Carlos Condit is one of the most formidable competitors in the UFC's welterweight division and is famed for his ferocious fighting style. Fighters Only took the long road to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and got up close and personal with 'The Natural Born Killer'.

If the lean, rugged physique and cold, steely stare of Carlos Condit isn't enough to stop you in your tracks then the ferocious fighter's killer instinct surely will. With an extensive list of knockout and submission victories, including back-to-back KOs of top welterweight warriors Dan Hardy (UFC 120) and Dong Hyun Kim (UFC 132), both KOs earning ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonuses, you can be assured that the combat veteran knows how to finish fights.

Since making the transition from the WEC to the much grander stage of the UFC, Condit has had some incredible outings against top-level competition. His UFC 115 bout against promising Canadian fighter Rory MacDonald saw the Greg Jackson-trained Condit pull himself from the jaws of defeat and TKO his opponent in the closing seconds of the third round after being dominated by MacDonald for 10 minutes, handing the young prospect his first career defeat.

Condit has been used to success since long before he joined the elite ranks of the UFC. In the two years that he fought for the WEC, the Albuquerque native went undefeated, winning the welterweight championship and defending it successfully three times in the space of a year, finishing all challengers with a variety of submission and strike-based executions.

So has 'The Natural Born Killer' always been destined for a life of fighting?

As it turns out, the hunger for battle runs in the blood of the Condit family, as Carlos explains: “My dad and my uncle both did judo when they were younger, and then they both wrestled in high school. They definitely had a lot of street fighting experience.”

From an early age, Condit was a highly active and physical individual, showing he had the same competitive gene that was present in the older men of his family. “As a kid I played soccer, I was on the swim team, I played football and I wrestled.” With such a wealth of athletic experience, it is hardly surprising that this tough kid from New Mexico chose to pursue a sporting career, and his choice of sport shows just how tough and competitive he really is.

Training hard

Since finding his true calling as a mixed martial artist, Condit has taken his training very seriously. “I look at training as a job. I'm constantly trying to be diligent in my preparation. It's a professionalism thing. Anybody can do mixed martial arts for fun. Any guy can come in two or three times a week, do an hour of practice then go home and it's all fun, but true professionals can do it day in and day out, two or three practices a day, and keep it together physically and mentally. I'm a competitive person by nature.”

His need for competition drives him to train hard and stay on fighting form, whether he is directly Octagon bound or not. If anything, the turbulence he has experienced in recent times has made him an even more hardened individual than ever before. “I take training a lot more seriously now. I think that I've grown up a lot as a person and have become more of a professional and have a more professional approach to my training... I've worked extensively on my strength and conditioning and my overall athleticism.”

Because life in the gym is at the center of his routine, it is crucial for Condit to feel at home in his day-to-day training. At renowned MMA trainer and three-time Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Coach of the Year’ Greg Jackson's Jackson-Wink MMA Academy, he has found that home.

Carlos explains: “I had trained with Greg when I was a teenager. For the majority of my career, I was with one of his black belts, a guy named Tom Vaughn. I ended up leaving and going to Arizona for a little while and it wasn't working out there. When I came back it wasn't really an option to go back to my old gym, so I ended up going to Greg's and it's really worked out.” 

Asked if he felt comfortable training at Jackson's, Condit answers: “Absolutely. For the first couple years of my mixed martial arts training, I was training with Tom and Greg both pretty regularly, so I learned that system. There was no real transition period.”

Although the former WEC champ feels secure at the famous New Mexico training facility, Carlos realizes a professional fighter should never let themselves get too comfortable. Consistently fighting at the top level of the sport, as Condit has, requires a fighter to be constantly striving to improve themselves, forever altering and improving their training schedules to ensure they give the best possible performance on fight night. 

“There have been so many change-ups and so much of a lay-off since my last fight, we've been doing periodization, where for a solid block of time we're working specifically on strength, power and putting on size, and then closer to the fight we're working more on power, endurance, and quickness... I've worked a lot on my wrestling.

Although he is never afraid to push himself in the gym, Condit understands the importance of self-preservation, especially for a competitive athlete like himself. “I realize the shelf life of a fighter is fairly short and I really have to take care of myself. Wearing headgear, taking time to rest when I need it, and just taking care of my body in general.”

Taking care of himself in this way means that the UFC 170lb'er can't always go full-on from start to finish in practice. A good warm-up always helps to prepare the body for a tough training session and master strategist Greg Jackson likes to gets his fighters going with a well-formulated workout.

“We do an active warm-up,” Condit explains. “Different movements that you could consider stretching, but you're moving while you're doing it, getting your heart rate up, getting your muscles warm. I also incorporate a little yoga into my warm-ups too. I can't usually fit a full yoga routine into my schedule, but I like to do it when I can. I think it's awesome for my kickboxing and my jiu-jitsu.”

But it's not all serious business for The Natural Born Killer. He may be extremely professional in his approach to life as a mixed martial artist, but, ultimately, Condit fights because he enjoys it. “I love sparring and grappling. Honestly, I love it all, pretty much. I dig strength and conditioning, I like hitting pads... I love what I do. Fighting and mixed martial arts is my passion.”

Without such a love for training and pushing himself beyond the point of physical exertion, it is questionable whether or not Carlos would have enjoyed the same high level of success that he has achieved in his professional MMA career.

His work rate in the gym is unparalleled and, no matter how badly his muscles may burn or how heavy the pressure to perform may be, Condit maintains a positive attitude towards his situation in life. “I realize that I'm fortunate to be doing what I'm doing for a living. I get to train day in, day out and I get paid pretty good to do that.”

Clean living

Any expert will tell you that the regime of a professional athlete begins with the diet, especially when you need to cut around 20lb before a bout, as Carlos does. “The cuts have become harder and harder because I've put on more muscle mass but I pretty much have it down to a science. I eat pretty clean as it is.”

Condit makes it clear that his physical conditioning is always high on his list of priorities, even when he's not cutting weight, adding: “I'm not a fat 190lb... I'm very lean at my natural weight.”

Just like with his physical training, Condit is very regimented with his eating habits. “I try to get a big breakfast, then a snack or a shake right after I train. [I have] a pretty decent-sized lunch, then another snack before I train again. It all depends on how many times I'm training in a day, sometimes it's hard to get enough food in. I'm pretty much eating all day, I need to for my body type.” The fact the natural-born fight finisher is able to consume such sizable portions, even when making a weight cut, shows just how hard Condit works in the gym.

The similarities between his workouts and diet don't end there, either. Much in the same way that Condit likes to alter his exercise program to suit his circumstances, be it between bouts or for an upcoming fight, he also likes to shake things around with his meal plan. “I like to switch things up but it all kinda falls under the same basic stuff. Lean proteins, good grains, lots of carbs, fruits and vegetables, and then I'll eat nuts and almond butter and stuff like that.”

When life is as strict in its structure as Carlos Condit's is, a person can get bored very easily. Infusing his life with as much variety as possible, while still maintaining a core healthy lifestyle, is a good way to make sure things don't ever become too mundane or routine. It is often said that the fight game is as much mental as it is physical, if not more so. If a mixed martial artist's professional life becomes too dull then they can become disinterested in training and, before long, an opponent or training partner will put out their lights completely.

To be sure that he doesn't lose focus of his clean nutritional plan, Carlos always has healthy living on his mind when he puts together his grocery list. “For the most part I try to get organic stuff, especially with milk, eggs, and meat.” Condit knows how important it is to get the best quality food possible if he is to be sure that his body is in peak condition for competition, and he isn't afraid to spend a few extra dollars in order to get what he needs. “If something's way more expensive because it's organic then I'll use that as a gauge... I definitely try to eat organic.”

Although a healthy, well-structured diet is of the utmost importance, Condit admits that, unlike most elite-level fighters, he doesn't actually have a nutritionist to organize his diet for him, as he is confident that his own knowledge of nutrition is sufficient to support him in his career. “I have a pretty broad knowledge of nutrition by being involved in this sport... I do some vegetarian and vegan stuff sometimes. That's about as 'out there' as I get.”

'The Natural Born Killer' clearly takes every aspect of his fight preparation very seriously, but even the most stalwart competitors need to give themselves a break every now and again, and Carlos is no different. When asked if he was always so strict with his diet, Condit confesses: “No, not really... If I want to throw in some junk here or there then I do if it's pretty far from a fight. I cut that out close to the weigh-ins.”

This Greg Jackson pupil is an intriguing mix of deadly serious, poker-faced fighter and laid back sports student, and his attitude towards his nutritional intake perfectly reflects his paradoxical personality.

Fighting and family life

Despite putting on consistently devastating performances from the beginning of his pro-fighting career, it took Carlos Condit four and a half years to feel the satisfying sensation of a championship strap around his waste. When he joined the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion in 2007, Condit finally earned himself a shot at welterweight gold after just one victory in the promotion, a submission win over Kyle Jensen at 

WEC 25. Condit went on to win the 170lb crown and reigned as the division's number-one fighter until the weight class was dissolved by owners Zuffa. 

After the dissolution of his home category in WEC, Condit was absorbed into the welterweight ranks of big brother promotion, the UFC. The move was a serious step up in competition for the former champ, and Carlos was quick to raise his training in order to keep up with his fellow fighters.

“I've definitely been training with more high-quality training partners, other guys who are fighting and competing on the same level that I am, which is a big change from what I was doing in WEC. Back then I was training with amateurs or guys who were trying to help me out but weren't professional fighters.”

As he continues to progress as an athlete and a fighter, Condit's abilities in the cage are growing as fast as his muscle mass, if not faster. The highly driven MMA competitor has displayed equally slick submission and stand-up skills, with almost all of his wins coming by way of one or the other.

Condit makes it clear he has a natural knack for athletic activity, and his need for competition has always driven him to perform at his best. But now, the hard-working fighter has an even bigger reason to fight, as in March 2010 he and his wife had their first child, a son. The full-time father and fighter talks openly about the effect being a parent has had on his outlook on life: “My priorities have changed up quite a bit... It's definitely changed my outlook on fighting and on my career in general because I realize a lot of people don't have as much opportunity to spend as much time with their family as I do. I see that as a blessing so I don't want to squander that. I want to make the best of it.”

Carlos Condit is a man driven by his dedication to his family and to fighting. His mechanical approach to his profession as a mixed martial artist has bred success since he started his career way back in 2002, and The Natural Born Killer is showing no signs of slowing down. “I do what I do on a consistent basis and I'm completely focused. I train and I hang out with my son and my family, and that is about it... I have the opportunity to provide for my family. [That's] my main motivating factor.”

Postscript

As of November 2019, Condit has a 30-13 MMA record, 15 of those wins by knockout. Scheduled to fight Mickey Gall in December 2019, Condit had to pull out due to a detached retina.

To Be The Best, Train With The Best

Carlos Condit tells Gary Alexander and Paul Quigle what it's like to train with Jon Jones at the famed Jackson Wink MMA, Alburquerque, New Mexico.

The 'Natural Born Killer' may be one of the toughest and most impressive individuals in his weight class, but Carlos Condit has never been one to let his success go to his head. Even as he is quite possibly nearing the pinnacle of his fighting career, the well-rounded mixed martial artist still has his ego enough under control to be able to appreciate the talents and qualities of his fellow athletes, and to allow their success to encourage him in his own aspirations. 

“One guy that's pretty inspirational is Frankie Edgar because he's a small guy for the division and he's shown in his fights that he's got huge heart,” Condit says. “He gets knocked down and almost finished and then comes back and wins fights.

“There's a lot of guys that I respect. Jon Fitch gets a lot of criticism for his style of fighting but I think it's entertaining and I think it's pretty impressive how he's able to out-wrestle and dominate guys as he does.”

As well as admiring the top guys in his own division such as AKA's star student, Carlos also has a great deal of respect for his own teammates, including, of course, Jon Jones. He says: “[Jones] is a phenom ... He goes out there every single time and puts every bit of new knowledge that he has into his fight. It's pretty impressive.”

Despite the lithe light heavyweight and fellow Jackson prodigy being several years his junior, Condit knows a good training partner when he sees one, and Jones, the double Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Fighter of the Year,’ has the kind of exceptional skills and unique physical qualities that the smaller 170lb fighter can use to his advantage, preparing himself for the most challenging situations.

“He's quite a bit bigger than me and he's such a dangerous fighter I have to be on my game 100% of the time," Carlos states. "There's no messing around or keeping my hands down, I have to be on point at all times during sparring with Jon.”