I enjoy UFC Primetime and UFC Countdown as much as anyone. These mainstays on the pre-fight hype smorgasbord offer in-depth interviews and special access that are not easy to come by for all us little people out there.
That said, these shows have a lot in common with other reality programming. It can often run short on actual reality. Footage is carefully edited, messages carefully controlled. I’m not sure it’s as egregious as Kobe Doin’ Work, but I get the distinct impression that fighters—especially those with any semblance of media savvy—reveal exactly what they mean to, and no more.
When Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz lived with the Primetime cameras in their run-up to UFC 143, where Condit decisioned Diaz to capture the UFC interim welterweight title, Condit seemed out to win the public relations war. There was footage of “The Natural Born Killer” unwinding at shooting ranges when he wasn’t going hard in the practice cage. When he wasn’t venting his aggression, he was displaying his jagged edges for the producer. “I’m coming to put your lights out,” Condit said during the show.
I’d have the over/under on the number of times he referred to himself as a “warrior” at five.
Then the actual fight happened. Condit was evasive. He stayed out of the pocket. I’m not here to exhume that dead horse, though I will say claims that he was afraid to engage were not borne out by the numbers or the outcome of the fight.
Nevertheless, it opened Condit up to criticism that he wasn’t doing his walking with quite as much enthusiasm as his talking. Soon after UFC 143, though, he had a chance to lower the volume. Most notably, Jake Ellenberger, a scintillating new arrival on the welterweight division’s title scene, waited in the wings.
Here was the interim champ’s opportunity to display that warrior spirit. He could have shown the critics that no matter what they thought of his game plan, at the end of the day he was going to let his warrior flag fly.
Condit did not take advantage of that opportunity.
Instead, he chose to wait for champion Georges St-Pierre to return from his injury. That’s a ways away. At the moment, it looks slated to happen at UFC 154 in November.
I understand Condit’s rationale. After all, how many title shots do you get? He surely understands the fleeting nature of success in this sport. He saw what happened to Rashad Evans.
I’m not saying it’s a cowardly move, either. Carlos Condit is not a coward. He’s in the wrong line of work for that. Waiting for GSP is the smart move.
On the other hand, however, is it really? Condit is 27. The argument that the fleeting nature of success should force Condit to wait for the big title shot can be used to prove the opposite. You only get so many big paydays. By waiting, Condit is losing one. Maybe two. And fans know that the nine-month delay in welterweight division title activities is a direct result of Condit’s decision. Does that damage his marketability, even integrity, as a fighter?
Either, Condit doesn’t extol his smartness in those interviews. He extols his warrior spirit. Between the Diaz fight and this self-imposed exile, it’s easy to wonder whether a warrior flag is quite so convincing when it’s flown so selectively.
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