UFC 143 Was, Is, and Will Remain the Biggest Letdown of 2012

Last night the UFC presented its traditional Super Bowl weekend mega-event, this time in the form of UFC 143 “Diaz vs. Condit." It was a night filled with some interesting decision wins, a few tough wins and a handful of spectacular finishes. But everyone, and I do mean everyone, is talking about the main event that saw Carlos Condit defeat Nick Diaz. So of course I’m throwing my own hat into the mix. Here's my thoughts on UFC 143.

As a very vocal and very loyal Nick Diaz fan, I think we all knew that a rant from me was coming once this fight ended the way it ended. Make no mistake, I’ll get to my rant in a little bit. Before I do, I’d just like to say that I enjoyed several fights from this card. Dustin Poirer and Ed Herman had some beautiful submissions, Renan Barao scored a big victory over a very game Scott Jorgensen, and Fabricio Werdum displayed some shockingly-good Muay Thai against Roy Nelson.

All in all, UFC 143 was shaping up to be a good event before the main event. I don’t think it fully lived up to its potential, but it was far from a disappointing event.

But then Carlos Condit beat Nick Diaz in what will stand the test of time as the biggest letdown of the year.

From what this fight could have been to what we got, I don’t see how anything else that happens in MMA for the rest of the year could be as underwhelming. I could rant all day about why I hated this fight, as a Diaz fanboy that’s probably what’s expected of me.

But strangely, my principal feeling right now is one of hopeless acknowledgement.

What I mean by that is this: when some fighters fight for a championship or think they’re fighting for a shot at the championship they become different fighters. Last year it was Clay Guida against Anthony Pettis, this year it’s Carlos Condit against Nick Diaz. Nick Diaz fought hard and tried to make this fight the all-out war-brawl we all wanted to see. Nick Diaz fought the way he always fights.

The same cannot be said of Carlos Condit. For this fight, Carlos Condit didn’t care about giving the fans the fight they wanted. All he cared about was not losing. From the way he fought, my honest reaction is that Carlos Condit didn’t care about the fans at all last night and only cared about winning a championship that is pretty damn meaningless when you think about it.

The only solace I take from the main event of UFC 143 is that the Carlos Condit I saw at UFC 143 is absolutely no match for Georges St. Pierre. The killer Carlos Condit has an honest-to-goodness shot at finally dethroning the champion, the Carlos Condit I saw last night is going to get taken down for five rounds and everyone is going to forget about Carlos Condit for a while until he goes back to finishing people.

So that’s it, rant over. As a Nick Diaz fan I’ll support him wherever he goes and no matter what his decision is. As a Carlos Condit fan, I hope he learns a little about the incredibly negative reaction his performance is getting from a not-insignificant portion of the fanbase. If this fight had lived up to its potential I’d have had no problems with Carlos Condit winning and ending Nick Diaz’s incredible win-streak. I felt that way before the fight, I still feel that way now.

But we didn’t get the real Carlos Condit at UFC 143. We got the real Nick Diaz, though. And Diaz still lost. And that’s why I consider the main event of UFC 143 to be the biggest letdown of the year, regardless of what the rest of the year holds.

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.