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Carlos Condit will try to turn back the clock and capture his first UFC win since 2015 later tonight (Sat., Oct. 3, 2020) at UFC Fight Island 4 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside Flash Forum on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., when “Natural Born Killer” takes on veteran welterweight Court McGee.
For Condit, this is a true must-win at this point in his career. The former interim UFC welterweight champion has lost his last five trips to the Octagon, which includes three submission defeats, and has failed to record a win since stopping Thiago Alves via TKO over five years ago. The 36-year-old veteran simply hasn’t been the same since tearing his ACL in a fight with Tyron Woodley back in 2014.
Luckily for Condit, he’s done enough throughout his UFC tenure to keep fighting amidst the worst losing streak of his career and keep doing what he loves.
“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster,” Condit told UFC.com. “I haven’t been performing to the best of my ability as of late. I’m on a skid, for sure, but I think the overarching thing is I love what I do. I get to fight for a living. This is what I always wanted to do. This is literally my wildest dream come true. There’s always so much to learn. I’m constantly trying to improve. Just when I think I reached a certain level, there’s more to do, more to learn, and I’m very curious.
“I’m drawn like a moth to a flame.”
Condit, who has been competing under the UFC banner since 2009, is hoping to push through McGee at UFC Fight Island 4 and finally get back into the win column. While McGee isn’t the most dangerous opponent at 170 pounds — having finished just two of his eight total UFC wins — he is a true veteran of the sport. McGee understands how to play the game, score points when he needs to, and implement his own gameplan for three-straight rounds.
“I know what he’s going to do,” Condit said of McGee. “At a certain point in training camp, you gotta wrap your head around it. The only way to the other side of it is straight through. I’m going to fight smart. I’m not going to just sit and be dumb and fall into Court’s game, but this is going to be a fun fight.”
“We’re both very, very well-rounded and technical fighters, but we’re fighters,” Condit added. “We’re going to step in there and get after it. There’s no bones about it. This is going to be a nasty fight.”
For Condit, this is one of the biggest fights of his career. Even though “Natural Born Killer” has found himself inside of the cage with the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia, and Woodley, this upcoming matchup with McGee could determine the immediate future of his career.
Because even though UFC loves Condit and has stuck with him this long it would be very hard to keep him aboard with a six-fight losing streak.
“The fight game is crazy,” Condit said. “There’s always going to be something, so you just always gotta let preparation and your focus carry you through and not let anything shake you.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Island 4 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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