With Nick Diaz out of the picture, who should Carlos Condit face next?

Nick Diaz testing positive for marijuana metabolites makes any further debate over his fight with Carlos Condit pointless. In fact, it’s a good thing he didn’t win or there would be an even greater outcry because Condit would’ve been awarded the welterweight interim title as a result. And I don’t have much to say about Diaz’s positive test. It’s not the first time he’s tested positive for marijuana, I don’t care what he puts in his body, he’s got a medical card that allows him to smoke it legally, and it’s still a banned substance no matter whether it’s performance-enhancing or not.

But with the rematch definitely off (and Diaz still likely retired no matter what the Nevada State Athletic Commission say about the drug test), it opens up the welterweight division a bit while we await the return of Georges St. Pierre. Condit will likely no wait until November to face GSP — Condit only fought once in 2011 and he was willing to take the Diaz rematch, so I expect he’ll defend his interim title this summer.

The two most-probable contenders for that title shot have to be Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks, with Ellenberger having the edge should he get past Diego Sanchez on Wednesday’s UFC on Fuel TV card. Ellenberger is 5-1 in the UFC (26-5 overall), knocked out Jakes Shields in 53 seconds in hist last bout and has been on a five-fight winning streak stretching back to a 2009 split-decision loss to, you guessed it, Carlos Condit. That’s as easy a welterweight fight to sell as the UFC is going to get until GSP returns.

Then there’s Hendricks, a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ whose 13-second KO of Jon Fitch put the entire division on notice. Hendricks is 7-1 in the UFC  and would be an obvious backup if Ellenberger loses to Sanchez.