Carlos Condit Talks UFC 171: It’s Just Another Day At The Office
Carlos Condit is one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster today; ‘The Natural Born Killer’ has finished 27 of his 29 wins, and his past three outings have all won ‘fight of the night’ honors. CC was also undefeated in the WEC, where he defended the promotion’s 170-pound title three times.
Condit has been accused of point fighting by some fans, and also by his upcoming opponent Tyron Woodley. In a recent interview, Woodley described Condit as a ‘volume fighter’ that likes to rack up points. The fight that is likely the point of reference for these comments is the UFC 143 five-rounder against Nick Diaz.
Condit stopped by to talk with MMAJunkie.com regarding this subject:
“Those two fights (Diaz & GSP) were kind of unique. It wasn’t so much the pressure, but I just felt a little bit flat as far as my motivation, which is kind of weird. I was just in a weird spot. In the past I always had this fire going into fights, just this absolute resolve to make it a bloodbath. In those fights, it just wasn’t there for whatever reason.”
It wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve seen a previously angry fighter come out a little stale, in fact it happens quite a bit. The question is whether or not ‘The Natural Born Killer’ will show up against T-Wood at 171, it could be a long day for Condit if he indeed comes out flat again.
“I think it starts way further out,” he said. “It starts in your camp, in how you’re preparing and how you’re training. You just try to gain momentum and let that intensity snowball until you get to the fight. I definitely think we’re on the right track with that this time, but regardless of whether you feel like a million bucks or whether you feel flat, you’ve got to go out there and perform. The other guy is coming to kick your ass either way.”
‘The Chosen One’ has had a hit-and-miss time since signing for the promotion in 2013; a debut win against Jay Heiron was dampened by a split decision loss against Jake Shields at UFC 156. The follow up bout against Josh Koscheck was a far more impressive KO at UFC 167. Condit will certainly have his hands full.
“I don’t care,” Condit said, “because I get to get in there and finish him and make him into one of those guys that knows that’s not what I am or who I am or how I fight. I’ve been in a lot of big fights,” Condit said. “I’ve felt the pressure. Going into this fight, I feel like it’s another day at the office. I’ve been here before, I’ve done this, and as long as the preparation is there, I know I can physically go in there and do what I have to do. And I’ve done that, so I don’t have a whole lot to worry about. I just have to remember to keep my hands up.”
I’m willing to bet that this fight is the most exciting of the night, and won’t make the judges scorecards. I’ve always enjoyed watching Condit fight, and Woodley’s trash talk in the lead up to their meeting should help fuel that fire that Condit talks about.
