UFC welterweight contender Carlos Condit wasn’t kidding after his last fight against Johny Hendricks that he really wanted to concentrate on bettering his wrestling before returning to the Octagon.
In his last two fights, Condit struggled to stop the offensive wrestling advances of both Hendricks and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Takedowns were the biggest difference in scoring during both bouts, and following his second consecutive loss he wanted to dedicate himself to adding that element to his game.
Now more than two months removed from the fight with Hendricks, Condit is starting to receive calls from the UFC about his return to action, and it appears that a late summer date could be the time when the “Natural Born Killer” next appears in the cage.
According to Condit‘s manager Malki Kawa, the New Mexico-based fighter has a potential fight being offered to him, but no deal has been struck just yet to make it happen. Kawa says when Condit reappears in the UFC he wants to make sure wrestling is never a reason he loses a fight again, so timing is crucial for his return.
“There actually is a fight on the radar,” Kawa revealed when speaking to MMA‘s Great Debate Radio. “The UFC has been talking about a fight for Carlos Condit, but Carlos right now at this moment is looking to improve his wrestling. He’s really concentrating on that a lot. I’ll have a conversation with Carlos this week and figure out if he wants to do something in August or September.”
Condit‘s personal timetable would land him on a card in September, possibly even the recently announced UFC 165 fight card taking place in Toronto that month. The UFC would like to place Condit on a card in August, but it’s unknown at this time which date will end up on his calendar.
“I think his timetable is September, and I think the UFC wants him to come back and fight some time in August,” Kawa stated. “So we’ll see what happens, I think right now he really wants to perfect his wrestling.”
While Condit‘s record may sport two losses in a row on it, that doesn’t mean his career is by any means at a crossroads where he desperately needs a win. Condit is still ranked No. 2 in the world at 170 pounds according to the official UFC ranking system, and the only losses he’s suffered in the past few years came at the hands of the welterweight champion and the current No. 1 contender.
Still the right fight needs to happen for Condit to get back into title contention and in the win column.
A couple of names brought up to Kawa included former UFC welterweight title contender Nick Diaz and top-10 fighter Martin Kampmann. Both would be interesting rematches for Condit, who holds a win over Diaz and suffered his first loss in the UFC to Kampmann.
“I think those are two fights that definitely interest Carlos. I think any fight that gets him back into title contention is an interesting fight to him,” Kawa said. “If Nick was interested in that rematch, I think we’d give it to him. I think it’s a big-money fight, and I think it’s an opportunity for Carlos to go out there and finish him this time. I think the Kampmann fight is interesting only from the aspect of him avenging that loss.”
Currently, Diaz remains retired after suffering a loss to St-Pierre at UFC 158 in March, but a rematch with Condit could potentially serve as motivation to draw the Stockton, Calif., native out of hibernation. Kampmann hasn’t fought since his own loss to Hendricks in November 2012, but a fight against Condit may be the right way to jump back into the deep end of the welterweight division for the veteran contender.
Either way, decisions on Condit‘s next fight will be made soon with the August UFC cards filling up now, and September won’t fall far behind.
“He told me September, the UFC wants him in August,” Kawa revealed. “We’ll figure it out and see what happens. It’s all up to him and what he decides what he wants to do.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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