UFC 137 Results: 2011 Is the Year of Lost Title Hopes

UFC 137 proved once again that, sometimes, even when things don’t go as originally planned, it eventually works out for the UFC. The event, like many others this year, had a main event that changed not once but twice. Yet the end result, Nick Diaz vs. B.J. Penn, gave us one of the best scraps of the year.

The event also included Donald Cerrone continuing his rise in the UFC lightweight division, Roy Nelson ending the legendary career of Mirko Cro Cop and B.J. Penn possibly fighting his last fight in MMA.

Although many fans would have loved to see a fight between Diaz and Georges St-Pierre, or Condit and St-Pierre for that matter, the post-fight trash talk from Diaz now sets up time for the UFC to build up a feud between two of the best welterweight fighters in MMA today.

After being promised the title shot no matter what the outcome of last night’s main event, Condit is now on the outside looking in, as he chose to step back and let Diaz take the fight.

Condit isn’t the first guy who has had a title fight slip out of his hands this year. Chael Sonnen, Anthony Pettis, Rashad Evans and Josh Grispi were all suppose to fight for championships this year.

Sonnen was forced out of his rematch with middleweight champion Anderson Silva thanks to a suspension and legal troubles.

Pettis found himself on the outside looking in after Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw at UFC 125. Because of the draw and the exciting match, Edgar and Maynard were granted a rematch. Pettis could have sat out and waited for his title shot, but he chose to take on Clay Guida in a match that he ended up losing.

Grispi also chose to take a fight instead of waiting for Jose Aldo to heal up. HE ended up losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 125.

Evans has felt it the worst. After sitting out nearly a year waiting for his title shot against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Evans had to pull out of the fight with a knee injury. He was then promised the winner of Rua versus Jon Jones, but Jones had to pull out with a hand injury. Another opportunity came for Evans, but he once again was forced to back out because of injury.

If Condit takes another fight before St-Pierre and Diaz meet and wins that fight, he should be the No. 1 contender.

But if history tells us anything, it's that we know anything can happen at any moment, and Condit could be waiting a lot longer than he’d like to.