Check out the picture from MMAFighting.com, and pay particular attention to how thrilled Nate Diaz looks:

Don’t be scared of your portfolio, homie.

The reason I didn’t watch the Super Bowl is because after the KO at the TU and UFC 143 on Saturday night, I had my fill of shitty sports fans for the weekend.

I covered Star Boxing’s KO at the TU on Saturday nightfor the Knick Ledger and already documented the bad behavior by members of the crowd on this space. After the fights in Albany, I was able to catch the main event of UFC 143. What I saw was Carlos Condit executing a technically and intellectually flawless game plan against a very dangerous and heavily favored Nick Diaz to win the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. He used the cage and Nick Diaz’s flat-footed striking style to his advantage, negating his reach with exceptional footwork and maneuverability while frequently moving back in to engage and out-strike his opponent in all but one round. After five rounds, Condit was given the Unanimous Decision win. Nick Diaz was not happy. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he complained that Condit ran away from him the entire fight and said he didn’t sign up to chase guys that wouldn’t fight him. He then claimed, right on the spot, that he was quitting the sport over the decision.

His temper tantrum, fueled by frustration and mental illness, shoveled coal into the boisterous fire of abhorrent sports fans online. Like Diaz, they were vocal and angry, providing nothing except insults and vulgar language to back up their ridiculous claim that Condit “ran away” from Nick Diaz or somehow didn’t earn a win.

Needless to say, I agreed with the decision. Rather than recount the reasons why, I’ll just send you over to Ben Fowlkes at MMAFighting, who already laid it out plainly yet eloquently. In short, Nick Diaz was out-fought, out-smarted, and as was evidenced by his face after the fight, beat the Hell up by his opponent.

It was a great night to be a combat sports fan, and a frustrating one if you weren’t. I put the emphasis on sport because I don’t think the latter care much about the sport aspect of it, nor will they ever. You can’t call yourself a fan of boxing or MMA and still support the reaction seen and heard on Saturday night. That’s not criticism, it’s bloodlust.

If you still insist on it, all I can say is that this just isn’t the sport for you. If you’re one of those people that was  unhappy with Carlos Condit’s flawless performance and/or the fantastic 10-round battle between Sahib Usarov and Yan Barthelemy at the Times Union Center, I can only suggest you go find something else that’s more your speed and fitting to your tastes. Maybe dog fighting or old VHS copies of Faces of Death. Or, better yet, go start a fight in a bar. There’s no better view of the action, and it’s sure to be violent and end quickly.

Leave the sport to real sports fans.