Advertised as the first time in four year that a new welterweight champion will be crowned, UFC 143’s main event between former WEC champ Carlos Condit and former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz will be the shot in the arm the division needs.
Current champion George St. Pierre has been so consistently dominant since regaining the title in April of 2008 that his fights have become somewhat formulaic. With the exception of BJ Penn’s corner throwing in the towel after the forth round at UFC 94, GSP has outpointed every one of his challengers to win a streak of unanimous decisions.
No one has put the French-Canadian phenom in danger or even stolen a round from him in five years. A feat that is undeniably impressive, but arguably uninteresting.
I feel about St-Pierre much the same way I feel about Superman. They are untouchable but too kind to crush them mortals that challenge them. Their stories lack drama and entertainment.
Originally scheduled to face Diaz, then Condit, and then Diaz again, GSP has been sidelined for the better part of 2012 due to a knee injury. In his absence Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz will square off in an interim championship match that will not only be a competitive bout but an exciting one.
Both men are dangerous on their feet, skilled on the ground and with 47 finishes between them they have shown the killer instinct that GSP has lacked in recent years.
The only other significant fight for the future of the UFC is not the co-main event or even the third billed attraction. It is a bantamweight bout between Scott Jorgensen and Renan “Barao” Pegado that your average UFC fan would pass over without a second thought.
Riding a 28 fight unbeaten streak (including 1 no contest) and recently dismantling Brad Pickett at UFC 138, Renan Pegado is charging strait to the top of the UFC’s 135 pound division. If he can get past former title contender Scott Jorgensen this Saturday, he will put himself next in line to face the winner of the Cruz/Faber rubber match later this year.