MANILA, Philippines – Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz via unanimous decision in the main event of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 143 to become the interim UFC welterweight champion Saturday in Las Vegas (Sunday in Manila).

Carlos Condit vs Nick Diaz

Condit followed his game plan to the letter, using constant movement and excellent footwork to evade Diaz throughout the five-round bout.

Despite going the distance, Condit never seemed to run out of gas and was in excellent physical condition.

All the judges gave the bout to Condit, 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.

He now has a chance to fight Georges St. Pierre for the undisputed championship when St. Pierre returns from his knee injury.

"It's pretty surreal," Condit said of his victory. "My endurance has always been a strong point, a part of my game where I felt I can overcome my opponent."

Condit also showed a diverse offense, mixing up his leg kicks with accurate counter punching that caused welts to develop on Diaz’s face. He also proved to be the more composed man inside the Octagon as he refused to be rattled by Diaz’s trash talk.

Diaz, a feared boxer, tried numerous times to pin Condit against the cage, where he could unleash punches. But Condit was constantly able to slip from Diaz's attacks and the latter seemed frustrated with his inability to do much damage.

Condit took control of the fight in the third and fourth rounds, using a wide variety of offense, including a head kick in the fourth round that clearly rattled Diaz.

Diaz went for a takedown late in the fifth round and attempted to submit Condit, but Condit once again showed superb defense and was able to slip out.

Although Diaz congratulated Condit on his victory, he was reluctant to accept his loss.

"I'm not gonna accept the fact that this was a loss... I pushed him back the whole fight, I walked him down, I got the takedown," he said.

Diaz also said that he was "done with this MMA."

"I don't need this (expletive). I landed the harder shots. He kicked me in my legs with little baby leg kicks the whole fight...That was the way I understand how to win in here, I'm out of this (expletive)," he said.

In the co-main event, Fabricio Werdum dominated Roy Nelson on his way to a unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27.

Josh Koscheck earned a split decision victory over Mike Pierce, and Renan Barao won via unanimous decision against Scott Jorgensen in the undercard.