MMA's 3R's 02.09.12: The UFC 143 Edition
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 02.09.2012
From Carlos Condit's razor thin decision win over Nick Diaz to Fabricio Werdum's battle with Roy Nelson and the anger over MMA scoring and Josh Koscheck, 411's Jeffrey Harris checks in with the Right, the wRong, and the Ridiculous from UFC 143!
*The Column Concept*
Greetings loyal readers and welcome back to a brand new edition of The 3R's of MMA. The rules and format are still the same as I will be taking a look at the Right, the wRong, and the Ridiculous in the MMA world. The Right will be about the good to great fights or positive news items for the week or big fight announcements. The wRong will be the bad fights, showings or performances, and bad fight bookings. And the Ridiculous will be the worst of the world of MMA.
The 411 Ground and Pound radio Show had to take the week off. But the good news is we will be back this week!
Anyway, I am back from Las Vegas from covering UFC 143 over the Super Bowl weekend. So go Giants! The UFC crowned a new Interim Welterweight Champion in Carlos Condit, but even that has not been without controversy. In case you missed it Check out my live coverage report of the show.
THE RIGHT:
Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz: No matter what anyone says, I thought this was a great fight. Condit fought very smart and he used a great game plan. Diaz is tough and he's a great striker with amazing cardio and stamina, no question. However, as others have pointed out before he does not like to check leg kicks which Condit frequently scored throughout the fight and he constantly moves forward with his hands down and his chin out. In the judges eyes, I think that cost Diaz the fight. Now I did score the fight 3 rounds to 2 for Diaz, however I did find it to be a legitimately close fight, and I don't think it was a robbery.
Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz in a close decision to take home the interim welterweight strap at UFC 143.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Roy Nelson: Werdum made a strong return in his UFC with his defeat of Roy Nelson at UFC 143. Werdum clearly came in better shape than when he last fight Alistair Overeem and it's clear he's been working on his striking with Rafael Cordeiro at KINGS MMA in Southern California. I think this was a performance that Werdum really needed after that awful fight with Overeem last September. Werdum's striking and clinch game looked great, and he was relentless with those sick Muay Thai clinch knees that was reminiscent as Dana White said of the old Chute Box fight academy. Nelson was extremely resilient as it looks like he now has one of the most granite chins in the Octagon, but it was not enough to take home the victory. Nelson is a decent fighter and he's a great personality as he's become a fan favorite and fans love him for his unconventional looks and antics as a fighter. I doubt he will get cut just yet with this loss and his 3-3 UFC record. He has clearly dropped more weight and is working on his physique. I think one problem for Nelson is that despite him being a *big* dude he's still short for the heavyweight class which puts him at a big disadvantage. Should be interesting to see where Werdum goes next from here.
Fabricio Werdum shows his happy face at UFC 143.
Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks: Ed Herman continues his absolute tear since he returned from his injury after he lost to Aaron Simpson. He's won his last three fights and all with finishes, all against guys who had winning records in the UFC. Starks was undefeated in the UFC and MMA going into this fight. When Herman submitted Kyle Noke, he was 3-0 in the UFC. Herman also came back from an extremely tough first round and his left eye became swollen shut after the fight. I think this win streak probably does get Herman a step up in competition for his next fight, so it should be interesting to see who he fights next.
Ed Herman gets his winning streak up to 3 with his submission win over Clifford Starks at UFC 143.
FX Prelims: The UFC PPV prelims were back on FX for this card and we got a lot of great action to go with it. The prelims broadcast ratings also increased 59% up from the last time they aired on FX for UFC 142 last month. I think that tells me that viewers still didn't get the switch from Spike TV to FX completely and now they are starting to come around. I mean just days before you had one of the higher rated prelims specials on Spike TV. We got a lot of good action here between Dustin Poirier's mounted triangle submission, a fun fight between Matt Riddle and Henry Martinez, and "The Immortal" Matt Brown showing some of that old fire, intensity, and killer instinct that used to make him look so formidable inside the Octagon. The only real outwardly awkward battle was Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
Ratings for the UFC prelims special on FX increased 59% with 1.4 million viewers for the UFC 143 prelims broadcast.
THE wRong:
Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce: While the fight turned out how much like how I expected it, I did think Pierce did enough to get the decision. Not only that, I don't think Koscheck should be ignorant as to why the fans do not like him when they see how he behaves in fights. Koscheck was warned about extending the fingers. However after he poked the eye a second time, he did not lose any points. Early on in the fight he was blatantly grabbing the shorts from a side where referee Herb Dean couldn't see it. I don't think this win puts Koscheck closer to a title shot at all. I would say have him fight Jon Fitch next since Koscheck has apparently severed ties with AKA, but that could equally punish the audience in attendance as well.
Koscheck came out victorious winning by split decision at UFC 143 over Mike Pierce.
Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen: I was a little more than disappointed with this one. Jorgensen didn't look his best. And Barao was more than content to outpoint Jorgensen to an easy decision victory. The fight was overall pretty uneventful and not much happened after you realized that Barao's takedown defense was too good for Jorgensen. I would've liked to have seen Jorgensen try to mix things up with his clinch game a little bit more and make it uglier there. It seemed like once he realized he couldn't get the takedown he didn't know what to do and change things up. Barao I don't think gets the winner of Cruz/Faber with the win, but I think he will need another one or two wins to clinch it.
Renan Barao has gone undefeated with 28 wins since his first career lost in MMA.
THE RIDICULOUS:
Herb Dean: I wasn't quite happy with a couple of Herb Dean's calls from UFC 143. I didn't see the necessity of removing two points for Alex Caceres' foul against Edwin Figueroa. When have we ever seen that before? Also just previously from experience of watching Herb Dean, in such a case, Dean usually only takes one point away like in the Donald Cerrone/Ed Ratcliff fight at WEC 45. Caceres was warned once. The foul happened again. So take a point away. That seems pretty logical to me. However in the fight with Koscheck and Pierce where Koscheck was extending his fingers and pawing at Pierce's face, Koscheck was warned the first time but when it pretty blatantly happened again . . . Koscheck got another warning?! Koscheck should've gotten the point taken away if it happened again and it would've really cost Koscheck the fight since the judges were bad enough to give Koscheck the split decision anyway. Herb Dean is an award winning referee, but it was not his best night.
Nick Diaz Fans: I've been really disappointed to see how fans are degrading and insulting the main event and Carlos Condit from UFC 143. This was a legitimately close fight and I think insults like, "Condit is not really the Natural Born Killer," are a little lame. I think Diaz fans need to realize that Diaz isn't perfect and that he did make mistakes in this fight. Condit was attacking during the fight constantly. I think he definitively took the third and fourth rounds where he hit Diaz with the more powerful shots. I know Cesar Gracie has to support his fighter, but no one can take him seriously when Gracie says the Las Vegas judges are biased against Diaz and they never give him the decision there when Diaz was awarded the decision against BJ Penn at UFC 137. I think Diaz waited too long to show off and establish his superior ground game in the fight. Had he gone for more takedowns or submissions he could've more decisively taken some of those rounds instead of trying to slap Condit on the head and getting mad at him for "running away."
Diaz apparently retired from MMA following his decision loss at UFC 143, but will it actually last?
What else is going on 411mania.com with yours truly, the 411mania Jack of All Trades?
I check in with UFC middleweight Jason "Mayhem" Miller in an exclusive 411 MMA interview.
And that's it for this week. Also, remember not to miss a new episode of the 411 Ground and Pound Radio Show this Sunday at 11AM EST. This weekend we'll likely be reviewing UFC 143 and previewing UFC on Fuel TV 1.
Keep rocking it loyal readers. And like the great Buckaroo Banzai says, "Remember. No matter where you go . . . there you are."
Another thing about Diaz fans: they don't understand the meaning of octagon control. Where did most of this fight take place? The cage where Diaz wanted it, or the center of the octagon where Condit wanted it? Exactly. Condit controlled where that fight took place. The only thing Diaz won that fight on was aggression. He was simply out-struck.
The only reason people are complaining is because they're Diaz fanatics who wanted to see the fight with GSP. If they do the rematch, which they shouldn't after the way Diaz acted, then I promise you Condit will win again.
Posted By: Rock Robster (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 08:37 AM
Octagon control shouldnt matter anyway. One guy was walking forward one guy was hitting him. WHos winning?
Octagon control should only matter if one fighter doesnt distinguish himself in a round by being more effective with striking and grappling. I had it 4-1 condit, and while there were some close rounds, no robbery
Posted By: john (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 12:02 AM
Actually Herb Dean's decision were ruled correctly. So what you wanted him to do was not follow the rules, but whatver
Posted By: Guest#2324 (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 12:03 AM
When have we seen a two point deduction for groin strikes before? Plenty of times. It happened in one of the Affliction shows when Dan Lauzon got blasted in the balls. A guy got DQ'd in Bellator for it, and Boxers have lost 2 points for groin strikes many times. Caceres is lucky he wasn't DQ'd, because the shots he launched were worthy of a DQ.
Posted By: KSti (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 12:39 AM
1. WHERE IS THE JOE WARREN pic of him stiff as a board on the ground for Ridiculous!?
2. I think (as many others) that the herb dean call was justifiable.. you have to go by as how damaging and how impactful the blow was and how much it really affects the fight. Edwin was in alot of pain the first time.. and it was a hard shot.. the SECOND time was even a harder one (especially the way Caceres throws his kicks) and Edwin was like gone.. and we all kno how badly it must feel to get kicked in the balls.. do u really want to go on fighting a guy who just had 5 full mights to rest while u took 5 mins to just barely recover?
dean gave him a strong warning once.. and that second blow was just way to hard. .. and i like how it was 2 points and not 1 cuz if it was one.. it could of still gone the way of Caceres by decision if he tried hard enough, but the fact is that he was fighting a very injuried Edwin due to two illegal blows, and u saw his movment after the second shot, he was alot slower in his hips and movement and not as smooth. and with refs taking more than 1 point is good cuz it scares the crap out of fighters now to watch their kicks and fight fair.. also its just like the 10point system where judges are scared to give 10-8's or even 7's... its like the possibility to get 7,6,5 points to a loser doesnt even exist in judging.. officials have to be more affective w/ their points giving and taking away. just like in the gray/edgar fight. one judge i believe gave the first round to maynard 10/9 or 8.. and hes like if thats a 9or8 wtf is a 7 then? dead?
Posted By: wylun (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 01:06 PM
Proper judging is based on EFFECTIVE striking, grappling, aggression, and control.
Key word there.
Diaz was aggressive, and whiny, but whatever, though he wasn't very effective.
Walking forward means nothin if you are not landing anything.
Condit stuck and moved. He fought smart.
Diaz is dangerous in the pocket.
What should Condit do? Stick his chin out and close his eyes?
No.
Condit won, Fair and square.
And as far as Herb is concerned, it may not have been his best fight, but he was justified for the 2-point deduction. Rules clearly state that he can do that, at his discretion, on blatant low blows.
As for the Kos fight, many guys paw with an open hand. I could understand a point deduction, but I can also understand allowin it to continue with warnings. It's a judgment call that he felt should be how he called it.
Oh, and Pierce was robbed. Poor guy.
Posted By: MPMoore (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 02:49 PM
Diaz won rounds 1, 2, and 5. The last time I checked, the guy who wins this most rounds wins the fucking fight. All of the assholes who say differently or talk about octagon control are just looking for an excuse to bash Diaz and hate his guts anyway. Throw fucktard Cecil Peoples into the mix and you have a robbery in the making.
Posted By: Guest#1829 (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 03:12 PM
Yes whoever wins the most rounds wins. And according to all 3 of the only people who's opinions matter of the fight, condit won more rounds. 4 of them according to two judges.
Posted By: Guest#7105 (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 04:22 PM
Diaz won rounds 1, 2, and 5. The last time I checked, the guy who wins this most rounds wins the fucking fight. All of the assholes who say differently or talk about octagon control are just looking for an excuse to bash Diaz and hate his guts anyway. Throw fucktard Cecil Peoples into the mix and you have a robbery in the making.
Posted By: Guest#1829 (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 03:12 PM
Yessss, feel the butthurt flow through you...
Posted By: Darth Joint (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 06:59 PM
I'm a big Nick Diaz fan but I still don't see how he won.
One could make the argument that he was pressing the action but he was still being outstruck.
Condit just laid the blueprint for beating Nick Diaz though I feel had he committed to the body kick a bit more he could have finished him.
Posted By: StillTheShit (Guest) on February 09, 2012 at 11:27 PM
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