Post UFC 143, Carlos Condit-Nick Diaz Rematch in the Works

Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit (James Law/HeavyMMA)

Announcement expected this week

The Nick Diaz/Carlos Condit/Georges St-Pierre triangle apparently has gotten another interesting twist.

Just several days after Condit beat Diaz by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 143 to claim the interim welterweight title, a rematch announcement appears to be imminent.

UFC president Dana White and Condit’s manager, Malki Kawa, each confirmed the news on their Twitter accounts late Tuesday, with White going as far as to say the rematch has been agreed to by Condit – and it was a fight he asked for.

“The rumor is true,” White said on Twitter. “Carlos did accept the fight today and Carlos is coming (to Las Vegas) on Friday … Nick wanted the rematch the same night … Carlos wants it.”

The fallout from Saturday’s fight in Las Vegas has been all over the map. Condit won by unanimous decision, 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. But after the scores were announced, Diaz was so upset with the decision he said he was leaving the sport. Diaz believed he spent the five-round fight chasing Condit down; Condit believed he merely had an effective game plan to beat the former Strikeforce champ.

Most major MMA media scoring the fight had it 48-47 for Condit. Some had it 48-47 for Diaz, including HeavyMMA. Others even had it 50-45 for Condit. White, after the fight, said he scored it 48-47 for Condit with Diaz winning the first two rounds and Condit the final three. Oddly, though, none of the three judges gave Round 1 to Diaz. And in the fifth, a round in which he took Condit down, took his back and worked to finish him with a choke, only one judge saw it in Diaz’s favor.

After the fight, White seemed to be open for a rematch, but also was comfortable with the judges’ decision. The fact that Condit, over the course of three days, went from being unsure if he would defend his interim belt once before St-Pierre is ready after surgery or if he would wait it out for the champ to asking for a rematch of a fight he believes he won.

No timetable was given for the rematch. But a quick look at the UFC’s calendar would point to a yet-to-be-announced Memorial Day weekend card in Las Vegas. The Nevada State Athletic Commission told HeavyMMA on Monday that the UFC has requested a May 26 date at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Its events leading up to that are mostly booked, and there are only two scheduled pay-per-view cards between now and late May – UFC 144 is in Japan later this month, and UFC 145 is set for Atlanta on April 21 with a Jon Jones-Rashad Evans headliner.

HeavyMMA will have more on this story as it develops this week.