There has been plenty of criticism for Carlos Condit since he won the UFC interim welterweight title on Saturday night with a gameplan that has been described as ‘masterful’ by his admirers and simply as ‘running’ by his detractors.

One person who doesn’t care for what the critics have to say is Greg Jackson, Condit’s coach and the man responsible - alongside Condit - for coming up with the sidestepping, slippery tactics that Condit used against the relentless forward pressure of Diaz.

“When you are fighting a guy like Nick who is so amazing and he does things so well, the last thing you want to do is sit kind of flat footed and get in a face-punching contest with him,” Jackson told Sherdog.

“And so 'm sorry there's flack going around the Internet, but If you don't appreciate the way Muhammad Ali or Sugar Ray Leonard or some of these great guys that do their sticking and moving, I don't know what to tell you.

“I am not going to tell my guy to do what the other guy is really, really good at. and then throw the dice and win It seems to me the smart thing to do would be to hit him a lot and then not get hit. I'm no rocket scientist, but hitting a lot and not getting hit … sounds like a good idea.”

The judges agreed, returning a unanimous verdict in Condit’s favour. But for someone who has only been to a decision three times in a 31-fight career - he is not called The Natural Born Killer for nothing - Condit has to face up to having lost some fans.

Nobody thinks that standing right in front of Diaz would have been the smart move, but it would have been a thriller for the ages and it has left a sour taste in the mouths of many a pay-per-view buyer who paid their dollars on the understanding that is what they were going to get.

Gallingly for the UFC, their dream fight of Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz - which would have sold very well - is now going to be replaced by a match between St. Pierre and Condit, who neither play the trash-talk game nor have any personal animosity.