UFC 143: Betting Diaz vs Condit

UFC 143 Betting Preview
provided by Bovada

It's a rare opportunity for mixed martial arts bettors at Bovada this Saturday- it's the second consecutive weekend of a strong MMA card as UFC 143 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas follows last Saturday's successful UFC on Fox 2 card from Chicago.

Before we preview UFC 143, let's review how players fared last weekend…

The main event was a light-heavyweight matchup between former champion Rashad Evans and unbeaten Phil Davis. Evans' unanimous decision win was good for him as he will get a shot at champion Jon Jones later this year. And it was mostly good for bettors as Evans went off as the -240 favorite and took nearly 62 percent of the lean. The book, however, was able to cash in on a few of the fight props to make the bout a good one for everyone.

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In the co-main event, Chael Sonnen's win over Michael Bisping was good for the book because Bisping took significant action at his +300 underdog number. The fight going longer than two full rounds was a strong win for players. Sonnen should now get a shot at Anderson Silva this summer.

But the book's big win was Chris Weidman's split decision over Demian Maia because the underdog Maia took nearly 61 percent of the action and he was plus money all week leading to the fight. In addition, Weidman to win by decision along with the fight going over two full rounds got the book off to a good start on the main card.

Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit

As for UFC 143, one fight clearly stands out above all the rest: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight championship. This card was supposed to be headlined by welterweight champion and arguable pound-for-pound king Georges St. Pierre fighting Diaz, but GSP suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and is likely out until late this year. That makes this the first time since 2008 that someone other than St. Pierre will wear the UFC welterweight belt.

Diaz (26-7) has won 11 fights in a row, last beating B.J. Penn via unanimous decision at UFC 137 in late October in Diaz's return to UFC from Strikeforce. Diaz had more strikes landed (166) than Penn even attempted (107). Afterward, a battered Penn said he was retiring.

Incidentally, Diaz was supposed to fight St. Pierre at UFC 137 originally but was pulled after failing to fulfill his media obligations.

Condit (27-5), meanwhile, has captured 12 of his last 13 fights and established himself as one of the sternest tests in the welterweight division. The "Natural Born Killer" was last seen beating Dong Hyun Kim via TKO at UFC 132 in July. He entered the UFC as the final welterweight champion in WEC history, riding an eight-fight winning streak.

Condit lost his UFC debut via split decision vs. Martin Kampmann but has impressed in the four wins since. He was supposed to be Diaz's replacement vs. GSP at UFC 137, but St. Pierre was injured a little more than a week before the event (a different injury than the ACL).

With it being Super Bowl weekend, the book expects heavy action on this fight as a warm-up to Sunday's game. Diaz opened as the -165 favorite at Bovada, but he has taken major action to where he is now at -240. During his 11-fight winning streak, Diaz has been the favorite in 10 of them. Since 2007, his first offering, he has only been the underdog once in 13 fights.

Condit has moved from +155 to +190. While he was the WEC champion it was at a time that organization was still rather unknown to the general public and thus he is still a bit in the shadows. During Condit's reign in the WEC, he was the favorite in all three of his title defenses, in contrast to his five UFC fights where he was the underdog in four of them (winning three).

One of the other featured bouts on Saturday is another welterweight matchup featuring Josh Koscheck, who was originally to fight Condit on this card, and Mike Pierce. In September, Koscheck (16-5) recorded a knockout over UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 135. Koscheck's only loss in his past five bouts was via unanimous decision to St. Pierre. Pierce (13-4) has won four of his past five and beat Paul Bradley by split decision at UFC on Fox 1 in November. Koscheck has opened as the -265 favorite at Bovada and taken most of the action thus far with Pierce at +205.

Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Roy Nelson. Werdum (14-5-1) had a three-fight winning streak snapped by Alistair Overeem in the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix quarterfinals on June 18. Werdum's last UFC fight was in October 2008, getting knocked out in the first round by current champion Junior dos Santos. "Big Country" Nelson (16-6) ended a two-fight losing streak on that October UFC 137 card with a TKO of Mirko Filipovic. All of Nelson's 16 wins have come by KO.

Werdum has opened as the -150 betting favorite at Bovada with Nelson at +120.

Get the latest UFC 143 betting lines at Bovada Sportsbook now.