Condit discusses UFC 137, Nick Diaz and St-Pierre
Carlos Condit’s life potentially changed forever on Sept. 7.
Condit was out to lunch after filming a new product commercial that morning when he learned that he’d been offered a UFC title shot against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137. Condit, overcome with emotion, asked for 15 minutes to compose himself and then accepted the fight. He then did what Diaz apparently could not, flying to Las Vegas to meet the media.
Megan Olivi caught up with Condit on Thursday morning in Las Vegas to discuss Diaz, the title shot and more.
HeavyMMA: Dana told us that you were pretty emotional when he called you to offer the fight with GSP. What exactly were you doing when he called, and what did he say to you?
Carlos Condit: I was having lunch at one of my favorite places in Albuquerque. So yeah, I basically cried in public, which was awesome.
Heavy: You said the first person you called was your Dad. You are a new dad and have a young son. How much did that play into the decision? Has that affected you emotionally in the fights you’ve had since your son was born?
Condit: Yeah, without a doubt. My boy is a huge motivation for me. Any time that things are getting tough, when I’m wanting to quit in practice, I literally think about him. I picture his face. There’s no greater motivation than that.
Heavy: You said earlier that you realize you guys have to do the media stuff and public relations. GSP says he hates doing it, but he knows it’s part of the job. Is it hard for you to understand Diaz’s decision to not show up? You’re an entertainer in addition to being a fighter, which means you have to do press.
Condit: Yeah. It’s just part of it. Especially at this level. If you want to be a champion in the biggest organization, you have to do it. If not, if you’re not ready to handle it, then you’re not ready to be a champion.
Heavy: Would you still like to fight B.J. Penn in the future?
Condit: Yeah, definitely. B.J. Penn is a great fighter and has a great legacy in the sport. That would definitely be a win that I would want on my record.
Heavy: One of the men helping you prepare for fights throughout your career was Greg Jackson. Greg has said he’s going to step out and not train either of you guys because he does work with both of you. Who will you be training with, and does this change your training schedule or your approach to the fight?
Condit: I’ll be training with Mike Winklejohn and Chris Luttrell, who is one of the founding members of Jackson’s. As far as my approach goes? Not really. I was training for BJ, who has great stand-up and a great ground game. He would probably have tried to take me down and impose his ground game against my wishes. It’s similar to what Georges is going to try to do. So the approach to both of them would be similar.
Heavy: We know you and Georges never actually trained together, but you shared some of the same training partners. We’re assuming you’ll stay in Albuquerque and Georges will stay in Canada?
Condit: Yeah, I imagine so. We’ve trained with the same people, but I don’t think anyone is going to try to give me any inside info on Georges. I don’t think he’ll be trying to get any inside info on me. He’s seen how I fight and I’ve seen how he fights. It’s no big secret.
Heavy: Georges is ranked number two in the world by most people, right behind Anderson Silva. But he gets a lot of criticism for not finishing fights. You’re known as a finisher with plenty of knockout power. Do you think that’s your biggest threat?
Condit: I’m always motivated to finish my opponents. That’s just the way that I fight. I think that’s something that’s definitely going to be in his head when he’s game-planning for me. But he’s fought a lot of very tough guys and a lot of very dangerous guys. He fought Thiago Alves, who’s a very incredible striker. He’s very, very dangerous. I don’t think his game plan is going to change up a whole lot.
Heavy: What can fans expect from this fight at UFC 137?
Condit: It’s going to be an entertaining fight. I’m not stepping into this fight to say that I fought Georges or to say that I fought for the title. I’m stepping into this fight to beat Georges and take that title. I’m going to use every one of my tools and all of the weapons in my arsenal to make that a reality.
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