The ‘Natrual Born Killer’ isn’t necessarily announcing his retirement from MMA, but it also doesn’t sound like he’s about to jump back in the Octagon in the near future.
The narrative of a combat sports career is well and truly set. More than a century of modern professional prize fighting (in one form or another) has told the same story over and over again. Young athletes with all the talent in the world clawing their way to fame and fortune, all the while claiming that they’ll know just when to walk away.
Few seem to actually know, however. Retirement dates are set and later dismissed; the fighter who knows they’ll be done by 30 is more often than not still in the ring at 35. Fortunes amassed become fortunes lost. And even if it’s not out of need for money, the drive to keep competing rarely seems to dull.
The latest fighter to run up against this point of uncertainty, to battle between an unquenchable thirst for competition and the knowledge that he may just not have what it takes anymore, is Carlos Condit.
The ‘Natural Born Killer’ has been a mainstay action fighter in the UFC (and WEC before it) for over a decade – and that’s on the heels of a half-decade spent competing in smaller promotions around the world. Now 0-4 since 2016 (and just 2-7 since his hotly debated victory over Nate Diaz), Condit sounds like he’s contemplating the end of his cage fighting career.
“Post choke out, where the fuck am I,” Condit wrote on his Instagram account, “WTF happened, feeling kinda warm and fuzzy, hope I didn’t just piss my shorts on live TV, thousand yard stare. I’ve posted plenty of pictures looking like a Badass. Triumphant and powerful… But here’s the flip side, crumpled and weak in defeat. Rough day at the office
“Fuck it though, I had fun. I trained my ass off and I came to fight. This is what leaving it all out there looked like on Saturday. Much respect to my opponent and his team. Thank you for taking the fight on short notice. Congratulations and best of luck in the future.
“I don’t know what’s next guys… I still love this game, and most days I still feel that fire, I absolutely love what it do, but maybe my time has passed. I don’t know the answer. this is what I know, this is my passion. I will never stop training, and If that leads me back to the the octagon, you know I’ll try to make it bloody for ya.
“Right now I’m looking forward to summer shenanigans with my sons and to expanding @hundredhandscoffee.”
Condit lost his bout against Alex Oliveira via guillotine in the second round at UFC on FOX 29: Poirier vs. Gaethje in Glendale, AZ. It was his first bout of 2018, and while it started promisingly enough – with Condit able to take dominant top positions via takedowns – a glancing up-kick seemed to hurt him badly and lead to the poorly executed shot that left his neck exposed for the submission.
For those hoping this isn’t the end, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Condit has flirted with the idea that he may be done with fighting. After losing to Demian Maia in 2016, he spent more than a year on the sidelines, telling reporters, “I don’t know if I have any business fighting at this level anymore.” But time is a great healer (especially when it comes to competitive desire) and given enough of it, we may yet see Condit back in the Octagon again.