Montreal—Carlos Condit may not be facing the opponent that he was originally booked to meet at UFC 158, but that doesn’t mean that he’s looking past Saturday’s event. In fact, the injury that knocked Condit’s original opponent, Rory MacDonald, from the card may actually be a blessing for Condit. That is, if he gets a win over Johny Hendricks the man that replaced MacDonald.
If you take a glance at the latest UFC welterweight rankings you’ll see that the No. 1- and 2-ranked fighters in that division do not include MacDonald or the man facing UFC champion Georges St-Pierre in Saturday’s main event, Nick Diaz. No, the top two are the individuals that will meet in the evening’s co-main event, Condit and Hendricks.
Following Wednesday’s UFC 158 open workouts Condit spoke about his feelings on the change in opponents.
Let’s not forget that the MacDonald-versus-Condit fight was originally booked after MacDonald had called out Condit, looking to avenge the sole loss of his 14-1 MMA career. Of the switch, Condit said, “Originally I was a little bummed out, but I got over that pretty quick once we solidified the bout with Johny Hendricks. It’s an exciting fight, it’s a rough matchup for sure, and it’s quite a different style matchup for sure. Rory’s a real polished striker, Hendricks is more of a brawler with a lot of power in his hands, so there was some adjustment.”
That adjustment will be made a little easier for Condit knowing that he will have his longtime trainer Greg Jackson back in his corner on Saturday.
Jackson opted not to work with Condit for his last fight, a five-round unanimous decision loss at UFC 154, which took place at the same venue where Condit will face Hendricks. The decision was a business one on Jackson’s part, as he has worked with both St-Pierre and Condit during training. Jackson removed himself from both camps for that bout.
While the loss to St-Pierre was disappointing, Condit now looks at that fight as a learning experience. Speaking of that November 2012 bout Condit said, “Part of me is still disappointed, but I used it as a learning experience and as motivation. I’m ready to come back with a vengeance and get back in there and get back in title contention.”
A win over Hendricks may or may not get Condit a shot at the winner of the St-Pierre versus Diaz bout, because as we all know (and Condit recognized himself), “The title’s picture is never a straight line.” The powers that be would be hard pressed to deny Condit a shot at whoever holds the title at the conclusion of UFC 158, though.
Of the two, Condit let it be known that he would prefer to face Diaz in his next bout.
That admission is somewhat shocking considering that Condit defeated Diaz at UFC 143, earning a unanimous decision. When asked why he would want to fight Diaz, he simply replied, “I want to beat him again.”
As you can probably guess, the recent UFC 158 media call was also a topic of discussion. If you missed it, Condit was on that call last week, a call that was dominated by Diaz and occasionally a comment from St-Pierre. Condit admitted the call was “very entertaining, I was sitting there trying not to laugh out loud.”
Before Condit can get that rematch with Diaz he’ll have to contend with Hendricks, a skilled wrestler with one of the most powerful left hands in the business. Speaking of his opponent, Condit said, “Lately he’s been showing his stand up, his knockout ability, but he has made a great transition from wrestling to mixed martial artist. I’m expecting a really tough fight, but I think we’ve done enough to prepare for it.”
As for working out in a Montreal mall at 11 am on Wednesday, Condit offered, “It was interesting, I feel like an 80’s pop star.”
*All quotes obtained first hand.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com