Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz Saturday night to claim the UFC Interm Welterweight Title. The bout served as the main event to UFC 143, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Condit is now in line to face UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre in the fall.
Condit won a unanimous decision with the judges scoring the fight: 49-46, 49-46, 48-47. Condit landed effective striking throughout the fight, bombarding Diaz with kicks, elbows and punches. Condit seemed to improve as the fight went on and did not tire whereas Diaz slowed down in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Diaz did take Condit down in the fifth and almost sunk in a rear-naked choke, however Condit managed to pull free and the bout went the distance.
With Condit moving on to face Georges St-Pierre, Diaz, obviously unhappy with the decision, abruptly said in the post-fight interview that he will retire from MMA. However, UFC President Dana White said in a post fight interview that he believes Diaz will return.
In the co-main event of the evening, Fabricio Werdum made a successful return to the Octagon with a unanimous decision victory over Roy "Big Country" Nelson. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Werdum. Fighting in the UFC for the first time since 2008, Werdum controlled the fight on the feet using effective knees that bloodied Nelson's face.
UFC 143 drew a reported attendance of 10,040 for a live gate of $2.3 million. "Fight of the Night" went to Werdum and Nelson. "Knockout of the Night" went to Stephen Thompson and "Submission of the Night" went to Dustin Poirier. Bonuses were $65,000 each.
Full results for UFC 143 listed below.
- Carlos Condit def. Nick Diaz via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) to claim interm title
- Fabricio Werdum def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Josh Koscheck def. Mike Pierce via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
- Renan Barao def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ed Herman def. Clifford Starks via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 1:43
- Dustin Poirier def. Max Holloway via submission (mounted triangle-armbar) - Round 1, 3:23
- Edwin Figueroa def. Alex Ceceres via split decision (27-28, 27-28, 28-27)
- Matt Brown def. Chris Cope via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:19
- Matt Riddle def. Henry Martinez via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
- Rafael Natal def. Michael Kuiper via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Stephen Thompson def. Dan Stittgen via knockout (head kick) - Round 1, 4:13