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[Brutus]

Is Condit ready for the UFC?

Welcome to the mysterious case of Carlos Condit, a man of two minds. He is at once articulate, calm, thoughtful, even charming while at the same time a frothing beast, stalking the cages of the WEC.

Moments after launching into a celebration of women’s rights, the 23-year-old admits inventing and embracing malice towards his opponents.

“We’re not there to play tennis,” he says. “It’s a cage fight.”

Such is the way of one of World Extreme Cagefighting’s brightest stars. On Wednesday, “The Natural Born Killer” will defend his welterweight title in his hometown against Carlo Prater. Not only will the Albuquerque, New Mexico-native be the star of the Santa Ana Star Center, he will also have a chance to avenge a loss from Sept. 11, 2004.

“I’m a much better fighter than I was then,” Condit said. “I know he wants my belt and it’s going to be him or me.”

The event will be televised live on Versus. Although Prater (21-5-1) is virtually unknown on the national circuit, he owns wins over Spencer Fisher, Pat Healy and Melvin Guillard. Condit was reticent to give up the details of his game plan for Prater, but few camps understand game-planning better. Example: Condit’s strategy for Brock Larson in his last title defense.

“I felt I was stronger in stand up so I knew he’d try to take me down,” Condit said. “So I worked on my takedown defense. But I also knew he was very strong, so he might overpower me. If “Plan A” failed, I had to be prepared to work off my back.”

The result: as if scripted, Larson took Condit down, grabbed top position, tried to drop punches and got caught in arm bar that ended the fight at 2:21 of the first round.

“I am a thinking fighter,” Condit said. “That is one of my strengths. But I also have an intensity that sets me apart.”

His fight preparation is the result of the familiarity of training with the same coaches for almost 10 years. Like many, Condit was inspired by the early days of MMA and began watching the UFC as a 10-year-old.

“At that age, I liked movies like “Bloodsport” and “Best of the Best” and I wanted to do that,” he said. “As I got older, I saw that (MMA) was the real deal.”

As a 15-year-old, Condit began training kickboxing and submission grappling with Tom and Arlene Vaughn of FIT NHB in Albuquerque. He has remained with them ever since, even traveling with them to other gyms.

“I am absolutely loyal to my coaches,” he said.

The Vaughns taught Condit how to fight and stayed with him through the highs and lows of his career. He does not have to ponder long to recollect his darkest moment as a fighter. Back-to-back losses to Jake Shields and Pat Healy in 2006 left him questioning his career.

“I had two losses in a row and I realized I had to take a step back and re-evaluate my approach,” he said. “I was never to the point where I wanted to quit, but I had to change how I trained and I grew more serious about fighting. I made this my full-time job. It’s always been a passion, but I was not always as dedicated as I needed to be.”

Since then, Condit has won six straight. Three of his last four ended in the first round.

Despite the success, people still ask him why he is not in the UFC.

“I get that a lot,” he said. “What people perceive to be the best thing is not always the best thing. I am getting paid more than some of the guys in the UFC. I think the plan we have has been working.”

He said his first chance at the UFC was as a potential cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter” television show.

“It wasn’t what I wanted to do with my career,” he said. “I didn’t need a reality show to make it where I needed to make it. I’m sure it would have been an experience to train all the time, but I didn’t want to so many weeks away from my family and loved ones.”

Zuffa then acquired Condit when it bought the World Fighting Alliance in late 2006.

“I had an offer to go to the UFC, but I opted for the WEC,” Condit said. “It was a great move for me. The WEC treats us really well. We get national television exposure and our fights are replaying once a week.”

Condit has two fights remaining with the WEC and hopes to re-sign. However, he could become the first to be plucked from the WEC to the UFC by Zuffa.

“My plan is to re-sign with the WEC, but I don’t know what will happen with the WEC and UFC under one umbrella,” Condit said. “They might have super fights (champion vs. champion). I don’t know at this point.”

Judging from the fact that Condit weighed in at 167.5 for his next title fight in the WEC agains Prater, I dont think it is unreasonable to see him drop to 155. I know that the WW division is stacked in the UFC but I really believe that he would get beat by the top tier fighters ie GSP, Fitch, Hughes, etc.

[ArMnHC]

i think he'd do well in the UFC, but eventually he'd be overpowered by some of the bigger guys. id like to see him fight Fitch...seeing as they both fought Brock Larson, yet Condit actually finished him. it's intruiging.

[baba]

I think he'd do great in the UFC. Won't happen ..... he's pretty much one fo the two poster boys for the WEC and they need him badly, but if he did "move up" I think he'd whoop ass.

And no, I don't think he'd get overpowered by the bigger guys. Brock Larson is very strong at 170 (took Fitch to a decision), and Condit wasted him in under a minute. Don't underestimate the significance of that.

He's als got wins over Trigg (quicker than Hughes did twice) and Melendez. Other than a freak loss to Pat Healy and a U.D. loss to Shields, he's been on an absolute tear.

[ArMnHC]

Originally Posted by baba

I think he'd do great in the UFC. Won't happen ..... he's pretty much one fo the two poster boys for the WEC and they need him badly, but if he did "move up" I think he'd whoop ass.

And no, I don't think he'd get overpowered by the bigger guys. Brock Larson is very strong at 170 (took Fitch to a decision), and Condit wasted him in under a minute. Don't underestimate the significance of that.

He's als got wins over Trigg (quicker than Hughes did twice) and Melendez. Other than a freak loss to Pat Healy and a U.D. loss to Shields, he's been on an absolute tear.

which Melendez? the guy from TUF?

[baba]

Originally Posted by ArMnHC

which Melendez? the guy from TUF?

Yes him. I know he's not great but I threw his name out there because he's a good striker .... I was just trying to demonstrate that Condit has had success against good ground guys as well as kickboxers.

[ArMnHC]

Originally Posted by baba

Yes him. I know he's not great but I threw his name out there because he's a good striker .... I was just trying to demonstrate that Condit has had success against good ground guys as well as kickboxers.

yeah Melendez has good hands, but lacks in his ground game. you would think training with Jeremy Horn would have solved some of those problems...LOL

[notrightn0w]

I would love to see both Condit and Shields in there... maybe even a rematch.

[kalebarker]

Originally Posted by baba

I think he'd do great in the UFC. Won't happen ..... he's pretty much one fo the two poster boys for the WEC and they need him badly, but if he did "move up" I think he'd whoop ass.

And no, I don't think he'd get overpowered by the bigger guys. Brock Larson is very strong at 170 (took Fitch to a decision), and Condit wasted him in under a minute. Don't underestimate the significance of that.

He's als got wins over Trigg (quicker than Hughes did twice) and Melendez. Other than a freak loss to Pat Healy and a U.D. loss to Shields, he's been on an absolute tear.

Brock was over powering before he left an arm open.

[SimpleJack]

I love watching Condit. He's a good young fighter. He's fine in WEC for now, but if he ever wants to establish a legacy, he'll need to make the jump. The bad part for him is that he's thin at 165 and if he drops to 155, no doubt he'll lose some of his edge. At 170, he's in a shark tank with some VERY strong guys.

[Supe]

I hope he stays in the WEC as well. He means much more there than in the clusterfuck of death that is the UFCs WW division. Besides that, i have no reason for this, but somethin about him annoys the piss out of me. Every fight he's in I want to see him get stomped. Again, i couldnt tell you why i feel this way, but i do. He is a hell of a fighter tho.