Condit ready for quick return to the octagon
Just 104 days have passed since Carlos Condit’s most recent fight. When he steps into the octagon tonight in Glendale, Ariz., against Alex Oliveira, it will be the fastest turnaround of the Albuquerque welterweight’s UFC career. That’s by design. The sooner Condit can erase the memory of his Dec. 30 loss by unanimous decision to Neil Magny, the better.
In a phone interview, Condit said he’s not dwelling on the loss to Magny, which came on the heels of a 16-month layoff. Nevertheless, he said, he was eager to secure another fight.
“Yeah, it was (important),” he said. “The last fight, I think there were a lot of factors why I basically had a crappy fight. One of them could have been ring rust.
“I didn’t take much damage (in the Magny fight), so I was looking to get back in there.”
Condit (30-11) originally was scheduled to face veteran Matt Brown, but Brown withdrew due to an injury. Oliveira (17-51) stepped in just 10 days ago.
No major adjustment, Condit said, has been necessary.
“There’s some slight tweaks tactically that we’ve done, but we didn’t have to overhaul the game plan,” he said. “... They’re different fighters in some senses, but they’re both well-rounded, ultra-aggressive fighters.”
Aggressiveness was a quality Condit seemed to lack in the Magny fight.
Magny, a quality fighter in his own right, took Condit down five times during the three-round fight. Condit never even attempted a takedown. The strike stats were virtually even, but, though Magny never came close to a submission hold and though Condit repeatedly got back on his feet, the takedown deficit was decisive.
Condit prefers not to look back at the fight itself, but said he and his Jackson-Wink coaches have made
what he believes are the appropriate adjustments in preparation for tonight.
“I feel I’ve learned from the past,” he said. “I’m not looking back too much; what I’ve got in front of me is the most important thing.
“There were a lot of takeaways as far as what not to do and where I don’t want to be as far as my mental game. But I’m focused on what I’ve got right now, what I’ve got in front of me, and I’m really excited.”
An Albuquerque native, Condit lived and trained in Phoenix for about a year-and-ahalf in 2008-09 before coming home. He said fighting in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb, provides some familiarity.
“It’s kind of a second home for me,” he said. “I still have a lot of friends out here; I’ve got a lot of family out here. I’ve always loved Phoenix.”
He also loves MMA, a love that was reinforced by his 16-month layoff before the Magny fight.
“I enjoy the process,” he said. “This is what I love to do.
“It’s not always fun, a lot of times it’s a grind. It’s tough. But I enjoy what I do for a living.”
Condit absolutely was not going to retire in the wake of the Magny fight, one of his poorer performances.
As for what the future holds beyond tonight, Condit — who will turn 34 on April 26 — will take it as it comes.
“I’m taking it fight by fight,” he said. “I don’t know what the future has in store. I’ll be 34 this month, but I fully expect to go out there (tonight) and put on the best fight of my career.”