UFC 143 Diaz vs Condit - Las Vegas, Nevada
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This fight wasn’t supposed to happen but GSP’s knee injury in December bumped his title defense against Nick Diaz and created this battle for the interim welterweight championship. Condit was going to face Josh Koscheck here on the UFC 143 odds menu, but now its Diaz, who has won 11 in a row and holds the Strikeforce title at 170 pounds. He pummelled BJ Penn at UFC 137 while The Natural Born Killer hasn’t lost since 2006 and defeated many top contenders along the way.
The UFC 143 odds menu also features Josh Koscheck battling Mike Pierce and a bantamweight scrap between speedy Erik Koch and improving Dustin Poirier. There is also a heavyweight battle between Fabricio Werdum and Roy Nelson. Werdum is a former two-time world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion, while Big Country Nelson earned a cult following for his Ultimate Fighter win and tubby tummy.
Condit vs Diaz Odds: - Nick Diaz is the polar opposite of Georges St-Pierre – volatile, emotional, yappy. But he was also seen as the biggest challenge to GSP’s welterweight title in several years. Now he has to battle past tough Carlos Condit for the interim strap and wait for GSP’s knee to heal up later in 2012. The UFC 143 odds will favour Diaz due to the hype, his iron chin and unmatched cardio. But the MMA betting public will throw underdog money on Condit.
An injury to contender Erik Koch means little-known Max Holloway gets a shot at climbing the featherweight ladder. He faces Dustin Poirier, who was 3-0 in the UFC in 2011. Expect the UFC 143 odds to open with Poirier as a significant favorite as Holloway is just 4-0 in his MMA career.
The domino effect of Georges St-Pierre’s ACL tear is that Koscheck won’t get Carlos Condit here and will face Mike Pierce instead. Pierce has lost to top-notch grapplers like Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks but has never been stopped in his career. Koscheck needs a win to prove he deserves welterweight title consideration later in 2012.
Amir Sadollah was scheduled here against Jorge Lopez but an injury opened the door to Matthew Riddle. Lopez is 11-2 but comes off a decision loss in his UFC debut against Justin Edwards and needs a win here.
Alex Caceres moved down in weight class after losing three straight in the UFC and looks more solid at 135 pounds. He faces 8-1 Figueroa, who has won six fights by KO, and could be a solid UFC 143 bet here. Watch for the lines on this one.
Roy Nelson ended Mirko Cro Cop’s career in October and faces Werdum, a BJJ world champion who all but ended Fedor Emelianenko’s career with a dominating effort in 2011. Werdum is a Top-5 ranked heavyweight whose only losses in the past four years were against Alistair Overeem in the Strikeforce Tournament and Junior dos Santos. Nelson has lost against big names like Frank Mir and dos Santos, but he has never been stopped.
Little-known Dutch judoka names Michael Kuiper who is 11-0 in his MMA career faces the veteran Natal, who has recent wins over Travis Lutter and Paul Bradley. Kuiper’s judo will be the wild card for bettors here, but beware his striking and arm bars. He has won his past nine by punches and arm bars.
Other UFC 143 Fights
Bantamweight: Scott Jorgensen vs. Renan Barao