Issue 134
November 2015
Welterweight title challenger Carlos Condit is eager to bring the good times back to his gym and finally claim 170lb gold
Carlos Condit
UFC Welterweight
From the outside looking in, things haven’t gone too well for the Jackson-Wink MMA fight team recently. There was a time when the Albuquerque gym dominated the honor roll at the annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards. Its members have collected more silver statues than any else on the planet, but at this year’s ceremony, for the first time, they left empty handed.
And 2015 appears to have gotten worse from there. Jon Jones’ suspension means that for the first time in almost a decade, the gym is no longer home to a UFC championship belt. Some fighters have even left camp for pastures new too. For the uninitiated, the camp appears to be in disarray.
Yet, as welterweight Carlos Condit closes in on his next UFC world title chance, he warns FO readers: write off MMA’s most famous training center at your peril. After switching to a brand-new, 32,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building, the mats are busier than ever, and with an array of UFC title fights on the horizon, the year’s end could see a dramatic revival in the fortunes of New Mexico’s flagship fight camp.
“It’s actually kind of a special time at Jackson’s right now. Not only have we just moved into a brand new facility, we also have at least three fighters preparing for a UFC title fight,” says Condit, who had been scheduled to challenge Robbie Lawler for the welterweight crown at in November before the champ succumbed to a thumb injury.
“John Dodson battled Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight belt at the beginning of September, I’m getting ready for my fight and Donald Cerrone and Holly Holm are also getting ready to fight for the 155lb and 135lb UFC belts.
“We’ve not skipped a beat, just because we don’t have a belt in the gym right now. Fortunes change and circumstances ebb and flow. That’s life – and especially, that’s the fight game. We don’t have a current champion but we have at least three more fighters with title shots on the horizon, and at least another three with title shots within touching distance too.”
Fans worldwide were ecstatic when the UFC announced the former interim champ would get his second shot at the full world title belt. After all, the matchup pairs two of the most destructive fighters on the planet. ‘The Natural Born Killer’ boasts 28 finishes from 30 career wins, while Lawler has 21 from 26.
The 31-year-old shares the fans’ euphoria. “I’m really excited and I absolutely get why the fans are excited for the fight. Robbie is on an absolute tear, he’s been looking phenomenal, and our styles match up just perfectly. It’s the formula for an epic, epic fight.
“I’d like it to be an exciting fight. If I can get in there and get the job done without taking a lot of damage – that would be great also. But I don’t envisage that being the case. The thing with Robbie is, he punches people in the head really, really hard (laughs). He’s an elite striker with serious power and he’s been able to put together some really impressive wins of late.”
Condit admits trusted coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn will both have huge roles to play in preparing him for Lawler. As too will the rest of the team at Jackson-Wink.
“Defeating Robbie is definitely going to take some strategy. That’s where Greg and Mike really come into their own. I’m so fortunate to have them – and many others I might add – in my corner day in, day out. It will be a team effort that sees the belt return to Albuquerque.
“At the end of the day, Robbie and I are both strikers. To get the win I’m probably going to have to get in there and try and knock him out. Obviously, I have other ways in which I can win – I have a solid jiu-jitsu game and stuff – but I’m a striker, that’s my bread and butter, so I’m anticipating a standup war. I highly doubt this fight will require any judges.”
Condit admits he watched Lawler’s last defense against Rory MacDonald with a slack jaw as the pair went to war in July. And he’s hoping he won’t to visit the hospital after his fight – unlike the UFC 189 warriors.
“I watched it over at a friend’s house and, of course, I loved it. That fight was incredible,” he says. “I was blown away. I’m a veteran of the sport and blood doesn’t usually bother me at all, but that fight was crazy. I was thinking to myself, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of blood.’
“I love a fight that gets down and dirty and bloody like that. Those kinds of situations create a real legacy. But then I also like to get in there and get the job done with a dominant finish too. Those types of fights are great, especially for the fans, but ultimately I’m going in there to finish Lawler and hit, but not get hit.”
Condit got himself back on title track in May with a systematic beatdown of fellow former UFC title challenger, Thiago Alves. It was his first outing in 14 months after being carried out of the cage at UFC 171 when he tore the ACL in his right knee against Tyron Woodley.
The rehab, he admits, was arduous, but returning from his layoff was never in question. “I was happy with the performance against Alves. Once I got my range and kind of got the ring rust knocked off a little bit in the first round, I was able to really open up and execute the things we’d been working on in camp over the last year while I was recovering.
“Surprisingly – psychologically and emotionally – the injury really didn’t take much of a toll on me. My physical therapy was tedious and grueling but I just kept in my mind that I was coming back. I was so close to being at the top of my division and being back in the title mix that I wasn’t about to let a small bump in the road deter me from my goals.”
After 15 years of MMA competition, Condit is a true veteran. But he admits his passion for the sport burns as brightly as ever and despite a 38 pro fights, he’s confident his best days are ahead of him.
“There have definitely been some points in my career when I have lost my motivation,” he says. “But especially over the last four or five years, it’s really about understanding that I’m doing what I love to do. This is my passion. Not only am I living my dream, I’m traveling the world and making a good living. I’m traveling to exotic places and conquering opponents. It’s not hard to find motivation when your job is the one thing in life you dream about.
“I have every intention of taking Robbie Lawler out and taking that belt from him and defending that title. I’m probably in the later part of my career. But I truly believe the best is yet to come.”
Nightmare rival
GSP insists Condit is most dangerous guy at 170lb
Former champion Georges St Pierre is tipping Carlos Condit to win the UFC belt when he finally faces Robbie Lawler. ‘Rush’ knows only too well the skills Condit brings to the Octagon, having survived a knockdown from ‘The Natural Born Killer’s head kick during a thrilling five-round title unification fight 2012.
GSP says: “Carlos Condit is a nightmare. Of all the guys that I would not want to fight again, it would be Carlos Condit. He’s very well rounded – things can come out of every angle, from everywhere.
“Johny Hendricks is very good at what he does. Not as surprising as Carlos Condit, but he hits very hard with his left. I do believe right now, if you talk about ranking and positioning, the man that deserves the title shot would be Johny Hendricks. But Carlos Condit is not far behind. And in a five-round fight, I believe Carlos Condit might be the most dangerous guy.
“He has more weapons in his arsenal and you never know where it’s coming from. It’s just a nightmare fighting a guy like this. If I would have to bet between Lawler, Hendricks and Condit, I believe Condit is the one that will emerge victorious. He’s a nightmare.”
My left hook
London KO still Condit’s favorite
When it comes to greatest hits, few fighters in MMA boast as many highlight-reel finishes as Carlos Condit, but his 2010 KO of Dan Hardy in London, England, is the one he smiles about most.
“I’ve had some pretty cool finishes and I hope there are plenty more to come, but the one against Dan Hardy still sticks out in my mind,” Condit recalls fondly.
“He was the number one contender at the time and was very high profile. It was yet another fight in my career where I was the underdog heading in. It was in his backyard, over in London, and that made it a little more special, I guess. Two left hooks where thrown: one landed, and one didn’t.”
...
