By <a href="mailto:howie@mmanews.com">Chris Howie</a> <Br>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer<Br><Br>

Love him or hate him, Nick Diaz is one of the top welterweight fighters in the world today and although he may not always do things the way the UFC wants him to, that's just the way he is.<Br><Br>

Diaz explained his fighting mentality and gave his perspective on the sport this week:<Br><Br>

"You see me. What you see is what you get," he said during Wednesday's open workouts in Las Vegas. "You get real martial arts, you get real fighting, you get a real warrior mentality. Some people aren’t mature enough to handle it. This isn't soccer. i have no problem being sportsmanlike about this whole thing. I understand it’s a sporting event. But to me this is a fight. I’m not going to let things change that to help this sport become what it is. I think this sport is what it is. I don't worry about looking good. I do what I've got to do to survive, to keep my teeth in my head, and my head on my shoulders. I apologize to whoever can’t put that together and understand that."<Br><Br>

"People try to say, 'Nick Diaz, he’s crazy or not crazy or fake crazy,'" he said. "I’m like, 'Hey, bro, what you see is what you get.' I’m not out here trying putting on an act like I'm crazy. In my opinion, everyone else is crazy. They’re the ones who put on an act for you, doing what they're told in front of the camera. The camera gives them a line and they say it 10 times over again, and then whoever goes back and they can [edit] it out. They turn these guys into robots. I’m just not going to be that guy. Don't tell me I'm crazy. I'm out here acting natural. I'm the only one here being realistic out here about this sort of thing."<Br><Br>

Props: <a href=http://www.mmafighting.com>MMAFighting.com</a><Br><Br>

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By <a href="mailto:howie@mmanews.com">Chris Howie</a> <Br>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer<Br><Br>

Carlos Condit steps into the cage Saturday night with the opportunity to become the interim UFC Welterweight Champion but standing in his way in his way is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champ, Nick Diaz.<Br><Br>

Condit spoke to Yahoo this week about the fight and discussed why fighting is his favorite thing to do in the world, something his opponent Nick Diaz is also quite fond of:<Br><Br>

“It’s not what you say or how you act,” Condit said. “At the end of the day, when all is said and done, it’s what you do when the bell rings that really matters.<br><br>

“There’s nothing I love to do more in this world than to fight, and that gives me a certain amount of peace, knowing that after all of this time away and with everything that’s going on, it’s not too long until I’ll get to do what I love to do again,” Condit said. “That’s the fun part for me.”<br><br>

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By <a href="mailto:howie@mmanews.com">Chris Howie</a> <Br>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer<Br><Br>

With Georges St. Pierre out due to injury, UFC 143 will play host to a new interim champion that will be crowned Saturday night in Las Vegas when Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit square off.<Br><Br>

St. Pierre will likely return to action this summer but in the mean time Condit or Diaz will hold the strap and the current champ discussed why he feels he won't be the champion anymore after this weekend and what he will need to do to get back to the top:<Br><BR>

"The way I see it, I am not the champion anymore on Saturday night. I have not fought since April, against my will, but I understand the champion must fight. You have to put the belt on the line in order to call yourself champion, the best in the world. Right now, I am not the best in the world. I am injured. The winner of this fight on Saturday will be more than just the new number one contender, but he won't be the new champion either. The winner of this fight will have to beat me to become the true world champion, and I will have to beat the winner of this fight in order to call myself the best in the world again."<Br><br>

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The MFC released the following statement this week after cutting three of their fighters for failed weigh in's prior to MFC 32 on January 27th:<Br><Br>

The Maximum Fighting Championship has released Antonio McKee, Brian Cobb, and James Haddad from their contracts with the organization.<Br><Br>

McKee and Cobb were both slated to compete for the MFC lightweight title at MFC 32: Bitter Rivals on Jan. 27, but both fighters came in over the contract weight at the official weigh-in – defending champ McKee by seven pounds and challenger Cobb by one-half pound.<Br><Br>

“I was thoroughly disgusted by the lack of professionalism that Antonio McKee showed towards the belt he was scheduled to defend as well as the Maximum Fighting Championship as a organization,” said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich.<Br><Br>

“It was unacceptable behavior for a champion to demonstrate. On top of that, Antonio never really apologized for missing weight that badly. That was the end of things for him with the MFC. That’s why he was stripped of his belt immediately and told that he would never fight in the MFC again. I hope it’s a message to all the other fighters in the MFC.”<Br><Br>

Cobb, who was coming off a win over Drew Fickett at MFC 30, lost a narrow decision to McKee at MFC 32.<Br><Br>

“It’s disappointing to have to release Brian as he is a tremendous character person,” added Pavelich. “Everyone in the MFC has a great deal of respect and admiration for Brian, but unfortunately he admitted to making an error in preparing for the weigh-in and was over the limit. For a title fight that is a big mistake.”<Br><Br>

Haddad, who lost via decision to Dan Ring at MFC 32, was over by two pounds for his lightweight bout.<Br><Br>

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