UFC 143 Diaz vs. Condit: Video Interview Carlos Condit – Watch More MMA Videos
We’re about two weeks away from UFC 143‘s interim welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit, a fight that will mark Condit’s first Octagon appearance since he wrecked Dong Hyun Kim in July. In the ensuing months, Condit has had to remain focused while big opportunities appeared and disappeared with maddening regularity. Finally, his wait is over, and the Natural Born Killer will be able to test his skills against a man who many MMA pundits consider to be the #2 welterweight behind Georges St. Pierre. Our buddy Sal Mora caught up to Condit recently to get his thoughts about Nick Diaz and the challenges of balancing fighting with the rest of his life. Thanks so much to Carlos for the time; visit CampCondit.com for more. Some highlights from our interview…
On Diaz’s attitude and antics: “I’ve never met the guy, so honestly I don’t have much of an opinion. I think that we’re fortunate to be doing what we’re doing for a living. We get paid to train, we get paid to fight, and we get paid to do what we like to do. I think he’s got kind of a bad attitude when it comes to being grateful for the position he’s in. But other than that, like I said, I don’t really know the guy.”
On fighters who create a persona to attract more attention: ”When I was younger, I felt like I wasn’t getting the notoriety or the exposure that some of these other guys were getting. But ultimately, when it came down to it, I just gotta be myself, and that’s carried me as far and got me as much exposure and notoriety as somebody acting a fool.”
On the possibility of going five rounds for the first time in his career: ”My training camp’s been longer, just putting a lot more endurance training into it, and sparring more rounds. Even when I was fighting three-round fights, if we would go the distance or go close to the distance, I still felt like I had another couple rounds in me, so endurance has been one of my strong points and I’m not worried about a five-round fight.”
On New Mexico: “We don’t have a whole lot going on here, but we put out some of the best fighters in the world, and we have for decades. Being part of that tradition is something that I’m really proud of. I’m excited to go in and do my best, represent myself, represent my family, my team, my hometown.”