Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre was sitting cageside at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 4, 2012, when Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit battled for five rounds for the 170-pound interim world title.
And the camera was by his side all night long to get his immediate in-fight reactions.
"Rush" is on the mend from recent knee surgery, meaning the former Strikeforce and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions, respectively, went toe-to-toe in the UFC 143 main event to determine who would lead the division until the Canadian sensation is ready to return to mixed martial arts (MMA) action later this year.
St. Pierre, like many people inside the arena that night in "Sin City," appeared to side with the judges, awarding the controversial decision, reluctantly, to Condit. He made no bones about it that he preferred to fight Diaz because of personal reasons.
"The Natural Born Killer" did indeed go on to get the nod from the judges, which set of a firestorm of backlash from Diaz and his supporters. He abruptly retired, his camp called for a rematch, Condit eventually agreed, UFC President Dana White prematurely announced that it would happen, and then Diaz failed his post-fight drug test because of his marijuana use.
What a long strange trip its been.
There's no word at this time when Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit will be booked to unify the 170-pound world titles. St. Pierre is expected to return in the fall, which means that Condit could be asked to take another fight -- perhaps against the winner of Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez -- before that happens.
Stay tuned.
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