Carlos Condit: Mature and Ready
Mar 24, 2007
A championship bout is what a fighter waits his or her whole career
for. All the sweat, blood and tears are all for this fight.
Fighters take all the shadow boxing, the countless hours of
grappling and sparring, all for one 25-minute period.
Some fighters go their entire career without even getting the chance to swing for it all.
For Carlos Condit
(Pictures) (19-4-0) his chance comes
Saturday night as he faces John
Alessio (Pictures) (18-9-0) for the vacant WEC
welterweight championship from the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino.
Condit feels this is the best he has ever felt before a fight.
"He's right," affirmed Condit's trainer, Tom Vaughn. "I think he's readier then he's ever been."
Vaughn said that Condit is ready because he has matured.
"Over a period of time fighters start to mature," he said. "What they thought were hard workouts before aren't hard anymore."
Vaughn also believes the 170-pounders training habits have matured as well.
"Carlos won a lot of his fights in his career without really without training that hard," Vaughn said. "Now this is his job and he works very, very hard at it."
The WEC, which was purchased by Zuffa, picked up Condit's fighter contract from the WFA. Many people consider the WEC to be a smaller show and almost a minor league of the UFC. Condit feels that it is more like the NFL.
"I'm happy to be [with] the WEC," Condit said. "I don't necessarily think that they are building it as a minor league. They're building it as NFC vs. AFC."
And it's not like they picked Condit's name out of a hat.
"We have had offers for a while now," the fighter said. "We were just biding our time and waiting for it to be the right time."
It could be right because Condit is riding a four-fight win streak. His last two wins have only lasted a total of four minutes and 23 seconds. In Condit's last fight he submitted Kyle Jensen (Pictures) with a rear-naked choke at 2:10 of the very first round. Add to that a knockout of Tatsunori Tanaka due to foot stomp that took 2:13 of the first round.
"I wouldn't say they were my easiest wins, but I've pretty much dominated these fights," Condit said. "Just mentally I feel that I'm going to continue this winning streak."
Condit also has big wins over Renato Verissimo (Pictures) and a huge upset against Frank Trigg (Pictures) by triangle armbar.
The roadblock in Condit's path Saturday is UFC veteran John Alessio (Pictures). At WEC 25 Alessio also won by way of rear-naked choke over Brian Gassaway (Pictures).
"Alessio is very well rounded," Condit said. "I think he is going to try to bring everything he has. He is going to try and stand up a little bit."
Condit sees that as a not-so-wise decision.
"After a couple of exchanges he may think that he wants to stand up with me," predicted Condit. "But he is going to find out that he doesn't."
Vaughn once again echoed his fighter's statements.
"I don't think that he wants to stand and kickbox with Carlos," said the trainer. "He better be careful."
Condit's camp, FIT N.H.B, has treated this fight like any other, with the big exception that it is five rounds, not three.
"I've been really focusing on my cardio and muscle conditioning," Condit said. "I know I have the wind but sometimes you have the wind in your lungs but your muscles are so tired, so I've been training to combat that."
Even thought the fight is scheduled for five five-minute rounds, Condit doesn't think he will need that long.
"Hopefully it only goes one," he quipped. "But it's scheduled for five."
Although the title hopeful wishes it only goes one, his prediction for the fight gave neither time, nor round — just result: "I predict that I'm going to dominate John Alessio (Pictures)."
Some fighters go their entire career without even getting the chance to swing for it all.
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Condit feels this is the best he has ever felt before a fight.
"I feel really prepared for this fight," the Albuquerque fighter
said. "More prepared then I ever have for anything."
"He's right," affirmed Condit's trainer, Tom Vaughn. "I think he's readier then he's ever been."
Vaughn said that Condit is ready because he has matured.
"Over a period of time fighters start to mature," he said. "What they thought were hard workouts before aren't hard anymore."
Vaughn also believes the 170-pounders training habits have matured as well.
"Carlos won a lot of his fights in his career without really without training that hard," Vaughn said. "Now this is his job and he works very, very hard at it."
The WEC, which was purchased by Zuffa, picked up Condit's fighter contract from the WFA. Many people consider the WEC to be a smaller show and almost a minor league of the UFC. Condit feels that it is more like the NFL.
"I'm happy to be [with] the WEC," Condit said. "I don't necessarily think that they are building it as a minor league. They're building it as NFC vs. AFC."
And it's not like they picked Condit's name out of a hat.
"We have had offers for a while now," the fighter said. "We were just biding our time and waiting for it to be the right time."
It could be right because Condit is riding a four-fight win streak. His last two wins have only lasted a total of four minutes and 23 seconds. In Condit's last fight he submitted Kyle Jensen (Pictures) with a rear-naked choke at 2:10 of the very first round. Add to that a knockout of Tatsunori Tanaka due to foot stomp that took 2:13 of the first round.
"I wouldn't say they were my easiest wins, but I've pretty much dominated these fights," Condit said. "Just mentally I feel that I'm going to continue this winning streak."
Condit also has big wins over Renato Verissimo (Pictures) and a huge upset against Frank Trigg (Pictures) by triangle armbar.
The roadblock in Condit's path Saturday is UFC veteran John Alessio (Pictures). At WEC 25 Alessio also won by way of rear-naked choke over Brian Gassaway (Pictures).
"Alessio is very well rounded," Condit said. "I think he is going to try to bring everything he has. He is going to try and stand up a little bit."
Condit sees that as a not-so-wise decision.
"After a couple of exchanges he may think that he wants to stand up with me," predicted Condit. "But he is going to find out that he doesn't."
Vaughn once again echoed his fighter's statements.
"I don't think that he wants to stand and kickbox with Carlos," said the trainer. "He better be careful."
Condit's camp, FIT N.H.B, has treated this fight like any other, with the big exception that it is five rounds, not three.
"I've been really focusing on my cardio and muscle conditioning," Condit said. "I know I have the wind but sometimes you have the wind in your lungs but your muscles are so tired, so I've been training to combat that."
Even thought the fight is scheduled for five five-minute rounds, Condit doesn't think he will need that long.
"Hopefully it only goes one," he quipped. "But it's scheduled for five."
Although the title hopeful wishes it only goes one, his prediction for the fight gave neither time, nor round — just result: "I predict that I'm going to dominate John Alessio (Pictures)."
