LAS VEGAS – Carlos Condit took a back seat for most of the promotion of UFC 143, quietly going about his work while everyone in the mixed martial arts fraternity fixated on a possible welterweight title fight between Nick Diaz and reigning UFC champion Georges St. Pierre.
A columnist in the Las Vegas Review-Journal went so far as to openly root for Condit to lose in order to ensure the St. Pierre-Diaz match.Condit, though, scuttled those plans in front of a sellout crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, defeating Diaz in the main event of UFC 143 by taking a closely contested unanimous decisionJudges favored Condit, 49-46 twice and 48-47.
Fabricio Werdum battered Roy Nelson with a series of knees and kicks in their heavyweight match, opening a bit cut on Nelson’s forehead and winning a unanimous decision. All three judges had it 30-27 for Werdum.
Neither Josh Koscheck nor Mike Pierce did much to distinguish himself during their welterweight bout, but Koscheck was active enough that he pulled out a split decision
Renan Barao won his 18th fight in a row and established himself as a legitimate contender in the bantamweight division with a one-sided victory over Scott Jorgensen. Barao dominated from start to finish and won 30-27 on all three judges’ cards
In the main card opener, Ed Herman managed to survive a series of hard right hands from Clifford Starks in the first round to pull out a submission victory by rear naked choke at 1:43 of the second.
Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs Miguel Cotto May 5th..
It’s official. Boxing superstar Floyd “Money” Mayweather will return to the ring, step up in weight and challenge three-division World Champion Miguel Cotto for his WBA Super Welterweight World title in what will be a gargantuan showdown between two future Hall of Famers. Mayweather vs. Cotto will take place on Saturday, May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. and will be televised live on pay-per-view. Both fighters have agreed to Olympic-style drug testing for the fight.
In related news, earlier today the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to grant Mayweather a one-fight boxing license.
Quotes:
Mayweather: “It will be a challenge for me to compete with him at this weight, but this is the type of test I thrive on and gives me the motivation to train even harder. I have no doubt in my mind that my title belt collection will increase once again and Cotto’s reign as champion will come to an end on May 5.”
Cotto: “I am here to fight the biggest names in boxing. I’ve never ducked anyone or any challenge in front of me. I have accepted everything to give the fans what they like…great and exciting fights. That is what the sport of boxing is all about; making the fights that the fans want and deserve to see. On May 5, stay tuned, because I will convincingly beat Floyd Mayweather.”
Tachi Palace Fights News..
Bubba Jenkins returns to the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore Ca, On March 9th 2012 to take on Chris Gomez at Tachi Palace Fights 12. Also Tough Heavyweight Dave Huckaba will take on Bellator vet Liron Wilson. More news to come.
Porterville's Soto back to winning ways at Warrior's Cage
By Fighting Unlimited News staff
PORTERVILLE – It was a successful homecoming for Joe Soto.The former Bellator Fighting Championships 145-pound champion snapped a two-fight losing streak with a dominating performance against Sacramento’s Chris David.Soto, who is from Porterville, out-classed David en route to a submission victory at the 4:28 mark of the second round.
Soto controlled the entire fight with his dominant wrestling skills and brutal ground and pound before eventually locking in the rear-naked choke.Soto improved to 10-2 and won for the first time since May 20, 2010. David fell to 13-10-2.
Visalia fighter Mike Cook made quick work of Tule River’s Owen Rubio. After a series of kicks, Cook took Rubio down and used an old-fashioned neck crank to force Rubio to tap out 1:44
into the first round. Cook improved to 13-9 in his career. The loss was just the second for Rubio, who fell to 5-2.
Joe Murphy made his drive from Huntington Beach well worth it. The Cleber Luciano Jiu-Jitsu fighter improved to 5-0 after locking in a rear-naked choke and forcing Rodney Rhoden to tap out 2:37 into the first round. Rhoden, a fighter with 21 fights of experience, fell to 10-11 in his career.
Santa Rosa’s Jimmy Grant had his way with a very tough Jose Sanchez, of Strathmore. Grant improved to 4-1 after locking in an armbar and forcing Sanchez to tap out 1:32 into the second round.
Woodlake fighter Cain Carrizosa was relentless in his pursuit of a submission. After getting close three times to submitting Exeter fighter John Wadkins three times in the first round,
Carrizosa finally got it done in the second, locking in and armbar and forcing Wadkins to tap out 1:35 into the round. Carrizosa improved to 3-0 in his young MMA career, while Wadkins fell to 0-1
.
Lemoore’s Jake Hunter turned what could have been an ugly situation into an impressive victory. Hunter, who was in serious trouble with a rear-naked choke applied to him, escaped and landed in dominant position where he landed some vicious ground and pound to defeat Jared Williams via TKO 1:50 into the first round to improve to 2-1.
Shelby Charley Jr. and Pedro Mercado both came out swinging. Needless to say, their match lasted just 24 seconds. Charley Jr. landed a vicious uppercut to record the one-punch knockout in his pro MMA debut.
In an exciting women’s bout, Bakersfield’s Julia Avila outlasted Visalia’s Marion Reneau for a unanimous decision victory. Reneau started off with a strong first round, but Avila pulled out the decision with stronger second and third rounds.
Ryan Reneau locked in a guillotine choke, forcing Alex Barajas to tap out in just 0:53 seconds. There was some controversy following the bout because Barajas didn’t think he tapped, but it looked like he hit the canvas multiple times with his fist, which is why Jason McCoy stepped in for the stoppage.
J.T. Contresano started the night off with a 17-second victory over Brandon Cohea. Both fighters were making their pro debut, but Contresano wasted little time in recording the technical knockout victory in the 170-pound bout.
