One of the UFC’s most eventful weeks in recent memory has a silver lining, as the promotion just announced that “UFC 137: St-Pierre vs. Condit” has completely sold out.
Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz missed three company funded flights, costing the promotion upwards of $15,000, as well as back-to-back press conferences to promote the pay-per-view broadcast before being removed from the main event against Georges St-Pierre.
Now fans heading out to Las Vegas on Halloween weekend will get to see former WEC champ Carlos Condit take on the UFC welterweight king.
UFC president Dana White was so confident in the show’s new featured attraction that he went as far as promising full refunds to those that had already purchased tickets expecting to see St-Pierre take on Diaz.
“It’s been a crazy few days here at UFC, but there’s no doubt that UFC 137 is going to be an incredible card,” White said in a statement.
With the possibility of a release on the Cesar Gracie trained fighter’s horizon, White had a change of heart and opted to allow Diaz to fill in for Condit against BJ Penn at a substantially reduced salary in the card’s co-main event.
UFC 137 takes place inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center on October 29th. Barring any further changes, here’s a rundown of the card:
Preliminary Bouts:
Dannny Downes vs. Ramsey Nijem
Eliot Marshall vs. Brandon Vera
Jeff Curran vs. Scott Jorgensen
Tim Credeur vs. Brad Tavares
(Spike TV 8PM ET/5PM PT)
Bart Palaszewski vs. Tyson Griffin
Dennis Siver vs. Donald Cerrone
Main Bouts:
(Pay-Per-View 9PM ET/6PM PT)
Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop
Roy Nelson vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo
BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Carlos Condit vs. Georges St-Pierre (UFC Welterweight Champion)