UFC 143 Results

A bit late on these results but whatever. Lets get straight to it.

To start off UFC 143, middleweights Ed Herman and Clifford Starks squared off. After a round of battle on the feet, the fight hit the mat in round 2, where Herman is pretty comfortable. Unfortunately for Starks, he succumbed to a rear-naked choke, granting Herman the victory via submission. The second bout was a bantamweight battle between contenders Renan Barao and Scott Jorgensen. Barao being on a huge win streak, many expected him to win this fight with relative ease. The population was right, as Barao dominated this fight on the stand-up, getting the judges nod for a unanimous decision victory (30-27 all across). I expect Barao to fight Dominick Cruz for the title soon after Urijah Faber fights him for the third (and hopefully last) time. In the third fight, Josh Koscheck fought a confident Mike Pierce in a fight that was a huge step up in competition for Pierce. The fight was very, very close, as both traded on the feet for the majority of the fight and Koscheck getting a takedown in round 2 that changed the outcome of the fight greatly. Koscheck ended up winning 2 rounds to 1 in a split decision victory that could have gone either way. I'm not completely sure who I thought won the fight, but kudos to Pierce for almost and basically sticking it to a cocky Koscheck. 

In the co-main event, heavyweights Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum squared off. I expected Nelson to use his power and aggressiveness to pressure Werdum, but the exact opposite happened. Werdum tooled Nelson on the feet, delivering some brutal strikes and knees that would have KO'd the average man. After three rounds, Werdum was awarded the unanimous decision victory (30-27 across the board).

In the main event, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit fought for the Interim Welterweight Championship. The fight was fought mostly on the feet, with Nick Diaz staying in the middle of the octagon controlling the pace and Carlos Condit moving in and out of Diaz's flurries, and constantly around the ring and avoiding his boxing. Because of this, many criticized Condit for "running", although in some rounds he definitely delivered the more powerful shots. After 5 extremely close and similar rounds, the judges gave the unanimous decision victory to Carlos Condit (48-47, 49-46, 49-46). I've watched this fight twice now, I am still unsure who the winner is. I know that rounds, 1, 2, and 3 were close, and round 4 was all Condit. Most believe that round 5 went to Diaz because he got back control and almost got a rear-naked choke, but before that Condit controlled the round on the feet. I am still confused, but the fight is over and done with, and now Condit will get to fight Georges St-Pierre to unify the title.

Standings:

Alex: 21 points

Joe: 21 points

Jon: 21 points

Shawn: 20 points

Vinny: 16 points