Carlos Condit: I feel like I can dominate in the championship rounds
Former UFC Interim Welterweight champion Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit has a golden opportunity to both stop his recent slide and avenge a loss when he faces off against the returning Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann in the main event of Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 27 from Indianapolis, Indiana. Condit dropped a close bout to Kampmann back in his Octagon debut. At the UFN 27 open workouts, Condit stated that there’s one clear area he believes will favor him come Wednesday night:
“I’ve gone five round numerous times in my career, this’ll be Martin’s first time. I’ve been in those championship rounds, I know what’s that’s like, and I feel like I have the endurance if it goes into those later rounds to dominate.”
Indeed Condit seems to thrive as the fight goes on, evident by his gritty performance against Johny Hendricks at UFC 158 last March. The only issue he’s really had has been his takedown defense. Hendricks took him down repeatedly to win in the eyes of the judges, and Kampmann did the same in two out of three rounds during their previous bout. “The Hitman” is confident that he’ll get a second victory over Condit.
However, there’s little doubt that Condit is one of the finest 170 lb. fighters on the face of the earth, and even his recent losses have shown that. He was seconds away from finishing champion Georges St. Pierre with a third round headkick at UFC 154, and he held the advantage over Hendricks in the last round. The Greg Jackson-trained product will be looking to regain a spot near the top, and Kampmann has only seen 46 seconds of cage time since his win over Jake Ellenberger in June of 2012.
Their Welterweight showdown could be quite the back-and-forth war at UFC Fight Night 27. The winner will enjoy the benefit of a good shot up the rankings, while the loser will be backed up against a corner in one of the most talented division in all of MMA. Who is your pick to emerge victorious in this important headlining bout?
