Carlos Condit has a lot to be thankful for these days. He has a lovely wife and a beautiful baby boy. He has the full support of his family in his fighting endeavors. He has purchased a house, and is in the process of gutting it to create his dream home. And he just defeated Nick Diaz to become the newly crowned UFC Interim Welterweight Champion. Not too shabby for a 27 year old guy. Let’s hope Carlos is taking this opportunity to enjoy all these blessings, and to reflect on the hard work and dedication that has gotten him to this point, because now the hard part begins.
So what awaits this promising, classy young man?
Well, a future date with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, a man who hasn’t tasted the bitterness of defeat in nearly five years, and who has dominated every other top welterweight put in front of him.
GSP is a daunting task for any opponent. He’s a great striker, can probably fight for ten hard rounds without getting tired, is a physical specimen, and uses wrestling to dominate his opponents better than anyone in the division, if not the sport. His takedowns are stellar, and his top game is suffocating. If looked at from a strictly stylistic perspective, one would not like Carlos’ chances. But so was he similarly discounted against Nick Diaz. It’s time to stop underestimating Carlos Condit.
An interim belt is about as useless as a football bat. Sure, Carlos gets the title and the accolade, and it’s certainly deserved, but in his mind he’s well aware that his belt is a phony one, created strictly due to GSP’s prolonged injury as a means of having an active champion for the UFC. He really wants what St. Pierre technically still holds: the undisputed UFC Welterweight Championship belt.
It might be a while before Carlos gets his chance though. GSP is going to be out for a while. The best case scenario is a November return to action. Carlos may not want to sit out for the next nine months on the chance that GSP will be ready to go. The smart money is on him taking a fight before GSP’s return. Nick Diaz’s camp is calling for a rematch. Perhaps that could be an option, but right now there’s lukewarm fan demand for an immediate rematch, even though it was a very close fight.
It’s possible that a new challenger could emerge very soon. Jake Ellenberger is set to face Diego Sanchez on February 15th. Another impressive win could thrust Ellenberger into a title shot, which would be a rematch of a very hotly contested 2009 fight between him and Condit. Diego is coming off two solid wins, and with a little creative ranking could also find himself in the mix. Aside from Ellenberger and Diego though, there really aren’t many top welterweights set to bang it out anytime soon.
Josh Koscheck barely squeaked by Mike Pierce. Jon Fitch recently got knocked into next week by Johny Hendricks. Hendricks needs another big win for title consideration. Jake Shields is coming off two straight losses. Martin Kampmann and Thiago Alves are set to duke it out soon, but both guys are a couple wins out of the title discussion. That pretty much leaves Nick Diaz.
If Carlos takes another fight, then Nick probably will too. If both are successful, that could set up a rematch, with the winner ready to roll again just in time to welcome GSP back to the Octagon.
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