It is no secret that today, for the most part, Americans are the leading mixed-style fighters in the world. It is these athletes who successfully set the tone for all representatives of MMA, showing phenomenal skill in the octagon cell and able to bring the audience to ecstasy with their vivid performances. This article will discuss one of these guys, whose thousands of people are going to watch live battles not only from all over the United States, but also from other countries. This person’s name is Carlos Condit. We will talk about his fate and sports career.
Birth
The future star of fierce martial arts was born on April 26, 1984 in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Carlos's mother has a nurse diploma and works in the field of gynecology and obstetrics. The father of the fighter is a high-ranking official involved in the work of the state governor’s apparatus. Carlos Condit came to martial arts at the age of nine. Initially, he was engaged in wrestling, and at the age of fifteen he fell under the wing of the legendary MMA coach Greg Jackson.
Mixed Battle Debut
The American's first rival in MMA fights was his compatriot Nick Roskorla. The fight with him was very successful for Condit - a victory by a suffocating trick. It happened at the Aztec Challenge 1 tournament in September 2002. Moreover, in order to defeat the opponent, Carlos needed only 52 seconds.
Carlos Condit also finished the next two fights very quickly, defeating Tommy Gauja in 45 seconds, and Antonio Zamora in 29 seconds. Of course, this beginning of a sporting career contributed to the fact that a promising fighter quickly noticed scouts and he moved to a prestigious organization.
Fights in WEC
January 20, 2007 Carlos Condit first performed under the auspices of this promotion. His first opponent was Kyle Jensen, who was eventually defeated by strangulation from behind. Already in the second battle, Condit enters the title fight for the vacant welterweight belt. This time he was opposed by John Alessio. And again, Carlos won ahead of schedule, thanks to which he became the champion.
Belt protection
Carlos Condit, whose biography is full of bloody confrontations, defended his title several times from the claims of rivals.
For the first time he had to fight in champion status against Brock Larson. The challenger lost the elbow lever. The second defense against Carlo Prater for Carlos also proved to be quite successful.
The last title defense took place on August 3, 2008 against the Japanese Miura. The fight ended ahead of schedule by an American victory by knockout. This fight was the last for Carlos in the organization, because soon it ceased to exist. Condit thus became the last WEC welterweight champion.
Transition to UFC
Carlos Condit, whose fights were repeatedly recognized as the best, held his first duel in the Ultimate Fighting Championship against Martin Kampman. Unfortunately, our hero was defeated in a close match, but managed to leave a vivid impression on himself both among the public and the leadership of the promotion.
In the second match under the auspices of the UFC, Carlos met with Jake Helenberg and defeated him with a judicial decision. Somewhat later, Condit had to abandon the fight with Paul Daily due to a hand injury.
This was followed by the award "The best fight of the evening." It happened on UFC 115, where Condit was able to knock out young and promising Canadian Rory MacDonald. Initially, in the first two rounds it was Rory who looked much more preferable, but already in the third five-minute Kondit was able to turn the tide of the fight and literally beat his opponent with elbows and fists.
On October 16, 2010, Carlos Condit (height, weight of a fighter - 186 cm and 78 kg, respectively) held a fight with Briton Dan Hardy. Already in the first round, the American was able to convincingly defeat the opponent, and this defeat for the Englishman was the first early in his professional career.
Condit received a knockout bonus in the fight against Ian Kim, whom he literally “turned off” with a knee kick and subsequent finishing. For the Korean athlete, this defeat was his debut.
February 4, 2012 Carlos wins the title of interim champion of the organization. To do this, he had to defeat the extremely dangerous Nick Diaz. But after a few months, Condit loses the belt to the then-current champion George St. Pierre. The fight turned out to be very competitive, but still the best was the Canadian. After the fight, George said that Carlos was the most difficult opponent for him for the entire period of performances in the cage.
To date, his last bout, Carlos spent January 2, 2016 against Robbie Lawler. That fight was also champion and ended in a victory for Robbie, but at the same time both fighters received a substantial monetary reward for the best fight of the evening.
As for the prospect of the American, on August 27, 2016 his battle is planned against the Brazilian martial artist Demian Maya. Who will be stronger, time will tell us, it remains only to wait a bit.