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Dana White just tweeted that Josh Koscheck will face off with Johny Hendricks at UFC on Fox.

Lorenzo Fertitta tweeted that Cain Velasquez’s first fight since the knockout loss to Junior Dos Santos will be against Frank Mir. After rumors of Mir against Werdum it seems that this will be a No. 1 contender spot.

Velasquez was on a tear since he joined the UFC. He went 7-0 and won the heavyweight title by defeating Brock Lesnar by knockout and starting the slide of Lesnar’s career. Velasquez looked slower in his fight with Dos Santos and was finished in 64 seconds. A highly motivated Cain Velasques is a scary thing to think about.

Frank Mir has been on a tear since losing against Shane Carwin for the UFC interim heavyweight title. His fight against Mirko Cro Cop wasn’t that entertaining, but he ended it in brutal knockout fashion. In his most recent fight he became the first man to submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and he did it in brutal fashion. Mir has the ground game to beat anyone and is improving in his stand up each fight.

Look for Velasquez to try and stand with Mir just based on both their strengths. Velasquez may not want to take Mir down because if he leaves any limb out it will be over quick. This should be a No. 1 contender bout since both are deserving of a title. The only person this leaves out of the loop is Fabricio Werdum who was also rumored to fight Frank Mir.

With Georges St. Pierre out until november, Nick Diaz testing positive and Carlos Condit holding the interim belt is Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez at UFC on Fuel a title eliminator bout? Continue reading this post »

The rumors are true, Keith Kizer announced that Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana in his post fight drug test. Where does this live Nick Diaz in the UFC?

Diaz has had this issue before when he failed a drug test after a fight with Takanori Gomi in 2007. He rarely follows the rules and when it looked like he finally started to after five years removed from his last UFC contract he does this. In two UFC bouts he was supposed to fight for the title, but didn’t show up to three press conferences. Then he beat an out of shape BJ Penn called St. Pierre out, who was supposed to fight Carlos Condit and pulled out of that bout due to a knee injury and now fails a drug test.

Dana White has said before he would be welcome to a Diaz return if he “played the game,” it’s starting to look like at 28 years old he just doesn’t know how to grow up. The UFC has given him chance and chance again, but he just doesn’t seem to get it. He’s entering Josh Barnett territory with failed drug tests and we know Dana doesn’t put up with that.

If he really is retiring the failed drug test doesn’t matter, but if he wants to fight anywhere again it will be a tough road to get back to the UFC because he still hasn’t shown he can “play the game.”

After two days of rumors about Diaz failing his post fight drug test for marijuana the reports are out. Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana, Nevada State Athletic Comission executive director Keith Kizer reported Thursday.

“All results received thus far have been negative, except Mr. Diaz (who) tested positive for marijuana metabolites,” Kizer said in a statement. “A complaint for disciplinary action against Mr. Diaz has been filed.”

This puts a wrench in the rematch with Carlos Condit and helps us understand why Cesar Gracie turned the fight down.

February 4, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Carlos Condit fights against Nick Diaz during UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Carlos Codit defeated Nick Diaz. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

Isn’t that the line of Nick Diaz? Don’t be scared, homie? Why exactly is he turning down his chance to right what he believed was a wrong in the first fight with Carlos Condit.

I don’t buy the fact that he’s retiring still and now it looks like an issue of Diaz and his management. Condit agreed to a rematch with Diaz even if it means that he could lose his opportunity to unify the welterweight belt against Georges St. Pierre in the fall. That’s the sign of a true competitor though, someone who’s willing to fight when someone calls him out like Diaz did.

This is what Diaz doesn’t understand about the sport. He thought because he pushed forward time and time again means he won even though he didn’t land as many shots as Condit did and couldn’t lead him into a brawl. Mixed Martial Arts is a sport, not a bar fight. If I want to watch two guys just throw punches at each other I’ll go to a bar this weekend, but MMA is a sport that has a technical aspect and Condit executed it perfectly. He worked a game plan better than Diaz and won because of it and now Diaz has his shot at redemption and passes it up?

It further dives into the confusing mind of the bad boy from Stockton. Is he a warrior, or a punk? Maybe it’s in between, but this doesn’t help that warrior name that’s been attached to his name. This is a fight he needs to take. Nick wants to prove he was robbed and should’ve won that last fight and here’s his chance. If he doesn’t take the fight it only hurts his reputation as a fighter.

Dana White tweeted last night that both Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz have agreed to a rematch for the interim welterweight title. While some fans were begging for an immediate rematch and Diaz even said, “I’m done with this s**t,” I still so no reason why a rematch needs to be made. Continue reading this post »

February 4, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Roy Nelson is blooded up during the fight against Fabrico Werdum during UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Fabrico Werdum defeated Roy Nelson. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

Roy Nelson lost Saturday at UFC 143 to Fabricio Werdum by unanimous decision, but gained more fans at the fight. He took a beating of knees constantly from Werdum and it’s amazing he was able to keep going forward. For Nelson it’s a good thing he entered to the UFC when he did. If it were two or three years ago Nelson, 3-3 in the UFC, would have been cut no doubt Saturday and maybe even after his loss to Frank Mir.

What do we do with Big Country? He keeps the UFC fun when he shows up to fights with his mullet braided and a mountain man beard. In the words of Joe Rogan, “When he wins it’s a victory for fat guys everywhere.” It’s true too, Nelson is the fighter that shows you don’t have to have a six pack in order to be a professional athlete. He has the skills where he can win fights and has a granite chin so it almost always turns into a brawl.

Each fight Nelson has in the UFC he seems to be in better shape. When he first started at the TUF 10 season finale he weighed in at 263 pounds with a huge belly. Now against Fabricio Werdum he weighed 246 pounds, he has dropped 17 pounds and is slowly getting himself into shape. Maybe after this third loss a drastic drop down to 205 pounds would be in order, but no doubt he has at least one more fight left in the UFC. A fight with Shane Carwin could make sense because both are coming off a loss. He will never compete for a title, but he can be a formidable and fan favorite heavyweight.

Nick Diaz suffered a setback Saturday in a decision loss to Carlos Condit and assuming he doesn’t retire like he said who does he face next?

He lost to a fighter with a superior game plan and a superior camp overall in Jackson’s MMA, but he shouldn’t lose too much stock after the loss. Diaz is a huge draw because of his personality, you either love him or hate him. You either enjoy seeing his arrogant ways winning or seeing the classlessness of Diaz after he tastes defeat.

While he thinks the decision went the wrong way again you have to look at the numbers. The Cesar Gracie product was out struck in every facet of the game Saturday and even though he pushed forward the whole fight, but failed to damage Condit at all. His cardio is off the charts, but ultimately Diaz lost because he couldn’t draw the Natural Born Killer into a brawl like he wanted.

That’s the key to the Diaz game use his range and land more shots than his opponent. He did it throughout his Strikeforce career and in his fight against BJ Penn. So who does he fight next? A fight with perennial contender Jon Fitch, who suffered a setback after being knocked out by Johnny Hendricks, would make sense and could launch either right back into title contention.

February 4, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Carlos Condit celebrates after he wins the fight against Nick Diaz during UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Carlos Codit defeated Nick Diaz. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz by unanimous decision Saturday night to become the interim UFC welterweight champion, but many are calling it a controversial decision.

I don’t see any controversy in the fight. By my score I had it 49-46 Condit. Diaz was able to steal the last round with the near submissions in the fifth round, but he was out struck in every round by Condit. He set a record for the amount of leg kicks in a UFC fight according to fight metrics and every time Diaz tried to corner him he was able to slip away and land strikes. He land more significant fights and never fell into Diaz’s antics.

Condit easily won the fight last night and there should be no controversy whatsoever with the decision. He proved to be the better fighter and had the perfect game plan to defeat Diaz. The only controversial decision I see is whether or not Condit takes another fight before unifying the title with Georges St. Pierre.