to him, does it still excite him, does he still have the motivation. I think he still can be one of the top guys."

And of course, there were the usual array of questions about fighting somewhere other then welterweight:

On the oft-discussed superfight with Anderson Silva: "It depends on the outcome on all the fights. Maybe if I beat the winner of Condit-Diaz, there will be another up-and-comer for me to fight, that everyone wants me to fight. Maybe Anderson won't be the champion anymore, maybe I won't be the champion. It depends on the outcome."

From a clearly inebriated fan who asked him if he'd fight at 205: "I do training with bigger guys, but a fight is different than training. If I would go [straight to 205 from 170], it would be the stupidest thing I've ever done. It's like you're asking me who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman."

On going down to 155: "If I go down to 155, Frankie Edgar will kick my butt."

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter.

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UFC fighters make their Super Bowl 46 picks

LAS VEGAS -- Athletes are athletes. Every sport has its stars, grunts and primadonnas.

Super Bowl 46 and the NFL have too many to count and so does the UFC.

Scott Bemis from the local CBS television affiliate in Las Vegas decided to mix the two worlds. Check out Roy Nelson and myself on KLAS trying to come up with our star QB, diva receiver, kicker, coach and the intimidating hitter from the UFC.

Everyone loves the NFL. The audience in the U.S. is expected to top 150 million. Plenty of fighters will be glued to a TV set or partying around Super Bowl 46. The promotion asked a bunch of the fighters at UFC 143 for their plays on the game.

Georges St-Pierre, UFC welterweight champion
"I've not a clue about the rules of football but I will be screaming for New York because it's the closest city to Montreal."

Carlos Condit, UFC interim welterweight title challenger
"I'm going to take the New York Giants. Sometimes being an underdog is the greatest motivation. I'm an underdog against Diaz this Saturday and it's going to be the weekend of the dog."

Roy Nelson, UFC heavyweight
"My picks for game day are Bud Light for the bud bowl. As for the other entertainment on that day, I have not picked my favorite commercial yet but it is usually the one with bigger budget, but the Cinderella story can always happen and that's why I love the tournament format. As for the filler, I don't have a pick but it definitely will be a showdownwith the New York Giants and New England, but my bet is on the one with "New" in their name."

Josh Koscheck, UFC welterweight
"I am mad because those are not my two favorite teams. That said, I think it should be a good, hard fought game. I'm not sure who will come out on top."

Brendan Schaub, UFC heavyweight
"My prediction for the game is it's going to be a good game--high scoring from both teams. In order for the Giants to win, they have to get pressure on Tom Brady from the D-line so he can't sit in the pocket and drop bombs to his monster tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, however even with that being said I think New England will be just too much for the Giants and pull off a late 4th quarter game-winning drive adding to the Brady legacy."

Clifford Starks, UFC middleweight
"I have to go with the Patriots, I know that they remember the last time they lost to the Giants and they are looking to take that bitter taste out of their mouth."

Max Holloway, UFC featherweight
"I'm going to have to take the Giants. I think they've got the defense to hold Brady and his offense down. Also because Eli is one lucky dude I swear. I think he could close his eyes and throw the ball and it would land into one of his receivers' hands. The Giants are just something else when they play in the post-season. Their wide receivers have just been on these last couple of games."

Matt Brown, UFC welterweight
"I predict the Patriots will win simply because New England is title town. My fiancé is from Massachusetts, home of the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, and Bruins. All the winning teams are from MA so there is no way the Pats will walk away defeated. It also helps that Patriots QB Tom Brady has the best record of any NFL quarterback in the modern era with at least 100 starts."

Chris Cope, UFC welterweight
"I'm picking the Patriots because their offensive line is stacked and Brady is always clutch during the playoffs! Woooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Patriots!"

Stephen Thompson, UFC welterweight
"Eli Manning's offense is very strong which will allow him to move the ball well especially in the air. Their D line is strong which will allow their D-Backs to do their jobs."

Edwin Figueroa, UFC bantamweight
"Personally, I'm from Texas and when it comes to football I bleed silver and blue - Cowboys all the way win or lose! Onlytrue fans can say that! On that note though, I'm rooting for the Patriots to avenge their 2008 final loss to the Giants. Go Pats!"

Ed Herman, UFC middleweight
"I'm going to have to go with the underdog Giants. I enjoy rooting for the underdog plus their defense has been stellar. Go Giants!"

Scott Jorgensen, UFC bantamweight
"Patriots over the Giants! AFC east all the way! If it ain't the Bills in the bowl, I want to see the division do well to justify the Bills performance."

Super Bowl weekend is huge in Sin City. The UFC's decision to hold a Super Saturday card each year in Vegas is brilliant. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is estimating an additional 286,000 people will come to town. Hotels are at near 90-percent occupancy and the non-gaming revenue generated this weekend is $98 million.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Carlos Condit will sell you the suit off his back

Carlos Condit is a man of many interests. He is a father, a fighter, a foodie, and purveyor of the finest men's suits. Seriously.

Condit owns Dressed to Kill, a men's clothier in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M. The suit Condit wore to Thursday's press conference comes from Dressed to Kill.

See how nice "The Natural Born Killer" looks? And that suit can be yours. You can be dressed just like a top pro fighter and still look good enough to impress Don Draper. If the fight goes Condit's way on Saturday night, he'll want to head to his store and find something that complements a shiny, black and gold belt.

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Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and more: What to watch for at UFC 143

LAS VEGAS -- All the attention focused this week on a potential Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre blockbuster has obscured a simple fact: Diaz vs. Carlos Condit at UFC 143 on Saturday night promises to be one hell of a matchup.

The two fighters couldn't have more different personalities, but when the cage door locks, both have a history of delivering everything a fight fan could ask for when they plunk their money down to watch a pay-per-view.

Diaz and Condit can both get technical on you and win with their well-rounded skill sets. But neither will shy away from a down-and-dirty firefight, and both are capable of digging for something extra when the odds appear against them.

Condit first made waves on the national scene as WEC welterweight champion, winning memorable fights such as his four-round war with Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 35. If that wasn't enough to demonstrate Condit's heart, his reputation was sealed at UFC 115, when he dropped the first two rounds against Rory MacDonald, then, needing, a finish, roared back to finish the British Columbian on his home turf in the fight's closing seconds.

Diaz has taken notice, saying at Thursday's news conference at Mandalay Bay that he considers Condit a bigger threat than GSP.

"He's more of a dangerous fighter," said Diaz. "You're more in danger of losing a decision to GSP and more in danger of losing your teeth fighting Condit."

Diaz's rep for exciting fights is legendary, from his PRIDE battle in Las Vegas against Takanori Gomi, in which he finished Gomi with a gogoplata seconds after Gomi cracked Diaz's orbital bone with a big knee (the win was later changed to a no-contest, since Diaz tested positive for marijuana) to his most recent fight, in which he picked apart B.J. Penn standing.

Throw all those elements together and you've got a fight that, on paper, could end up in the mix for fight of the year.

"No matter who wins, the fans will win," said Condit.

The potential for a memorable bout in Diaz-Condit is the biggest and most obvious thing to keep an eye on at UFC 143. Here are four others:

*Imagine a heavyweight who had the ability to deliver awesome knockouts, had a deceptively strong ground game, and maybe didn't win all his fights, but showed exceptional toughness even in defeat. Sounds like a "UFC job for life" type, right? Well, not when you're Roy Nelson and you don't have "the right look." It's no secret UFC boss Dana White isn't his biggest fan, so Nelson needs to deliver against the returning Fabricio Werdum, who also comes into the fight feeling he has something to prove. A loss would be three out of four for "Big Country," and that could make Nelson a target for the ax in a UFC heavyweight division that's about to become flooded with Strikeforce additions.

*Mike Pierce has hung around the UFC's welterweight division for three years. The Team Quest standout has rung up a 5-2 record since debuting with an upset win over Brock Larson. But his losses have come when he's been given a chance against upper-echelon fighters, and worse, they've come against guys solid in his own strength, wrestling, as he dropped decisions to Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks. He gets another chance at the elites on Saturday when he meets yet another standout wrestler in Josh Koscheck. UFC 143 should prove whether Pierce will become one to watch in 2012 or just another face on cable TV cards.

*Where does Koscheck stand in the current pecking order? After his last fight, a KO win over Matt Hughes, Koscheck talked about potentially going up to 185 pounds, since he had last twice to Georges St-Pierre and won't fight teammate Jon Fitch. Since then, though, Fitch has stumbled, and the GSP-Diaz-Condit triangle has changed the parameters at the top of the 170-pound ladder. A solid win over Pierce would seem to set up a bout between Kos and the loser of the Diaz-Condit fight.

*Don't sleep on the Renan Barao-Scott Jorgensen bantamweight fight. Barao, the Brazilian submission wiz, has rattled off 27 consecutive wins (minus a no-contest), including all four on these shores under the WEC and UFC banners. Jorgensen, meanwhile, has won seven of eight, with wins over the likes of Takeya Mizugaki and Jeff Curran and only a loss to Dominick Cruz in the bout to crown the first UFC bantamweight titleholder in the span. Whoever takes this one should be well on their way toward earning a title shot after Cruz and Urijah Faber finally settle their business.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma

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Video: Remember the time Carlos Condit knocked out Dan Hardy?

Carlos Condit won four straight fights on the way to Saturday's interim title fight with Nick Diaz. Included in that run was a jaw-dropping knockout of former welterweight contender Dan Hardy.

After doing that to Hardy, Condit TKOed Dong Hyun Kim with a flying knee and punches, but Diaz has shown the ability to weather storms of strikes. Who will take home the interim belt on Saturday night? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Media fantasy camp: Where fans get to experience Nick being Nick

LAS VEGAS -- He's the most bizarre interview in the sport. Even the most savvy media member can't really crack the conundrum that is Nick Diaz.

So when some fans took their swings at Diaz following the UFC 143 press conference, they found out quickly even the best questions will probably illicit an answer that leaves you chuckling or scratching your head.

The first fan got up and asked Diaz what it would mean to him if there was a day when both he and his brother, Nate, were UFC champions. Diaz slowly grabbed the microphone and then had Dana White repeat the question. Great question, right? The answer was pretty straight forward.

"Yeah, that's what we're working towards. That's the idea," said Diaz (9:15 mark).

Fan No. 2 took his shot and asked about Diaz's "Primetime" quotes, where he said to be a successful fighter, you have to love the sport so much that you have to hate it.

Diaz paused for nine seconds and let out a deep sigh before producing this doozy.

"That pretty much says it, what I said. That's what I meant. That's what that means," Diaz said.

White said Diaz is simply fascinating.

"He's knows the answer, 'but [expletive] you.' And that's a fan! '[Expletive] you, I'm not going to tell you the answer to that," laughed White. "You what I mean? 'I don't give a [expletive] what you think. I'm here to fight and I don't care if you people like me or you hate me.'"

That uncomfortable feeling isn't reserved just for the MMA media or inquisitive fans. Even White feels awkward around Diaz.

"It's almost like he hates us. What the [expletive] did we do? It's crazy. He's a fascinating human being."

White has no issues this time around with Diaz, saying the fighter has done everything the promotion has asked him to. Although he did mention it took Diaz missing three flights before he eventually arrived in Las Vegas from Northern California.

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Yahoo! MMA video: Iole talks about GSP casting a large shadow over UFC 143

LAS VEGAS -- Gone is the polite Georges St-Pierre. He's been replaced by a guy who has demons in his head.

If anything shows St-Pierre means business about wanting to rip Nick Diaz's head off down the road it was the fact that he sat down with the media for close to an hour on Wednesday. That's when St-Pierre dropped the demon line and talked about having lots of street fights in his past. Diaz is the only bad egg in the UFC's welterweight division.

Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined me today at Mandalay Bay to discuss the big storylines for UFC 143.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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UFC 143: Yahoo! Sports and Heavy present Fight Day Live

Fight Day Live is coming back at you this Saturday for another star studded show from the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas for UFC 143: Condit vs. Diaz. Hosts Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will prepare you for all the fighting action on Saturday and the expert panel of Matt Brown, John Morgan and Larry Pepe will break down the pay per view card and give their opinion on who will take home the win.

Also slated for Fight Day Live are two interview, live on set. The first is with the number one contender to the women's 135-pound belt, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey. Rousey is a human soundbite, so you won't want to miss that one. And also on set is crowd favorite Clay "The Carpenter" Guida. Main event fighter Carlos Condit will also be featured in an exclusive one-on-one interview. Be sure and tune into Fight Day Live at 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT.

Want to see Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit battle it out live at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada? Of course you do. Well, your chance at being a part of all the UFC fighting action is only a couple of clicks away.

Log onto HeavyMMA's Facebook page. From there, you must "like" the page and leave a comment about how much you'd love to go to the show. The folks at will Heavy conduct a random drawing and the lucky winner will receive two tickets to the big fight card on Feb. 4.

It's that easy! So head over to HeavyMMA's Facebook page now and good luck.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Dana White holds 2012 lead in skipped press conferences

By Kevin Iole
Yahoo! Sports

LAS VEGAS -- UFC president Dana White has routinely given welterweight contender Nick Diaz a hard time for skipping news conferences to promote fights.

In September, Diaz was briefly booted off of UFC 137 after he no-showed news conferences in Toronto and Las Vegas. Circumstances put him back on the card, but it remains a hot topic five months later.

On Thursday at the final pre-fight news conference for UFC 143 at Mandalay Bay, Diaz and White were asked several times about his stance on news conferences.

"He's made it very clear, he's not here to make any friends," White said of Diaz. "He's not looking to have any barbecues over at his house with anyone from the MMA world. He's here to fight. That's it, and I'm cool with that. You just have to show up to press conferences and do the stuff and now, he's doing all of the stuff that needs to be done."

White, though, skipped a press conference last week and didn't do what he needed to do.

White was unhappy with the UFC on Fox 2 card in Chicago on Jan. 28. Rather than say anything that he might regret, White skipped the pos-fight news conference and flew on his private jet back to Las Vegas, leaving UFC media relations director Ant Evans to run the show.

Pressed on his absence Thursday, White grinned impishly.

"Yeah, I wasn't in the mood," he said. "I can not go if I don't want to."

He later said, "I usually try to skip press conferences where I know I'm going to, you know, [lose my temper]."

The next time that Diaz, or anyone else misses a news conference, he needs only to point to White's absence at the UFC on Fox 2 media event.

Bringing that up should be good for at least one get out of jail free card.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Interim titles: A necessary evil of the combat sports world

LAS VEGAS -- Interim titles.

They're a necessary evil in the combat sports world. Most mixed martial artists who win them go out of their way to say they don't consider themselves the true champion.

Carlos Condit said as much about his upcoming UFC interim welterweight title bout against Nick Diaz on Saturday night, a bout necessitated by the torn ACL suffered by champion Georges St-Pierre.

"If I win, that's nice, but I'm not the real champ," Condit said. "Everyone knows Georges is the champ until someone beats him."

And yet, interim titles serve a real purpose, keeping a the top of a division focused whenever any of the things that can go wrong in the wild world of MMA occur, from injuries to contract squabbles to brushes with the law.

Diaz-Condit will mark the seventh interim title fight in the Zuffa-era UFC, not counting unification bouts with returning champions. Here's a look at the interim champs over the years and the situations which produced them:

Heavyweight

2005: Andrei Arlovski. Frank Mir's first heavyweight title reign came to an abrupt end in 2004 when he was involved in a motorcycle accident, which nearly finished his career. So Arlovski fought Tim Sylvia at UFC 51 in the first fight of their trilogy, and won with an Achilles lock in just 47 seconds. The extent of Mir's injuries were such that he didn't end up returning until 2006, so Arlovski was later named the official champion and held the title until losing his rematch with Sylvia at UFC 59.

2007-09: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir. Heavyweight champion Randy Couture was the feel-good story of 2007 after winning the title from Sylvia at the age of 43. Then he listened to some of the worst advice a fighter's ever gotten and tried to get out of an ironclad contract. For legal reasons, the UFC continued to recognize Couture as champion. UFC president Dana White announced an interim title bout at UFC 81 between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Sylvia, which "Big Nog" won by third-round submission after suckering Sylvia into going for a takedown.

As the UFC-Couture legal battle dragged on, the UFC announced an interim title defense for Nogueira against Mir at UFC 92. But then Couture settled with the UFC, and White set up a heavyweight mini-tournament, with the winner of the UFC 91 bout between Couture and Brock Lesnar meeting the Mir-Nogueira winner to claim the undisputed belt. Lesnar TKOd Couture for the heavyweight title at UFC 91; Mir did the same to "Big Nog" for the interim belt; and Lesnar finished matters by pummeling Mir, also via second-round stoppage, at the famed UFC 100.

2010: Shane Carwin. In late 2009, Lesnar had to pull out of his scheduled title defense against with Shane Carwin due to what turned into a career-derailing ordeal with Diverticulitis. In stepped Mir, who had his chance to become the first two-time interim UFC champ, against Carwin. But Carwin absolutely smoked Mir in their UFC 111 bout in Newark, needing less than three minutes to score a brutal TKO. Carwin seemed ready to do the same to Lesnar at UFC 116 before he ran out of gas and was submitted by Lesnar to unify the belts.

Light heavyweight

2003: Randy Couture. For those who wonder why the UFC is so vigilant keeping their championships strong and champions in check, they need only look back at the Tito Ortiz saga. Ortiz was a workhorse when he first won what became known as the light heavyweight title, defending the belt four times in nine months. Then he fought just once in a span of nearly two years, with that one defense his famed win over an already-past-his-prime Ken Shamrock at UFC 40. All sorts of things were blamed for the inactivity, including, at times, legitimate injury concerns. But many perceived that Ortiz was ducking up-and-coming Chuck Liddell. So White ordered an interim title bout between Liddell and former heavyweight champ Couture.

In the first bout of their epic trilogy, Couture stunned Liddell with a third-round TKO at UFC 43. Ortiz finally returned to the cage on Sept. 26, 2003, where Couture both literally and figuratively spanked him en route to unifying the crowns.

Welterweight

2007: Georges St. Pierre. On April 7, 2007, Matt Serra stunned Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title in the upset still cited to this day as proof that anything can happen in MMA. A herniated disc, however, put the new champ on the sidelines soon thereafter, so GSP and Matt Hughes were put together in an interim title bout at UFC 79. This was a trilogy fight; Hughes submitted an inexperienced GSP in an armbar with one second left in the first round in 2004; St-Pierre won the title from Hughes at UFC 65 in a bout held just seven weeks after Hughes won a three-round war over B.J. Penn.

The UFC 79 bout served as the signal that GSP has clearly surpassed Hughes in the division. St-Pierre dominated Hughes, and in a poetic finish to the trilogy, caught Hughes in the waning seconds of the third and made him tap to an armbar. St-Pierre then trounced Serra in front of a raucous Montreal crowd in April, 2008, beginning a reign that continues to this day and leads to Saturday's Diaz-Condit interim title bout.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter.

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Adieu, gladiator man: UFC using new opener for 143

The UFC has gone through many changes and growing pains through the past nine years, but through it all, MMA fans could count on one constant: gladiator man. The anonymous man in a possibly-plastic gladiator costume opened UFC pay-per-views.

Now, he will be replaced by a one-minute long clip that is supposed to encompass all eras of the UFC. The update is to help the UFC get with the times.

"The UFC is heading into a new chapter and taking the brand to the next level," UFC president Dana White stated. "We've had the same show open for the past nine years, and with his monumental FOX deal and the global expansion of the UFC, we wanted to come up with a new show open that paid tribute to the fighters who helped us build the business and grow the sport."

But what of gladiator man? Word is he will enjoy a nice retirement package and is moving to a nice home at Del Boca Vista.

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UFC 143 video: Nelson impressed with JDS and Werdum, no so much with Lesnar and Overeem

LAS VEGAS -- Roy Nelson isn't afraid to say what's on his mind even if he's risking a beatdown somewhere down the line.

Speaking to the gathered media at the UFC 143 workout day, "Big Country" is a big backer of Junior dos Santos and had nothing but nice things to say about Fabricio Werdum, his opponent on Saturday night. When it comes to the recently retired Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem, he's not too impressed.

"Other people have the easier roads [to a title] shot, like Overeem. He beat Brock ... ooh. Now you get a title shot. Whatever," joked Nelson. "Overeem does really good at what he does. He's a good striker. Ground? Maybe not so much. Talk about dos Santos here, all he does is knock people out."

Nelson can crow loudly about JDS because he went 15 minutes with the champ and couldn't be finished.

On the topic of Lesnar, Nelson was pretty blunt during a discussion on his hometown radio station ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas.

"I don't think he was ever going to retire as champion. I think it was more to introduce the UFC to Alistair Overeem," Nelson said about Lesnar's UFC 141 postfight comments that he would've retired after a fight against dos Santos had he beaten Overeem (5:00 mark). "I think he just wanted to get a paycheck and call it a retirement and call it a day. And good for him."

Werdum (14-5-1, 2-2 UFC) returns to the UFC for the first time since 2008. He was 3-1 with Strikeforce including a win over Fedor Emelianenko. Werdum is a minus-150 over Nelson (16-6, 3-2 UFC).

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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UFC 143 video: The confusing words of Nick Diaz

LAS VEGAS -- Nick Diaz is saying, but he's not saying.

The UFC interim welterweight title challenger showed up for his first round of media duties yesterday in Las Vegas. Our videographer Silton Buendia did a beautiful of piecing together what he could.

On the topic of being the favorite in his UFC 143 fight against Carlos Condit:

"We have a really even sort of record. One of us might ha fought harder opponents. I can't say that I have. I just figure that one of us, with all those fights, one of us has had harder opponents in there," Diaz told the media at UFC 143 workout day. "I know that everybody I've fought has been really, they've been really tough. I've never been fed any squids."

So Condit's resume is less impressive, right? That's exactly what Diaz said, or did he?

On the subject of Georges St-Pierre's ACL injury, Diaz has his doubts yet he doesn't.

"Who knows? Maybe Georges isn't really hurt. Anybody seen any pictures of surgery because I haven't. I don't know, maybe they are everywhere and everybody knows. I just haven't seen it. I want to see some photographs or video," Diaz said. "I'm not saying 'Georges ain't hurt.' I don't know. You're working out already?"

These comments came on the heels of Diaz saying he would never pull out of fight yet less than a minute later he questioned why GSP is showing fortitude and coming back so quickly.

Diaz also seemed to suggest that the UFC was making him fight too often ... but they're not.

"I don't know, sometimes I wonder if they like me out here, they don't like me? They think I'm an exciting fighter, they don't I'm an exciting fighter? I don't know these sort of things," Diaz said. "I wonder sometimes, are they just trying to beat me down."

Diaz was asked if he wants some time off.

"Not necessarily. I'd like to get credit and get paid. I'd like some acknowledgment. [...] I don't like to fight. I don't like to do this. This is a job," said Diaz.

Diaz, tabbed the No. 1 contender by the UFC, will battle Carlos Condit for the interim title. He could take the interim strap with a rousing victory, get a big ovation from the crowd and a postfight bonus from the UFC, but with Diaz he'll probably react by asking why they didn't give him the real belt. In fact, mark it down.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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UFC 143 video: With a muddled 170 picture, Pierce wants to bring some clarity

LAS VEGAS -- Mike Pierce is a pretty reserved dude, but you can feel a quiet confidence coming from the welterweight prospect this week before UFC 143.

Pierce is trying to become the second straight fighter to knock off one the division's traditional gatekeepers. Between Koscheck (16-5, 14-5 UFC) and his teammate Jon Fitch (lost to Johny Hendricks), it's been pretty tough to crack the top three behind champion Georges St-Pierre.

"For a long time, those guys have been at the top. . they've had their chances fighting for the title ..josh kos jsut recently again fought Gsp for the title," Pierce told Cagewriter. "And I think this is a great opportunity for me to take advantage of an opportunity and get a win and move myself up."

Pierce didn't say much on "Countdown to UFC 143," but it definitely made an impression on Josh Koscheck. The veteran was irked by the fact that Pierce said Koscheck's striking game was predictable and that he wouldn't be able to use his heavy right-handed attack to score a knockout. Pierce says the fighters of today are versatile and unpredictable.

"Guys have been getting better and better at disciplines and figuring out a way to mesh them together to make a really good fighting style," said the 30-year-old Pierce (13-4, 5-2 UFC). "We're starting to see more of that now with the younger guys, who are coming up and they really get it. They know how to put these things together and they're catching guys."

Koscheck, a minus-245 favorite is confident that Pierce has little to threaten him. He's basing that on Pierce's 2009 fight against Fitch. Fitch controlled the pace of the fight to gain a decision, but was in big trouble in the final minutes of the fight after he ate big punch and finished the tilt on shaky legs.

Koscheck is holding a good crop of younger welterweight that includes Pierce, Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, Rick Story and Hendricks. Guys like Erick Silva, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Douglas Lima could also be in the mix soon.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Carlos Condit just wants to watch his cooking shows

Carlos Condit spends most of his time on MMA. From training rabidly for this weekend's interim welterweight championship bout with Nick Diaz to reviewing tape to conducting media interviews and making sponsor appearances, Condit's life is full of MMA.

When he gets home, he wants to shut MMA out, and indulge in some cooking shows. Condit says he is quite the cook. However, Condit told the Orange Country Register that he married an MMA fan and doesn't have control of the remote.

"Sometimes after a long week of training I don't want to watch a Strikeforce card or whatever UFC Fight Night is on. I've been doing it all week and I don't really want to think about it. She's all about watching every single fight card. She gets what she wants and she wants to watch fight cards. I watch a lot of Food Network," Condit said. "I'm a food junkie."

Happy wife, happy life, Carlos. Watching the fights with your wife is a smart move, even if you are missing the latest "Cupcake Wars."

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UFC 143 video: Scott Jorgensen teaching the next generation of MMA phenoms

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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UFC 143 video: Under the gun, Chris Cope is still smiling and pumping out the woos!

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Georges St-Pierre focused on Nick Diaz and nothing else

LAS VEGAS -- Think Georges St-Pierre isn't obsessed with Nick Diaz? Consider this: The UFC welterweight champion didn't know who is playing in Sunday's Super Bowl.

When the Montreal native was asked if he'd be rooting for the New England Patriots against the New York Giants during a media availability at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Wednesday, St-Pierre replied "Are the Patriots playing? I don't even know who's in the [game]. I think New York is in it. New York is closer to Montreal, so I hope New York will win."

One would think St-Pierre would have plenty of time to keep up with the rest of the sports world, since he's been on the sidelines in Los Angeles, rehabbing from his December surgery to repair his torn left ACL.

But it's clear he's fixated on Diaz, the one fighter who has proven his ability to get under his skin.

"I can be a little, what do you call it? OCD. Obsessive-compulsive," said St-Pierre.

Diaz, who fights Condit for the interim welterweight title in the main event of UFC 143 on Saturday night, is the current object of GSP's self-described OCD. While St-Pierre has all the respect in the world for Condit, the champion is openly rooting for a rematch with St-Pierre, who he feels has openly disrespected him.

"I'm thinking about him right now, said St-Pierre. "I don't try to think too much about him. I hope he wins the fight Saturday night. I hope he does, I pray he does. Maybe he won't, but I hope he does."

"I want Nick Diaz to win for two reasons," said St-Pierre. "First, it is the fight everyone wants to see, he was the champion of Strikeforce and I was the champion of the UFC. What lights the fire in me is challenges. When I don't have a challenge, I feel dead. Also, a lot of the things he has said, he has questioned me and my integrity. I have never cheated in my life. It is one thing when you something to promote the fight but it is another when you attack someone personally. It is what it is and that's why I have my motivation to fight him.

St-Pierre said he won't be able to train all-out until July, which makes November the earliest target date for an Octagon return when you factor in a full training camp if all goes well. His last fight was his April 30, 2011, win over Jake Shields, so a November return would mean a year and a half away from the cage.

But St-Pierre's laser focus is aimed at Diaz, so the champ shook off questions of Octagon rust and dismissed the notion of taking a tune-up fight before facing Diaz.

"In mixed martial arts, there's no such thing as a tune-up fight. There's not guy out there who I can say, oh, I can take him. Who knows, that guy might kick my ass. There is no such thing as tune-up fights. In boxing, they can have optional title fights. I truly believe it's ridiculous. You're champion, you should fight the main guy."

So GSP has made it clear Diaz is the man he wants to fight, preferably as soon as November.

"I want him to wait for me. I want him to go on vacation and relax a bit and wait for me, because I'll be back soon."

Just don't ask him about the NBA Finals or the World Series between now and then.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter.

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UFC 143 video: Alex Cacares loves the big time, but misses the days of backyard brawling

LAS VEGAS -- The crowds, money, adulation, safety precautions are all dynamite for 23-year-old Alex Cacares as he fights for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world, but the Miami native misses the days of what appears to be a much more barbaric mode of fighting - the backyard brawl.

Those types of fights have been going down since the beginning of time. They recently became headliners again with the growth of YouTube and exposure for guys like Kimbo Slice in the Miami area.

As a hulking stack of muscle and intimidation, Slice fit the part. Cacares is slender and appears to be non-threatening, but when you hear him talk about his teenage experience with those pit fights you realize the kid loves to fight anywhere, anytime.

"I got into it because I was underage to get into professional fighting, "Cacares told Cagewriter just a few days before his 11 pro fight at UFC 143. "I was doing amateur fights at the time. I really wanted to get into a professional fighting, minimize the hand protection, no shin guards and really see what I could do."

The UFC currently uses four ounce gloves which are tiny compared to boxing's eight and 10 ounce models. Cacares still prefers the more primitive style of using bare-knuckles. "I believe bare knuckle hurts less than wearing these UFC gloves. I've been hit by both and I'd rather be hit by the bare knuckle," Cacares said the gloves increase the surface area of the fist and seem to make the punches stick more. "The bare knuckle slides off more. When you get hit by the whole glove it gives you that little ringing sound."

Cacares did his first backyard brawl at 17, making between $300 and $600 per fight. If he won, he'd get spiffed by the winning bettors. He'd take home as much as $800 on some nights.

"It's a crazy experience. The crowd might not be as big as UFC crowd, but man they sound really loud because they're literally two feet away from you and we're fighting in a chicken cage. It's kind of like a pit fight, a dog fight. But it was a good experience," said Cacares.

He's clearly fearless. There were no structured weight classes, no rounds, no time limits, no doctor to look at cuts and the fights went to the finish. You win when your opponent quits, can't continue or you submit him.

Things are different now in many ways. Most importantly, Cacares is actually fighting guys his size. He fought on Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter" at 155 pounds, but he barely walks around above 150. Now he's more comfortable down at 135 and can be a bully in the division.

Cacares was excellent in his UFC bantamweight debut against Cole Escovedo. On Saturday, Cacares (6-4, 1-2 UFC) takes a good step up against Edwin Figueroa. The shorter Figueroa is the only guy recently who's given phenom Michael McDonald a fight, going the distance in losing a decision. The promotion is so high on MacDonald that he's been throw in there with former bantamweight champ Miguel Torres in February. If Cacares takes out Figueroa, that's a big notch on his belt.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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MMA Marketplace: ‘Big Country’s’ Built Roy Tough shirt

Usually, before a title fight, we'll match up walkout shirts of the two contenders. For UFC 143, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit brought the boring, expected shirts. Instead, it was co-main eventer Roy Nelson who has the best walkout shirt of the weekend.

Hopefully, he won't hear from Ford Motor Company's lawyers over the Built Roy Tough shirt, because it's both creative and a good look. It coming in gray and costing just $24.99 is the cherry on top.

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Dana White blog captures controlled chaos of UFC on Fox 2

As is the norm, UFC president Dana White's first video blog of the week focused on last week's event. With UFC on Fox 2 airing on network television, the timing and control of this event had to be even tighter than usual. You'll see just how that is accomplished with looks into meetings, the production truck, and fighter walkouts.

You also see the emotions and second-guessing that come naturally after fights. Joey Beltran breaks down after getting knocked out by Lavar Johnson. Jon-Olav Einemo realizes that he should have arrived in Chicago earlier. Eric Wisely says he should have rolled out to avoid Charles Olivera's calf slicer.

A few warnings before you press play: As always, expect plenty of NSFW language, unless you work at a swear word factory. Also, there is a long segment of Phil Davis getting his knee stitched up. Davis can't bear to look, so no on will hold it against you if you look away, too.

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Hackers’ victim turns out to be a Las Vegas woman, Dana White visits to apologize

You got the wrong Dana White, says the real Dana White and a poor woman on the eastside of Las Vegas. The UFC president's battle with online hackers resulted in Julie Breeler getting hundreds of phone calls the last few days.

FOX5 Las Vegas covered the story of the woman getting harassed by haters of Dana White and even those calling him for a job. There is no Dana White at the address and it certainly isn't the home of the fight-promoting millionaire.

The UFC boss heard about the woman's plight and actually showed up at her house on Monday.

"[I] went over and apologized for all the trouble caused by the online terrorists," White told FOX5's Claudine Grant.

Breeler wasn't exactly greeting folks at her front door with open arms.

"I get my gun before answering the door," Breeler told FOX5 Monday. "I crack the door and say 'Yes?' He says 'Julie Breeler?' and I'm like 'Yes.' He says 'Hi, I'm Dana White!'"

UFC.com was hacked and re-directed back Jan. 22. Shortly after the "UFC on Fox 2" press conference on Thursday, an angry White launched into an attack on the hackers calling them terrorists.

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Alistair Overeem charged with battery in Las Vegas

Alistair Overeem, the UFC's no. 1 heavyweight contender, was charged with misdemeanor battery for an incident at the Wynn Las Vegas on New Year's weekend. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Overeem faces up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.

A citation issued by Las Vegas police stated at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 2, Overeem pushed or shoved a woman in the face, "causing her to stagger back."

David Chesnoff, Overeem's attorney who is known for defending people with a public profile, said Overeem was not arrested, but summoned to court. He also maintained Overeem's innocence.

The incident happened just days after Overeem beat Brock Lesnar by technical knockout, earning him the right to fight for the UFC heavyweight belt.

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Check out photos from UFC on Fox 2

Tracy Lee caught all the action from UFC on Fox 2, including Rashad Evans' title-shot earning win, Lavar Johnson's knockout, and Chael Sonnen's controversial win over Michael Bisping. Click through and enjoy.

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UFC on Fox 2′s Three Stars: Oliveira, Johnson and Evans

The UFC's second foray into network television was not exactly thrilling. Some of the best moments happened during the Fuel broadcast, with the fights on Fox providing less-than-exciting action. Who stood out for you? Here are Cagewriter's Three Stars. Tell us yours in the comment section or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Charles Oliveira: In his first fight at featherweight, the Brazilian used a leg submission that caused every MMA writer on press row to say, "What was that?" We settled on a calf slicer, while Oliveira walked away with the Submission of the Night bonus.

No. 2 star -- Lavar Johnson: If you haven't watched Johnson's KO of Joey Beltran, go watch it. We'll wait. OK, now that you've watched him take out Beltran with huge uppercuts, you likely will agree with him taking home the Knockout of the Night bonus.

No. 3 star -- Rashad Evans: Put yourself in Evans' shoes. Though you're the No. 1 contender for the light heavyweight belt, injury and bad luck has forced you out of the actual title bout more than a year. Then, you're told you still have to win another fight to get that title shot. You could sulk about it, or you could use the five rounds provided to beat up and outwrestle Phil Davis. Evans chose the latter.

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Watch Lavar Johnson knock out Joey Beltran

If you don't have Fuel TV, you didn't see Lavar Johnson's Knockout of the Night. The first Strikeforce heavyweight to cross over the UFC used crushing uppercuts to take out Joey Beltran.

Johnson's last two bouts were submission losses in Strikeforce: Challengers, but on Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 card, he showed that his striking is ready for the UFC.

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Mike Russow’s ‘dream came true’ at UFC on Fox 2

CHICAGO -- As Mike Russow walked out to fight Jon-Olav Einemo at the United Center on Saturday night, his face lit up. The UFC heavyweight and Chicago police officer was cheered on by the 15,000+ fans in attendance at the United Center.

The cheers were even louder after Russow's decision win was announced. He said his emotions were hard to describe, but fighting in the UFC in his hometown was a vision realized.

"It was a dream come true. I've been thinking of that my whole life. Just to have my friends and family yelling for me," Russow said.

Though he told Cagewriter earlier this week that he was planning to keep the fight standing, he ended up using his wrestling to take Einemo down and control him. Einemo is an elite grappler, so it's surprising that Russow would want to go to the ground with him.

"It wasn't the game plan, but that takedown was open."

Russow is now 4-0 in the UFC, and hasn't lost since he dropped a fight in PRIDE to Sergei Kharitonov in 2007. Still, he's not ready to call out any heavyweights for his next bout.

"I have a long ways to go. I'm 4-0, but I gotta keep making baby steps. I'll let Joe and Dana decide."

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UFC on Fox 2 postfight: Awards and Bisping earns respect from Sonnen, fans and his boss

CHICAGO -- Michael Bisping was the prefight villain of the night at the United Center, but with a hard-fought performance against Chael Sonnen, he converted an awful lot of haters.

Sonnen took a unanimous decision but it was far from easy. Don't believe it? The brash Sonnen had nothing but nice things to say about one of mixed martial arts' No. 1 heels.

"The whole fight I was never in a position tonight where I was comfortable, not one. It was 15 awkward minutes. I don't have a bad thing to say about the guy," said Sonnen,

Both fighters were surprised it was announced that Sonnen swept the scorecards and one judge, Clay Goodman scored it 30-27.

"There's no way on earth that was a 30-27 and that judge needs to have a serious thinking about his career," said a frustrated Bisping.

Bisping's resolve was strengthened by an outpouring of support on Twitter and the Internet. He's never been received very well by fans and MMA media.

"I think I won rounds one and two. In this modern day of social networking, you just gotta look at the internet, and the general consensus is that people think I won the fight," said Bisping.

UFC president Dana White was also a strong backer of Bisping's performance.

Seconds after the final bell, even Sonnen thought Bisping may have pulled the upset.

"I said to him 'what do you think?' He said 'I think I might have gotten the first two.' I said 'yeah I think you might be right,'" Sonnen said.

The winner was quick to point out that a 30-27 score can be deceiving.

"That doesn't mean I disagree with the judges. They were close rounds. You can have a 30-27 that's still a close 30-27. I don't know that that judge was out of his mind. If it had gone the other way I don't know that I would've been complaining."

It might be even more surprising for fans and MMA experts to hear Sonnen say Bisping could've won the fight in the first.

"I was surprised about everything. Michael Bisping hit me so hard in the first round, I didn't even know what day it was," Sonnen said. "I remember when I came to, I looked at him thinking 'oh my god, you have no idea how bad you hurt me or you'd step in and do something about it.'"

- The event at the United Center was a rousing success with a huge crowd of 17,425. Lower ticket prices were great move by the promotion which still hauled in a gate of $1.2 million.

- The UFC handed out postfight awards to Lavar Johnson for Knockout of the Night and Charles Oliveira for Submission of the Night. Nick Lentz and Evan Dunham got Fight of the Night honors. All four got $65,000.

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Rashad Evans earns title shot with UFC on Fox 2 decision

CHICAGO -- In a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender, Rashad Evans controlled Phil Davis on his way to a unanimous decision at the United Center on Saturday night. The judges saw it 50-45 on all three cards for Evans.

Davis landed a spinning leg kick, then ducked low into a takedown. Evans pushed him into the fence and fended off the takedown attempt. Every time Davis came in to try to get the takedown, Evans made him pay with a punch or two. Evans got a takedown at the 1:30 point of the first round, then moved to side control. From there, he put Davis into a crucifix hold and landed a bevy of short punches.

In the second round, Evans was aggressive, landing several punches early in the round. They clinched, but things slowed down considerably. They had a few striking exchanges, with Evans coming out on top. In the last 30 seconds, Evans took Davis down and again landed punches from side control.

Davis shot in for a takedown to start the third round. Davis drove him against the fence until he finally got the takedown. Evans reversed position and landed several lefts to Davis' face. They returned to their feet, and Davis got another takedown, and Evans returned to his feet while Davis held on for dear life.

Early in the fourth round, Davis landed a punishing rib kick, but Evans did not slow down. He continued to move forward, stalking Davis around the cage. When Davis shot in for a takedown, Evans fended him off before getting a takedown of his own.

Evans started the fifth round with a huge strike, and then held off Davis' attack. Evans caught a kick, then as he held the single leg, punched Davis until he went down. He stretched Davis into side control, and continued to land punches even as Davis worked to his feet. Evans controlled the rest of the round the way he controlled the whole fight.

With this win, Evans should punch his ticket for a fight with Jon Jones. The UFC announced Saturday that Jones' next bout will be in April in Atlanta. As long as Evans is healthy, the bout should be his.

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Sonnen earns his rematch against Silva, grinds out win over Bisping at UFC on Fox 2

CHICAGO -- It was a rough 15 minutes, but Chael Sonnen did enough to get the fight he's coveted for 17 months.

The middleweight title contender locked up a shot against the UFC's 185-pound champ Anderson Silva with a surprisingly tough win over Michael Bisping.

In a fight, that appeared to be a toss-up for some, Sonnen took a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the co-main event of the UFC on Fox 2 card at the United Center.

Sonnen's win sets up an intriguing scenario.

UFC president Dana White guaranteed the winner of tonight's tilt the next shot at Silva. The champ has been sidelined since August with shoulder and back issues and the promotion is pointing towards a summer return. But Silva recently hinted that he may be out beyond the summer.

Sonnen (27-11-1, 6-4 UFC) believes Silva is ducking him and has done everything he can to call out the champ. Tonight, he made the wise decision of not poking Silva. Instead, he delivered a hilarious postfight speech talking about his own greatness.

"As I've told everyone before, when you're the best fighter in the world, they don't call you champion, they call you Chael Sonnen," said Sonnen.

Sonnen was good, not great tonight, but much of that had to do with the opponent. Bisping (22-4, 10-0 UFC) rubs plenty of fans and media members the wrong way and, as a result, he's a bit underrated. The common thought was that the Brit would get eaten alive by Sonnen's Olympic-level wrestling, but that didn't happen in the first two rounds.

Sonnen scored two takedowns in the first, but Bisping got to his feet in less than 25 seconds on both occasions. He also stuffed two more takedown attempts. In the second, Sonnen scored a takedown with 2:58 left. Bisping was up a minute later and took minimal damage. The Brit was effective in the striking game, landing a few good combinations, but nothing appeared to rock the hard-charging American. Sonnen admitted during the postfight press conference that he was shaky on one occasion after a big shot from Bisping.

UFC color voice Joe Rogan was convinced Bisping had won the first two rounds. That wasn't the case on the judges' scorecard, but two of them did have things 19-19. Sonnen did what he needed to in the final round. He scored a big takedown and really dominated the position for over three minutes.

Sonnen scored that takedown just 12 seconds into the round. Bisping defended well for the next minute but got a little impatient as he was just about to rise to his feet. Bisping gave up his back standing and Sonnen squashed him. Then he did a brilliant job of getting both hooks in and rolling to dominant position on the ground. He worked to lock on a rear-naked, but it didn't happen. Bisping was protecting from the choke, lost his focus and allowed Sonnen to roll the position into the mount with 2:31 left. With 1:31 left, Bisping hip escaped to full guard. Bisping eventually got to his feet with less than 20 seconds left and scored a takedown of his own. He even landed a few big elbows, but it was too little, too late.

Bisping thought he won the first, but didn't flip out.

"That was a great fight. My hat goes off to Chael, he won the fight tonight. But, I really felt that I did enough in rounds one and two to secure the victory. He won the third, but I really felt that I was up on the judges' scorecards. They saw it differently and it is what it is," said Bisping.

Now the question is when will the fight everyone wants - Sonnen vs. Silva II - actually go down? Sonnen turned up the heat in recent weeks, plainly stating that he'll never get to face Silva because the champ won't accept the fight.

"I'm not going to fight Anderson either way. They can say whatever they want. Anderson is never going to do that fight," Sonnen told "The MMA Insiders" show on Las Vegas' ESPN1100/98.9 FM. "I hope he's healthy and has a good life, but I'm not buying into this mythical world that Anderson is going to some day sign a contract to fight me."

Silva beat Sonnen at UFC 117 via fifth-round submission, but that was after getting dominated for 23 minutes. He's had to hear about it ever since. This is a chance to shut Sonnen's mouth and likely do it in front of a record-sized crowd in Brazil. Why would he pass on the opportunity?

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Chris Weidman takes UFC on Fox 2 decision

CHICAGO -- On 11 days notice, Chris Weidman took a less-than-stellar split decision over Demian Maia. The judges saw it 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Weidman at the United Center on Saturday night.

Though both men are accomplished grapplers, the first round started with nothing but stand-up. Neither fighter truly got an edge in striking, though it was Maia who got the first takedown. The two got back to their feet quickly, and Maia followed up with aggressive strikes.

Weidman got the takedown to start the second round, but again, they did not stay there for long. Maia's face started to show damage from the repeated hits Weidman delivered, but Weidman's movement around the cage slowed as the round went on. As Weidman slowed, Maia delivered more kicks and punches. Weidman tried for a takedown with a minute left, but Maia easily avoided it. In the final 20 seconds, Weidman was able to get the takedown, and turned over for a choke, but the round ended before he could secure it.

Weidman returned to the clinch in the third round, moving towards Maia and landing knees and punches. They continued their evenly matched striking fest, though both fighters were clearly exhausted.

The crowd in Chicago wasn't enthused about the action, but that's what happens when two grappling aficionados decided to engage in a fist fight.

UPDATE: After the bout, UFC president Dana White tweeted that the scores were read wrong. Weidman actually won by a unanimous decision.

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Evan Dunham stops Nik Lentz at UFC on Fox 2

CHICAGO -- Evan Dunham finished off the preliminary card of UFC on Fox 2 with a pummeling of Nik Lentz. Dunham won after two rounds because of a doctor's stoppage.

Both fighters were light on their feet and throwing several punches early in the round. Lentz tried for takedowns, but Dunham was able to spring back to his feet. Dunham got a big takedown late in the round.

Again in the second round, Dunham got the takedown. When they returned to their feet, they traded leather, smiling as they threw abuse at each other's bloody face. Dunham broke from their punchfest to get another takedown. He tried for a guillotine, but when he couldn't choke Lentz out, Dunham punished him with elbows. They returned to their feet in the final thirty seconds, with Lentz's face showing the damage he sustained in the round. Because of the damage, the bout was stopped before the third round began.

Dunham is now 13-2, while Lentz falls to 21-5-2.

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