Why Diaz vs. Condit 2 is a great idea

Encouraging news coming from Dana White's twitter feed yesterday that both Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit have agreed to a rematch and will hopefully finalise the specifics of the fight later this week. This comes as a little bit of a surprise given the noises that were coming out of both camps and the UFC earlier this week, but I believe this is the best step for the UFC to take based on a number of reasons.

• The first fight was great - No really it was. There was not a better fight on the entire UFC 143 card. Sure, the Werdum/Nelson slugfest was fun, but had nothing compared to the five rounds of chasing and counter-attacking that went on in the Diaz/Condit fight. Most people were expecting Condit to return fire by clenching down on his mouthpiece and swinging for the fences in response to Diaz's boxing, but that would have been stupid. I know I was on the edge of my seat, and everyone else in the room at me was shouting at the TV for the majority of the fight, particularly in the last round when Diaz finally took Condit down. The fight was great, and just because Nick Diaz didn't win does not make that an incorrect statement. Carlos Condit did not just run away. He outstruck Diaz and got a deserved, if close decision win.
• The rematch should be even better - For all those people who did think the fight was rubbish because of Condit's 'running'; do you really think he'll be able to use the same tactic again? If Diaz wants to win this fight, he will alter his tactics. Whether he tries to take the fight to the ground and some potentially riveting scrambles and guard passing, or whether he closes Condit down more effectively and can land more punches we should be in for a treat. Not to discount Condit, if he can land more shots like the head-kick he threw late in the fight, we might have a completely different dynamic entirely.
• It would be foolish to wait for Condit vs. GSP - Georges St. Pierre has had knee surgery and is currently ahead of schedule for a November return date. There are two reasons why waiting for this match up would be foolish. First of all, November is 10 months away it would be tragic to take Condit, one of the top two most exciting welterweights in the world out of action for that long. Secondly, although GSP is a freak of nature, rushing a fighter back from the type of injury that can ruin careers is reckless to say the absolute least. He may yet face setbacks in his recovery delaying the fight further, and it would deprive the fans of the best fight possible if he was rushed back when he was not back to his absolute best.
• Few people care about Condit fighting anyone else, and fewer are interested in seeing them fight GSP - While I would be perfectly happy to sees someone like Jake Ellenberger (assuming he beats Diego Sanchez) rematch Carlos Condit and potentially fight GSP, not many other people will be. No-one knows who Jake Ellenberger is. His highest profile win is against Jake Shields in the most poorly publicised UFC broadcast on Spike, and even fewer eyes will be on him on FUEL TV next week. No other contender really makes sense and as fantastic as Ellenberger is (and the rematch with Condit) the UFC would have a hell of a job convincing people of that fact.
• Diaz's stock has never been higher - Coming off the Penn fight and this apparent 'robbery', Nick Diaz has attracted many fans. Matching him up with another fighter in lieu of a rematch could cost the UFC dearly. There are not many stars at 170 pounds, but it is a weight class that is packed with talent, particularly high level wrestlers who could give Diaz all manner of problems. Making another fight opens of the possibility of another loss for DIaz, and another post fight tantrum.
• A LOT of people still want to see Diaz fight GSP - If Diaz wins, everyone (apart from Carlos Condit) is happy. It's the only potential fight on the horizon (with the exception of Jones vs. Evans in April) that has the potential to draw an outrageous number of PPV buys. There is already the animosity between the two fighters to build a compelling narrative in the build up, and half the Primetime series was focused on their rivalry before the two men were even set to face each other.
• Rematches sell well - Historically, rematches do very well for the UFC, even Machida vs. Shogun II sold 520,000 PPVs, and that was two Brazilians headlining with a fairly weak undercard. Half the promotion is already done for the UFC, with much interest being cultivated for the first fight through the Primetime series.
• We could get a Diaz brothers double header for UFC on FOX 3 - I expect the fight to be on PPV, but that would be awesome wouldn't it?

Here's hoping some crazy antics from the Diaz camp don't derail this rematch, as it seemed earlier on this week. I personally can't wait to see this.

I've got more stuff up at trianglechokemma.wordpress.com. It's mainly a site hat I use to practice writing and try and inform casual fans (my friends), but there might be some items of interest there for BE readers. THanks