As with any match-up in MMA, each fighter has a considerable amount to gain and to lose. In some cases, a fighter will have much more on the line than his opponent.
That is the case with Carlos Condit at UFC 143.
Condit, who was originally scheduled to face B.J. Penn at UFC 137 before the entire Nick Diaz debacle happened, was bumped into main event status, and was challenging for the UFC Welterweight title.
Then Georges St-Pierre was injured and Condit wanted to hold out for his title opportunity. Waiting would prove to be the wrong choice, as Diaz went out and put on a stellar showing against Penn. This warranted Dana White to make the move to throw together Diaz-GSP for a second time.
Condit, forced into another title eliminator fight, was again bumped to title contention following GSP’s successive injury.
Now, after not fighting since July of 2011, Condit will finally step inside the Octagon against Diaz for the interim title.
One would think Condit is in a pretty good place right now—too good of a place if you ask me.
When “The Natural Born Killer” made his debut in the UFC, it wasn’t in the impressive fashion we pictured. He lost his UFC debut to Martin Kampmann, and followed that up with a split-decision win against Jake Ellenberger.
His come-from-behind win against Rory MacDonald, although memorable, completely overshadowed the fact that Condit was down on the scorecards going into the final frame.
Condit finally showed glimpses of the special fighter we saw in the WEC, when he defeated Dong Hyun Kim in impressive fashion.
Wins over MacDonald and Kim certainly aren’t the names you’d like to see on a title contenders resume, and there’s no doubting that Condit wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for some timely injuries and no-shows.
If Condit loses to Diaz, he’ll be forced back into the scrap heap and will be at least three fights away from getting another title shot.
Given the fact that Diaz doesn’t simply go out to win on points, a Condit loss is likely to look ugly for the Jackson’s MMA fighter.
Condit was gift wrapped a title shot and if he can’t capitalize on this opportunity, the chance for a belt may pass him by depending on how GSP-Diaz plays out.
Even though there’s always a “next fight” for most guys, Condit is in a must-win situation at UFC 143.
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