Condit didn't fight scared, but smart

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The fight between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz said so much about mixed martial arts, it's hard to know where to start.

It doesn't matter who you thought won -- I had Condit 48-47, giving him Rounds 1, 3 and 4 -- there's no debating the closeness of the contest. Instead, controversy, if you want to call it that, has centered on the way Condit dared to approach the fight.

Was he chicken? Did he run from Diaz?

Or was he smart? Did he move judiciously and pick his spots?

This is not a case of semantics; the implications here mean a lot.

According to FightMetric, the official stats supplier to the UFC, Condit outlanded Diaz 151 to 105 in significant strikes, 159 to 117 in total strikes. Yep, Condit connected more than Diaz. Not only that, he set a UFC record for kicks in a bout. Compare what Diaz did to B.J. Penn -- 237 strikes landed in a three-round fight -- to the 117 strikes he landed in five rounds Saturday.

Plain and simple, Condit's movement and execution threw off Diaz's output and rhythm.

So: chicken or smart? Shouldn't the onus have been on Diaz to alter his attack, to recognize what Condit attempted to do and switch things up? Cut off the cage maybe? Or when he got inside, use the clinch to his advantage and go to the floor? Because when he went there briefly in the fifth, Diaz did very well.

And that's why I need someone to answer this for me: Why should Condit have provided the best volume puncher in MMA the opportunity to unload on him? I can't figure it out, and thusly I can't decipher what Diaz or his fans have complained about.

Maybe they just want to see mixed martial artists beat each other up. Is that it? Forget tactics. Forget game plans.

You want Toughman?

Hey, any dope can step in a cage and beat the hell out of someone. I truly hope MMA never recedes into that cesspool way of thinking. There's far too much skill, far too much intelligence in this sport to have it rendered down to that primordial level.

UFC 143 grades

		Fabricio Werdum Fabricio Werdum (15-5-1) came through in a big way against Roy Nelson. The 34-year-old Brazilian officially shed his label as a "jiu-jitsu only" threat by kicking, kneeing and punching Nelson into a bloody mess by Round 2. His improvement has been a long time coming, and Muay Thai sessions with Rafael Cordeiro manifested in clean and dangerous technique. Werdum, inarguably a top-five heavyweight, set himself up for a headlining fight in the UFC, potentially against Frank Mir, since that's what fans called for after Saturday's performance.
		Carlos Condit No, it wasn't the war the UFC billed and people expected. Carlos Condit had different intentions: winning. How novel. The 27-year-old welterweight executed his Greg Jackson-engineered game plan to perfection, moving clear -- yes, moving, not running -- of Diaz's heretofore prolific punch output. As the fight unfolded, Diaz failed to find his rhythm due to Condit's slipperiness, counters and stamina. Though he executed beautifully, Condit (28-5) doesn't score in the "A" range because his plan veered from the rock 'em, sock 'em path most fans hoped to see. His was a Dominick Cruz-level effort in terms of owning distance and timing, and while it was tactical wizardry, it was not overly exciting. Count me among the group who have no problem with this.
		Ed Herman Ed Herman's trek up the middleweight ladder continues thanks to diversity in his game. The 31-year-old wrestler (20-7) looked to slug early, but a few too many right hands from Clifford Starks prompted a switch. Once he took the fight to the floor Herman flourished, locking in a rear-naked choke less than two minutes into the second round. He's on a roll and it's time for a step up in competition.
		Renan Barao Is Renan Barao the bantamweight equivalent of Jose Aldo? Not from what I've seen. He's a technician, clean with punches, including a tremendous jab, but Barao (28-1) seems less explosive than his featherweight teammate. Barao is best when he's working on the floor, and there was little of that against Scott Jorgensen. On the positive side, Barao, 25, outclassed one of the more physical fighters at 135 pounds and did so with relative ease. Is he ready for Dominick Cruz? Well, is anyone? It's an interesting fight, one that could happen sooner rather than later considering Barao's impressive ledger.
		Nick Diaz Where to start? For the first time in ages, Nick Diaz (26-8) was out-landed, a shocking statistic considering how effective he is with volume and pressure. Diaz can complain all he wants about Condit "running" from him, but it doesn't hold water when you take the punch stats into account. He never mixed things up. Never deviated from what he was trying to do, no matter how ineffective it was. The onus was on Diaz, 28, to cut off the cage, pressure Condit into mistakes, get the fight to the floor. He didn't do any of that, and that's why he deserved to lose. I don't buy for one second that Diaz is done fighting. He's too good to walk away and there are many fights to be made. Plus he's under contract to the UFC, which means he can't go off and box or anything like that.
		Scott Jorgensen Scott Jorgensen's days as a top contender at 135 are dwindling. He's game and skilled, but as Dominick Cruz and Barao proved, that's not enough the top end of the division. Jorgensen, 29, seemed to lack something Saturday. Maybe that's owed to Barao's mistake-free performance, or maybe he had an off night. Whatever it was, the gritty style that earned Jorgensen (13-5) a title shot never materialized at UFC 143.
		Josh Koscheck It's hard to know what to make of Josh Koscheck these days. He earned a split decision against Mike Pierce, wasn't particularly effective in doing so, and yet again fell victim to a quality jab. Koscheck just gets hit way too much, something Georges St. Pierre exposed in 2010. Is it possible that 20 fights into his UFC career, the punishment toll has caught up to him? If Diaz decides to fight again, a match between him and the 34-year-old Koscheck makes all the sense in the world. Considering how stationary his head is, I fear for Koscheck (17-5) in that matchup.
		Mike Pierce Mike Pierce fought his fight but it wasn't enough. The 31-year-old wrestler bullied Koscheck early, putting the fight against the fence and grinding away as he likes to do. But as the fight moved forward, Pierce faded some and ceded points and position to Koscheck's craftiness. Pierce (13-5) keeps it tight, which is why his last three were decided by split decision. When you play it like that, there's little to complain about.
		Roy Nelson Tough guy. Maybe the toughest in the UFC heavyweight ranks. The ability to withstand punishment is a good for a couple of things: (1) making paying customers happy, and (2) shortening your career. The votes are in, and Roy Nelson (16-7) just isn't in the same class as top-10 heavyweights. The 35-year-old fan favorite has lost three of four, beating only a soon-to-be retired Mirko Filipovic, while absorbing a ton of punches, kicks and knees over the last year and a half. Safe to say "Big Country" is in gatekeeper mode. He'll hang around long enough to possibly capitalize on a defensive lapse, but sometimes that doesn't happen, and there can be a lot to suffer for the effort.
		Clifford Starks Clifford Starks suffered the first loss of his career, which we all know isn't that big a deal in MMA. For a wrestler from Arizona State University, he didn't do a great job of staying off his back against Ed Herman, and that's something to work on. He was impressive enough on his feet, scoring several right hands before succumbing to Herman on the ground. I wouldn't close the book on Starks (8-1) just yet, but so far the 30-year-old Rage in the Cage-promoted prospect doesn't jump out as a future contender.

Josh Gross covers MMA for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at JoshGrossESPN.

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Josh Gross

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• MMA columnist for ESPN.com
• Nearly 11 years covering MMA
• Hosts "Gross Point Blank" podcast