After a hotly contested and even more hotly debated main event at UFC 143, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz will lock up one more time.

The outcome — a unanimous decision for Condit — sparked almost non-stop discussion among fight fans over who deserved to win the Feb. 4 bout in Las Vegas to determine the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim welterweight titleholder. With that victory, Condit earned the right to face reigning welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in a unification bout when the Canadian superstar returns from knee surgery later this year.

Instead, Condit will attempt to erase any doubts that he was the rightful winner in last Saturday's contest.

"It's true. Condit wants the fight," UFC president Dana White told Postmedia News via text.

It was not immediately clear when the bout will happen. Among the logical possibilities would be UFC 146 on May 26 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, at what is the company's traditional Memorial Day weekend card; UFC on Fox 3, live from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., although UFC might hesitate putting another big-money bout on free TV and a July 7 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena, for what will be UFC's annual Fourth of July weekend event.

The controversy surrounding the first Condit-Diaz bout was centered around the strategy of both fighters. Diaz constantly moved forward, stalking Condit for five rounds but rarely deviating from his attack. Condit refused to play to Diaz's strengths despite Diaz's best efforts to goad him into a brawl, choosing instead to stick-and-move and counterpunch.

Those who thought Diaz won said he was more aggressive and should have been rewarded. Supporters of Condit pointed out that despite his counterpunching, he actually out struck Diaz overall, both in terms of total strikes and damaging blows.

The judges scored the match 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, all in favour of Condit.

Diaz was so disappointed with the outcome, he said he was contemplating retirement.

"I don't need this (expletive). I pushed this guy back. He ran from me the whole fight. I landed the harder shots. He ran the whole time," Diaz said after the match.

"He kicked me in my leg with little baby leg kicks the whole fight. If that's the way they understand to win in here, I don't want to play this game no more."

Condit, on the other hand, said he had no doubts he won the fight.

"I didn't think it was all that close," said Condit. "I think I dominated that fight for the most part."

It's appropriate, perhaps, that little was actually settled after UFC 143, with all the drama surrounding Condit, Diaz and St-Pierre for the past six months.

St-Pierre was originally supposed to face Diaz last October while Condit was scheduled to take on BJ Penn. Diaz was replaced by Condit in the main event, however, after no-showing a pair of media events. But when St-Pierre was injured less than two weeks before UFC 137, Penn was moved into the main event slot against Diaz, while Condit was told to sit and wait until UFC 143, when he'd take on St-Pierre for the title.

But after Diaz dominated Penn in a revised UFC 137 main event, he called out St-Pierre and implied he was running scared. A furious St-Pierre demanded that he face Diaz instead of Condit, a wish that was granted by UFC president Dana White. As heartbroken as Condit was, there would be one more twist along the way: St-Pierre, compensating for his initial injuries, tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was forced to the sidelines. As a result, Condit was pulled from his co-main event against Josh Koscheck and slotted into the interim title bout versus Diaz.

In a strange twist, St-Pierre made clear he was cheering for Diaz, someone for whom he has no love, at UFC 143. The reason: he never wanted to face anyone as badly as he did Diaz.

Whoever wins the Condit-Diaz rematch will face St-Pierre, likely in November or December.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

ddeibert@thestarphoenix.com

Twitter.com/davedeibert