Condit clarifies waiting for GSP, Hendricks vs Kampmann set for UFC 154
Posted on June 10, 2012, 12:52 AM by Mike Searson
Carlos Condit has been catching flak for a rumor that he was turning down fights and resting on his laurels as UFC interim Welterweight Champion, while waiting for Georges St-Pierre to heal up so he could defend his title.
According to Condit, in an interview with Fuel TV following UFC on FX 3, the only fight that the UFC has offered him has been the bout with St-Pierre to unify the titles: “Georges is the guy I have my eye on and as far as I know he’s going to be ready to go in November. I don’t make the matches. If UFC wanted me to fight somebody else, they’re the boss, they can ask me to fight and I would be up for it. They want me to fight Georges St-Pierre, and that’s who I want to fight as well, so that’s what I’m going to go with."
St-Pierre is going through physical therapy and rehab following surgery for a torn ACL, if all goes as scheduled he should make hid return to the Octagon by November of this year. St-Pierre has been posting a series of videos of his recovery on his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. Condit saw the videos for himself: “As far as I know, I’ve seen some videos recently of him out running, doing sprints, doing some of his rehab and conditioning, looks good. As far as I know, we’re on for November 17th, and if anything changes then we’ll kind of reconsider our options,”
More confusion arose this past week when Condit was asked about who he would like to fight if St-Pierre isn’t healed by November. Condit said he wanted to fight the only fighter in the UFC that has ever beaten him, Martin Kampmann. On this, Condit said: “The question that was put to me was ‘if Georges isn’t ready to fight in November, who would you like to fight?’ and so my answer to the question was Martin Kampmann. He was my first loss in the UFC, my only loss (in the UFC), my only loss in the last six years or so. Not taking anything away from Johny Hendricks, he’s obviously a top contender, had some great wins recently, but it’s a more compelling fight. It’s a fight I was absolutely be motivated for if Georges isn’t ready.”
In other news about UFC 154, Dana White confirmed that UFC will pair Johny Hendricks with Martin Kampmann on the undercard undercard in support of a Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit main event. It would be interesting to see if the focus of the entire card falls on the welterweight division much like UFC 146 did with the heavyweights.
Comments
Damn I used to be such a huge fan of Condit... But after the Diaz "fight", it's getting hard to respect him.
This point scoring, fighting safe shit is what is killing the sport...
yeah same condit is being a real puss if you wanna be the champ you gotta prove your ready and willing to fight anyone. If you loose you werent suppost to have the belt anyways
First of all, Condit has not turned down a fight. If you actually read the above article, you would see that he said, "If UFC wanted me to fight somebody else, they’re the boss, they can ask me to fight and I would be up for it." Therefore, he is willing to fight anyone.
He is simply making the point that he would rather wait for his opportunity in November. If he fought Kampmann, who just fought, that fight wouldn't take place until at least September, and even if he won, he more than likely wouldn't be able to fight GSP in November.
But I guess the fact that he prefers to fight the #1 guy in his division rather than someone else somehow makes him a "puss".
So basically whitemare you're saying that Condit is a real puss because he would rather fight GSP than Kampmann?
Doesn't make sense...
Don't know what the whole "Condit is a point fighter" is about. He has two decision wins in his career, and probably has one of the lowest win to decision percentages(7%) in UFC history. Diaz himself has 19%. Condit is the furthest thing there is from a puss.
Let's look at his matchup with Diaz.
Condit was not going to beat Diaz in a boxing match. Everybody knows that. His only way to beat Diaz standing was going to be to use a diverse attack with a lot of kicks and knees. In order to do that successfully, he needed to stay out of range of Diaz's punches. Since Diaz always moves forward, Condit had to move laterally, and backward, and look for his openings to land combinations.
As good as Condit is on the ground, he also was not going to win the fight there. Diaz is just on another level. Watch round 5 if you need evidence of that.
Condit only had one option for a gameplan that gave him a reasonable chance to win the fight, and he executed it.
But I guess you would have more respect for him if, like a complete idiot, he went in their and went toe to toe with Diaz , which would significantly reduce his chances of winning the fight.
Personally, I don't respect idiots, but hey, to each his own.
I meant that to the guy on the top, my bad bro
Mousasi, I agree. It seems the only way Condit gets respect in the Diaz fight is if he fights studpid. People want him to fight Diaz's fight. That's like saying I wont respect Diaz in a fight with GSP unless he wrestles with him.
Condit fought smart. He used footwork and frustrated Diaz. He fought like Cruz, Mighty Mouse, Machida etc. Yes, it was exciting back when the UFC was akin to a toughest man contest and guys like Tank Abbott would stand toe to toe with their opponent and slug it out but I don't want that back.
The modern MMA is the sport with the highest demand on physical ability AND intelligence. Condit fought smart.
I understand your point, but to me you should not try to win by points, you should always try to go in there and finish the guy. It's a fight, not a tennis match. And don't tell me that with this gameplan Condit was looking to finish Diaz.
Mousasi just gave the perfect breakdown and reply to all the uneducated who think Condit fought scared.
@ THF - I understand Your point but I think tennis would be a lot better if you were allowed to go for the knock out.
Your post BruceLee is perfect, especially the first paragraph. I like the comparison with Diaz and GSP. If only all the haters could read that and see how pathetic they are.
Damn you guys are rough. THF is allowed to have an opinion. He doesn't have to like points fighting. And he's right when he said it's killing the sport. Ask any "casual" fan why they don't watch the sport like us diehards. They don't like the holding, running, or stalling. To some of us we can see the strategy and the effort. Others see it as avoiding a fight, which some actually do.... If there were more fighters trying to finish the fight, it would make for a far more entertaining sport as a whole. Decisions suck especially when you see so many get robbed on a regular basis.
@ Japanegro23 - I see the point you and THF are making and don't disagree. I think despite trying to be elusive Condit still landed a lot of punches. Look at Mike Pyle the other night against Josh Neer: backing up, trying to avoid getting hit and POW. Machida vs T. Silva. That's exactly what Condit was trying to do.
So, I agree with you but not people criticism about Condit refusing to stand and trade blows to see who's skull is thicker.
What Condit did was definitely smart and I'm in no way suggesting he should have fought any different. He's the fighter who has his family to look out for. You just can't expect everyone to like that style. That turns a lot of people off to MMA. What's worse is the true lay and pray. I love ground fighting. It's my favorite. The last Korean Zombie fight was awesome and the Pettis Guida fight comes to mind. Watching all the quick transitions is great to see but I hate when all a fighter can do is takedown someone and just control him. No damage is done. Just control. That crap is terrible.
Don't watch it then jizz rag
you are just mad because condit did what none of diaz's other opponents were smart enough to do and thats stick to a gameplan. he didn't get roped in with all of diaz's trash talk. he fought his fight and diaz couldn't answer to it. he is used to idiots just standing in fron of him without a chance to win
theyre gonna make an interinterim belt so gsp can recover and condit can sit on his backside.
So true why make him a intrim champ so he can sit back and wait for GSP to be fit. Why not just label him number 1 contender. Bet Dana and Joe ain't to happy with it with aload of fighters out injured at the moment
It was pointless him becoming interim champ if he refuses to defend the belt, he should have just became the #1 contender.
Kampmann vs. Hendricks is a good fight to work out who is next in line after Condit
Interim Belt is a strange thing - like having 2 champions. While one is inactive, the second should be Active.
I agree about defending the belt. Dana needs to say some Stronger words
People need to get off Condit bout "running" look at Ali vs foreman . Same tactic. And Ali is praised, which he should be. Condit has finished all but two. You have a chance at your dream as being a UFC champion. Are you really gonna put yourself in a situation where the other has advantage. What if Diaz punched his way to a decision? shut up
But yeah these fights on same card are sick dude!
I like Carlos Condit--as a fighter and as a person.
He is one of the best WWs in the division and he deserves the interim championship he now holds.
I have little patience with the whiners who did not like seeing NIck Diaz defeated. From that one fight, the whiiiiiiiiners make claims about Condit which have no basis in fact.
Let me tell you who deserves to win in MMA--the one who wins within the rules--however they can win. I don't give a rat's ass whether a fighter holds another down for 3 or 5 rounds. I don't care if a fighter backs up and avoids bull rushes the whole fight--if he wins he wins.
This whiiiiiining is getting very annoying.
Yes, he won--but not in an exciting manner. I would have preferred a KO, or failing that, a broken arm--but a decision--what a puss!
I can tell you this, every UFC wants a finish--but there is always a balancing act between risk and reward. This is the Art of MMA. If you take risks, you can reap large rewards--or punishiments.
Carlos Condit finished the undefeated Dong Hyun Kim in decisive fashion--but the same flying knee which worked on Kim didn't work on Nick Diaz. Condit would have loved to have finished Nick Diaz--but when was the last time Diaz was knocked out? Or submitted?
Sure, I like finishes and slippery subs just like any fan--but with MMA, you never know for sure what will happen next--and that's the way I like it.