The aftermath of the Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit fight at UFC 143 has seen some incredibly good fan posts around the SBnation community:

• My early favorite was this post by Bloody Elbow community member "crazybones", in which he bemoans the separation of violence and sport that has gradually been taking place in MMA.
• Dallas Winston asked people to share their scores, which provided a great sampling of opinions and insights for seeing it one way or the other.
• I'm sure you've all read it by now, but another BE member, KGNLuc, took the time to transcribe what was said in Nick's corner during the fight. Above all else, It's a fascinating look into the relationship between Nathan and Nick. If you haven't or don't read it you will definitely be missing some key information when trying to evaluate the fight.
• Finally, Monte Fisto opens up his fight watching toolbox and shares a concept that everyone who cares about MMA should know: "The Rule of Trembling Shock". Just go read it.

Throughout those (and other) threads, it emerged that a large portion of those who saw it for Diaz felt he clearly won and a large portion of those who saw if for Condit felt he clearly won.

How so many people can look at a singular event and have wildly differing accounts is generally known as "The Rashomon effect", named after Japanese film maker Akira Kurosawa's film "Roshomon", which depicted a crime seen in mutually contradictory ways through the eyes of four people. In applying the concept to MMA, passion clearly plays a large role; Diaz fans will tend to see the fight for Diaz, while Condit fans will tend to see the fight for Condit.

Another contributing factor is the tendency for opposing factions to attempt to discredit each other while at the same time trying to get their point across. A great example of this in everyday life is the political debate over the de-criminalization of marijuana. Those in favor of de-criminalization would have you believe that it is a miracle plant with countless benefits and no negative side effects. Those who are against de-criminalization, on the other hand, claim that, among other bad things, it turns all who use it into worthless, unmotivated slobs and often leads to more serious drug use. Of course there are grains of truth on both sides but neither will ever admit it, in fear that their position will then be dismissed entirely.

Back to fighting though. By now, having heard the countless arguments from both sides, I think most reasonable members of the MMA community would agree that the Diaz/Condit fight was an incredibly close affair. Judging that fight live must have been an exceedingly difficult task and I wonder how many times the judges went back and forth in their heads before settling on Condit.

Fortunately for us, we do not have to render our verdict in the two minutes immediately following the fight. We have the benefit of being able to watch the fight multiple times, of looking at the CompuStrike and FightMetric stats, of listening to the opinions of many many educated observers, before we come to a conclusion, if we even do. (I'm okay with saying, "That particular fight was so close, I'm not exactly sure who I think won". I've said it before and will probably say it again.)

With the number of close fights happening in the past few years, I've spent a lot of time thinking about how I watch and evaluate fighting and this fight has convinced me that it was time for me to ask how the members of this esteemed community watch and evaluate. After the jump I'll share my fight watching evolution from noob to whatever I am now (potentially still a noob) and hopefully a handful of people will do the same.

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I was listening to the local Vancouver sports jocks on TEAM 1040 this morning, a couple of fellows by the names Matt Sekeres and Blake Price, and they took a minute out of their show to dump on this Saturday's UFC on FOX offering, describing it as "utterly boring and unwatchable". Price called Chael Sonnen's WWE style promo "an embarrassment" and they had a good laugh at a few tweets they had received suggesting that the UFC on FOX was more newsworthy sporting action than the NHL all-star game. (Talk about the pot calling the kettle black).

Vancouver is undoubtedly a one sport, one team, town (Hockey, the Vancouver Canucks) and a good portion of the sports media personalities working in the city often make a fool of themselves when pressed to provide anything but cookie cutter opinions on the rest of the sporting world. That being said I thought it was interesting to hear a take from those outside the "MMA bubble"; I have to say that despite their obvious lack of MMA knowledge, I agreed with their description of the event as boring. We all heard Joe Rogan describe Demian Maia and Chris Weidman as "two drunk guys outside a bar". For those familiar with the sport the action was better after that first misstep, but for a newbie, Sonnen/Bisping and Evans/Davis had little excitement.

The major mistake I think the UFC has made when it comes to their two FOX cards is that they are pushing their championships over exciting fights. For casual fans who don't really know what they are watching, the championships aren't important. If my first exposure to the sport left me yawning, why would I care who is the best? Even worse, if it was a boring championship fight that I was watching, why on earth would I ever watch it again?

Ben Henderson and Clay Guida was THE fight to put on FOX, according to most of the die-hards and the MMA media. Instead of their spectacular 15 minute whirlwind , we got Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez sullying the most prestigious title in the organization within a minute. For this card we were treated to Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans doing just enough to secure spots in championship matches of their own.

Sonnen appeals mostly to pro-wrestling fans who almost surely have already been exposed to MMA and either like it or don't. Those who think pro-wrestling is silly, (which is nearly everyone who doesn't think it's awesome) will likely think Chael is silly and they won't care whatsoever that he is great at tackling people and holding them there. If that was my first time watching MMA and I saw that fight and then saw that promo? I'd laugh my ass off. "He's calling it his Octagon? He barely even punched his opponent in the face!" Evans talked an awful lot before the fight, it seemed clear he was going to go out and knock Davis' block off. Of course, those familiar with the Evans/Jones saga can't really blame him for playing it safe but to the casual fan it must have seemed like like much ado over nothing.

So far the UFC fighters (strikers) that would appeal most to the mainstream have been nowhere to be seen, save for Junior Dos Santos, but his fight against Velasquez was too short and sweet for casuals not to dismiss Velasquez. Think about boxing, which is still the dominant combat sport out there. Even Mike Tyson, who was a known entity by the time he hit the big time, took a few rounds to dispatch of his foes. The heavyweight championship lasting just a minute is unheard of in boxing.

Now I completely understand that Dana White and Joe Silva want to use FOX to entice new fans to buy the pay per views but you can't just keep the most exciting fighters under lock and key unless someone pays $59.99 to see them. Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz are set to do battle at this weekend's UFC 143. I don't think anyone on the radio would be laughing today about "the single UFC fan who tweets the show" had the UFC flip flopped the main events.

Zuffa seems to have realized that they aren't putting enough firepower out there, booking Jim Miller against Nathan Diaz as one of the fights on the third FOX event. That fight, like Henderson/Guida, is just about as close as you can get to guaranteed fireworks. Here's hoping they find a way to get Nathan's brother Nick on the card, who is 100 times more exciting than Sonnen inside the ring and likely 10 times more interesting (to the casual fan) outside.

How do they say it? Third times a charm?

Let's hope so.

It is time for us as a community to decide which fight was the Fight Of The Year for 2011. Vote in the poll and let us know why you voted that way in the comments section if you feel so inclined. Also, if we snubbed anyone, let us know that as well. Let the voting begin!

I honestly don't understand why everyone seems convinced Rashad Evans will win this Saturday at UFC on Fox 2 against highly touted light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis. I'm not trying to say Evans isn't talented, he's clearly one of the best LHW's in the world, but so is Phil Davis.

Rashad Evans has accomplished quite a bit in MMA, having won the UFC's light heavyweight title, but I don't think the level of competition he's faced inside the octagon warrants his current ranking. Although his only career loss is respectfully to Lyoto Machida, in my opinion he's yet to defeat anyone of true relevance outside of maybe Thiago Silva.

I won't go through his entire record inside the UFC because up until his draw against Tito Ortiz at UFC 73, he really hadn't faced anyone worth mentioning. After the draw, he went on a three fight win streak on his way to claiming the light heavyweight belt, defeating Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin for the title. These are popular names to have on your record, but aren't all that impressive when you read between the lines.

Michael Bisping (now a middleweight) was clearly under sized and out muscled, yet still managed to make it a close fight between the two. Chuck Liddell should have been retired at this point in his career, and Forrest Griffin, despite winning the championship himself, really hasn't ever been an elite fighter in the division.

After losing the title in brutal fashion to Machida, he's since gone on another three fight win streak defeating Thiago Silva, Rampage Jackson, and Tito Ortiz. Certainly these names are a lot more impressive than his first run to the title, but once again these are not names that should warrant his #2 ranking in the division.

It's hard to say anything bad about the win over Thiago Silva, it was an impressive performance and showed he has the heart to battle through adversity. His win over Jackson was also impressive, but let's be real here. He was fighting Jackson the movie star, not the fighter, and was again rocked badly. I really don't think anything needs to be said about the win over Ortiz.

I'm not trying to discredit Evans' wins, only put them in a more realistic light. He's been made out to be something he's not, and his record seems to indicate this. Yes, he's a talented fighter with the kind of wrestling credentials that could give anyone problems, but he also possess serious holes in his game, has spent a great deal of time on the shelf the past few years, and hasn't been facing consistently difficult opposition.

But back to his fight with Phil Davis, this will be the first time he's faced a wrestler with similar (better) credentials on the mat. Although Davis is at a serious disadvantage on the feet, he could potentially pose some problems for Evans, and this isn't being acknowledged by the MMA community enough. Will Rashad Evans win Saturday night? Probably, but Phil Davis has a good chance of pulling off the upset here, and deserves some credit.

This is the concluding segment of a three part series. The other parts can be found below:

Part 1: Footwork

Part 2: From Below

In the second part of this series we studied the blind angle and the advantages of attacking one's opponent through this. It is a common tactic among master strikers and there is a lot more to be said on it still (for instance it is the reason that Muhammad Ali and Anderson Silva fight with their hands low - not because they are arrogant, but because it makes their punches difficult to see). In this article, however, we are going to focus on the least used blind angle, techniques which come from above. These are far less common than techniques from below, partly because there is a very limited amount of legal techniques to throw downward onto the top of an opponent's skull (particularly with the banning of downward elbows in mainstream kickboxing and MMA), and partly because most strikers who choose to vary their attack do so by throwing uppercuts and attacking from below exclusively.

Take a look at this photo of Joshua Clottey covering up against Manny Pacquiao. This was basically the story of the fight, Clottey could not compete with Pacquiao's footwork, speed or power so he chose to survive and he did so excellently - coming out of the fight largely unmarked and in much better shape than most of Pacquiao's victims. You will notice that Clottey has braced his gloves against the sides of his forehead and is keeping his chin down, elbows in, hips thrust forward so that his abdominals are tensed for body shots but his is upright enough to effectively nullify Pacquiao's uppercut. So Pacquiao set to work with his famous combinations, landing in double digit bursts, but did little damage. You will notice that the one place vulnerable in Clottey's excellent guard is the top of his head and that he has obscured most of his own vision. Boxers (and Nick Diaz) are less opposed to taking punches on the forehead as it is the hardest area of the skull, but the top of head is less dense, and less prone to taking damage. Additionally one cannot see punches to the top of the head coming, I'm sure most readers can think of time their shower or some other household item fell on their head with no warning.

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With Sherdog's report that Maiquel Falcao will indeed take part in Bellator's Season 6 middleweight tournament, the field of 185-pound fighters has expanded to six.

Falcao fought in the UFC once, in November of 2010, taking a unanimous decision win over Gerald Harris. However, as legal complications arose relating to a 2002 arrest, Falcao was cut from the ranks before he could make a second appearance. Falcao has competed three times since then, with a submission loss to Antonio Braga Neto splitting a pair of first-round TKO victories.

Falcao will be competing against a host of knockout artists and submission specialists, most of them so far only strongly rumored participants, for a shot at the Bellator championship. Below, a look at the likely tournament contenders...

• Brian Rogers (8-3-0) compiled a seven-fight winning streak, including wins in both Strikeforce and Bellator, before falling last October to Alexander Schlemenko's knees. He is the only other tournament participant to be definitely confirmed.
  
• Brett Cooper (16-7-0) followed his own loss to Schlemenko with three straight victories, including slight upsets over Joe Doerksen and one-time Bellator finalist Jared Hess. Eleven of Cooper's sixteen victories have come by (T)KO.
  
• Like most of the men on this list, Vitor Vianna (12-2-1) also saw a win streak come to a halt courtesy of Alexander Schlemenko. A Season 5 finalist, Vianna holds wins over Bryan Baker and current UFC middleweight Francis Carmont.
• Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (15-1-0) has spent his entire career fighting on the European circuit. He's currently on a fourteen-fight tear, which includes a third-round submission of UFC vet Xavier Foupa-Pokam.
• Giva Santana (17-1-0), known also as "The Arm Collector," has defeated fifteen opponents by way of submission, and no less than thirteen of those by armbar. His current six-fight win streak includes victories over former WEC champion Doug Marshall and former Strikeforce title contender Anthony Ruiz.

The time has come to decide 2011's Knockout Of The Year. This year offered no shortage of spectacular KO's but we here have whittled the long list down to 6 finalists for the winner to be selected from by the Head Kick Legend community. The nominees are......

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Today we are here to announce the winner of Head Kick Legend's 2011 Submission Of The Year. There were several phenomenal performances could earn the nod in this category but there was one that stood head and shoulders above the rest for the staff here at HKL:

via cdn.bleacherreport.net

MDH - Chan Sung Jung’s Twister on Leonard Garcia - At UFC Fight Night 24 "The Korean Zombie" had a chance to avenge his controversial split decision loss to Mr. You Know Who. Their first encounter was widely considered the Fight Of The Year in 2010 and many (including myself) felt as though this fight should never have been booked because there was no way it could ever come close to the pure insanity that their first encounter delivered. Boy, was I ever wrong as Jung locked in a spectacular Twister on Garcia, getting the tap with one second left on the clock in the second round. It was the first time in UFC history that a fight was won with that move and it was absolutely fantastic. I would like to throw out honorable mentions to Pablo Garza for his flying triangle choke he tapped Yves Jabouin with @ UFC 129 and Vinny Magalhaes for his ridiculous gogoplata/neck crank victory over Viktor Nemkov @ M-1 Challenge 25.

Chris - Can’t really disagree with MDH here either. Watching that Twister come to life was nothing short of spectacular, especially for someone, like myself, who had never heard of it much less had any idea what was being set up. On that note, I have to throw out Mir’s humerus breaking Kimura on Big Nog. Mir went from being all but finished to working that keylock. Then he rolls right through Nogueira’s reversal attempt to re-solidify his position. And when the tap wasn’t coming he cranked it on, with a viciousness I’ve only ever seen from Frank Mir in MMA. Mir’s BJJ had been widely criticized prior to this, not that he wasn’t talented, but that he couldn’t keep up with an established top level talent like Big Nog. Well, he definitely proved his mettle at UFC 140 and, for that, if nothing else, he deserves a nomination here.

Rainer - It’s hard to deny Jung’s claim to submission of the year. Not only did he execute a rarely-seen maneuver, but in doing so he took revenge over an opponent who, in their previous match, had been given an ill-deserved judges’ decision. Excellent all around. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention Michael Chandler’s guillotine of Eddie Alvarez-- which rocketed him into the top 10 of the lightweight division--or Miesha Tate’s surprising arm-triangle choke of then-champion Marloes Coenen, which, coming amidst a heated scramble against so respectable a grappler, speaks to Tate’s quick thinking and fine instincts. And there is, of course, Tito Ortiz’s guillotine of Ryan Bader, marking Ortiz’s first victory in some five years, and his only submission victory of the decade.