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Carlos Condit pulls upset on Nick Diaz to take UFC interim welterweight title, loser says he’s done [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 11:02 pm] LAS VEGAS -- Nick Diaz is brilliant at playing mind games with his opponents. 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 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. Condit picks up the UFC's interim welterweight belt. The champion Georges St-Pierre is sidelined until late 2012 after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL. UFC president Dana White couldn't say for certain before the fight if the winner tonight would sit out 8-9 months until GSP is ready. Condit was a pretty big underdog at plus-185. The Diaz-GSP fight was expected to be one of the fights of 2012. A St-Pierre-Condit fight won't have the sizzle, but it should be a helluva fight based on what the new interim champ showed tonight. Diaz's behavior is nearly impossible to predict. He shocked few by complaining about the decision, but then threw everyone for a loop saying he's had it with the sport. "I'm not going to accept this as a loss. I pushed him back all fight. I'm happy for Carlos and his family, but I think I'm done with MMA," said Diaz. Diaz is just 29 years old and one of the rising stars of the sport. He's got a bright future with massive earning potential. "I don't need this [expletive]. He ran from me this whole fight. I landed the harder shots.. He kicked me in the leg with little baby kicks. I don't want to play this game no more. I'm out of this [expletive]," said Diaz. 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 in the final three rounds. Diaz stalked him for 15 more minutes Carlos Condit pulls upset on Nick Diaz to take UFC interim welterweight title, loser says he’s done with fighting [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 11:02 pm] 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. 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) Diaz was shocked when the decision was read. 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 this as a loss. I pushed him back all fight. I'm happy for Carlos and his family, but I think I'm done with MMA," said Diaz. Diaz (26-8, 7-5 UFC) is just 28 years old and one of the rising stars of the sport. He's got a bright future with massive earning potential. The loss ended an 11-fight, four-year win streak. "I don't need this [expletive]. He ran from me this whole fight. I landed the harder shots.. He kicked me in the leg with little baby kicks. I don't want to play this game no more. I'm out of this [expletive]," said Diaz. Condit (28-5, 5-1 UFC) picks up the UFC's interim welterweight belt. The champion Georges St-Pierre is sidelined until late 2012 after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL. UFC president Dana White couldn't say for certain before the fight 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. The Diaz-GSP fight was expected to be one of the biggest UFC fights of 2012. A Roy Nelson is tough as hell, but it’s not enough to compete with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143 [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 10:07 pm] 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. 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 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 he tore up Nelson on the feet. The 6-foot Nelson played perfectly into the 6-5 Werdum's gameplan of working head control to throw knees. Nelson (16-7 , 3-3 UFC) took a beating to the chin and body along the cage over the first five minutes. It just 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 weight 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. With UFC 143 crowd against him, Josh Koscheck takes decision [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 9:47 pm] LAS VEGAS -- It wouldn't be a Josh Koshceck fight without the fans 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, taking two of three 29-28 scores on the judges' card. "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 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 for the broken orbital bone he suffered in his Dec. 2010 loss to Georges St-Pierre. Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma Renan Barao proves he’s for real with easy win over Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143 [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 9:03 pm] 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 Event 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 4-0 in the UFC with wins over Brad Pickett and now Jorgensen. He wasa minus-250 favorite and brought home the victory with ease. Jorgensen 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 fighting 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. That left Jorgensen (13-5, 2-1 UFC) 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's jab landed just about every time he threw 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. Ed Herman continues win streak with UFC 143 win [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 8:44 pm] 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 Fouls lead to an Alex Caceres loss while Matt Brown is back on track at UFC 143 [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 7:50 pm] 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 Poirier schools young Holloway with wicked submission at UFC 143 [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 7:43 pm] 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 wounded getting the submission finish with a nifty armbar from a topside triangle at 3:23 of the first round. Give Holloway some credit. He took the fight on less than two weeks 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. 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. Dustin Poirier schools young Max Holloway with wicked submission at UFC 143 [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 7:43 pm] 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 wounded getting the submission finish with a nifty armbar from a topside triangle at 3:23 of the first round. 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. "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. UFC 143 openers: Thompson posts what could be KO of the Night [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 5:20 pm] LAS VEGAS -- There aren't too many karate practitioners succeeding at the highest level of mixed martial arts. Meet Stephen Thompson. A kickboxer with over 50 pro fights, made his UFC debut a spectacular one at UFC 143. Thompson sized up Dan Stittgen for a few minutes. When his opponent relaxed a bit, Thompson landed a nasty roundhouse kick right 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 just Thompson just set for Knockout of the Night. The UFC awarded 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. It certainly wasn't fight of the night. Stitten (7-2, 0-1 UFC) 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. UFC 143 opener: Thompson posts what could be KO of the Night [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 5:20 pm] LAS VEGAS -- There aren't too many karate practitioners succeeding at the highest level of mixed martial arts. Meet Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. A kickboxer with over 50 fights, 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 right 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. 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. Thompson's kickboxing pedigree is impressive. He reeled off 57 straight victories before moving over to MMA in 2008, where'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 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 sl UFC 143 openers: ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson posts what could be KO of the Night [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 5:20 pm] 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 right 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. 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 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 sec UFC 143 picks, Vegas-style: Making the hard calls on three big fights [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 12:55 pm] 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 Overlooked Condit has local Las Vegas writer rooting against him [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 12:00 pm] 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 Heavy’s UFC 143 Fight Day starts at 6 p.m. ET [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 10:36 am] More FIGHT DAY Video clips! Fight Day Live is back today for another star-studded show from UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Hosts Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will prepare you for all the fighting action 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'll take home the victory between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz. Also slated for Fight Day Live are two interviews. The first is with "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey, the number one contender for women's 135-pound belt. Rousey is a human soundbite, so you won't want to miss that one. Also on set is crowd favorite Clay "The Carpenter" Guida. Main event fighter Carlos Condit will also be featured during an exclusive one-on-one interview. Be sure and tune into Fight Day Live at 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT. You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports UFC 143 weigh-in: The new Nick Diaz avoids drama, main eventers hit the mark [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 6:31 pm] 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 today's weigh-in. No pushing, no shoving. The main event is a go with both main event fighters checking in at 169 pounds. 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) Georges St-Pierre answers questions on Nick Diaz, changing weight classes and a spinning back kick [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 5:13 pm] 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 badass. UFC fighters make their Super Bowl XLI picks [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 2:58 pm] LAS VEGAS -- Athletes are athletes. Every sports has its stars, grunts and primadonnas. Super Bowl XLI and the NFL have too many to count, but 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 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 XLI. The promotion asked several of the fighters 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 Hernan UFC fighters make their Super Bowl 46 picks [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 2:58 pm] 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 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 Carlos Condit will sell you the suit off his back [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 1:56 pm] 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. |