Carlos Condit
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With the WEC’s next event just around the corner, media coverage has started to ramp up this week. As it does, the one thing that becomes increasingly clear is that the organization’s top fighters are mostly just pissed off that they aren’t in the UFC. USA Today wrote about the UFC’s uncertain attitude regarding the future of the promotion, including a quote from Marc Ratner that reflects what seems to the consensus opinion over at Zuffa:
“There is talk about having the heavier guys come on over (to UFC), and maybe anything under 145 (pounds, the featherweight limit) would be WEC and above 145 would be UFC,” says UFC vice president Marc Ratner. “It hasn’t been put into place yet.”
In the same article, Carlos Condit describes the UFC as “the big show” and says he hopes to move on up. Jamie Varner made similar comments to Sherdog, saying:
“I still got all the doubters out there, and that’s motivation to me,” Varner said. “All the people out there saying this guy in the UFC would beat you or this guy in Dream would kill you. I want to beat everyone that Zuffa puts in front of me and hopefully one day get my opportunity to fight a B.J. Penn and show the world what I’m made of.”
Ordinarily it would be a bad thing to have all your top fighters publicly stating their desire to go and fight somewhere else, but this only reinforces how smart it was of Zuffa to purchase the WEC and use them as a sort of minor league, as well as how dumb it would be to turn it into nothing but featherweights and bantamweights.
What I like about the WEC is that Zuffa has them available for free on a small cable station (Versus), but they still put on great fights between quality competitors. It’s a given that no one wants to stick around, much like minor league baseball. And just as there’s a very different, but still very real pleasure to watching minor league baseball, the same can be said of the WEC.
That’s why it would be a shame to see them turn it into nothing more than their repository for the lighter weight classes. That just privileges the larger fighters who would get to go to the big time simply because of their weight — Brian Stann, for example — while ignoring supremely talented guys like Urijah Faber.
I’d really like to see Zuffa go all the way with the minor-league format for the WEC. Keep all the weight classes, bring at least the top featherweights to the UFC, and make it a little more equitable across the board. That way people will really know what to think of the WEC. Instead of it being home to really great featherweights and lower, along with heavier guys who aren’t ready for the UFC, it could be all guys who aren’t ready for the UFC.
Imagine how much more fun it would be to watch guys mature in the WEC and then get called up to the UFC for their big chance. Not to mention, it’s much easier to promote them when you already own footage of their previous fights.
While they’re at it, maybe add a wacky mascot and some special theme events like “nickel beer night.” Just saying. It couldn’t hurt (yes it could).
Written by admin on July 31st, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Versus and Jamie Varner and Brian Stann and Marc Ratner and fight and Urijah Faber and Carlos Condit and UFC and WEC and Zuffa and Commentary and MMA.
FIGHTERS INCLUDE BJ PENN, MICHAEL BISPING, URIJAH FABER, CARLOS CONDIT
Las Vegas, NV – In late June, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization and World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) will send UFC and WEC superstars BJ Penn, Michael Bisping, Urijah Faber, and Carlos Condit across the globe to meet and greet the troops of the United States [...]
Written by admin on June 13th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Urijah Faber and ultimate fighting and armed forces and military and Carlos Condit and Michael Bisping and The Ultimate Fighter and UFC and BJ Penn and WEC and MMA.
WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING® ANNOUNCES CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLEHEADER IN AUGUST
CARLOS CONDIT, BRIAN STANN, AND JAMIE VARNER ALL DEFEND THEIR CROWNS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2008
LIVE FROM THE HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO IN LAS VEGAS
Tickets On Sale Now
Las Vegas – The World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) organization announced today that three world titles will be on the line when WEC [...]
Written by admin on June 4th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Jamie Varner and Brian Stann and Carlos Condit and WEC and UFC and MMA.
WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit — who is in Sacramento, Calif., this weekend to sign autographs for the “Faber vs. Pulver” event — is expected to put his 170-pound title on the line against Hiromitsu Miura (9-4) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 3.
It will be the third title fight of the evening, joining the lightweight showdown between 155-pound champion Jamie Varner against Marcus Hicks, as well as the 205-pound tile between WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann and challenger Steve Cantwell.
Condit is clearly among the best welterweight fighters in the world. “The Natural Born Killer” has won his last four WEC contests — all via submission — and only one of them made it past the first round. Condit most recently avenged a loss to Carlos Prater at WEC 32 in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., and will look to add Miura to his hitlist in August.
Miura, on the other hand, is on a two-fight win streak in the WEC, defeating Blas Avena (knockout) and Fernando Gonzalez via submission (strikes) in back-to-back fights. He has just one loss since 2006 (Jason “Mayhem” Miller).
Miura is very well rounded and is a stiff test for the champion.
WEC 35 is shaping up to be a “Night of Champions” event with three WEC titles expected to be up for grabs on August 3. These fights — and more — should all be made official later on this evening during the WEC 34: “Faber vs Pulver” on Versus at 9 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned for more details and fight card updates.
Written by admin on June 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit (22-4) signed a four-fight contract extension with the Zuffa-owned promotion, according to USAToday.com.
“The Natural Born Killer” — who was a spectator at last Saturday’s UWC show in Washington, DC — made the announcement during the event. It must be noted that prior to the extension that Condit had one more fight left on his current deal.
It’s clear that locking Condit to a long-term deal means that the WEC sees him as one of its premier stars in the organization along with fellow champions Urijah Faber and Brian Stann.
Condit, in fact, is undefeated in the WEC and is riding a four-fight win streak. His last defeated Carlo Prater via submission in the first round at WEC 32 last February.
He’s quietly one of most underrated welterweights in the world and is awaiting his next opponent.
Written by admin on April 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Props: MMAWeekly.com
Quoteworthy:
“I hope so, that would be an ideal scenario [he said about the possibility of unifying the WEC and UFC titles]. I definitely want to fight some of their (fighters). They have the top welterweights in the world, and that’s where I want to be, so I’ve got to fight those guys, right? Hopefully that happens, and I’m doing my job one fight at a time and see what’s on the horizon.”
WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit — fresh off a big submission win over Carlo Prater earlier this week — has his sights set on the top of the talent-laden UFC welterweight division. “The Natural Born Killer” is not overly excited about fighting the same fighters like Brock Larson and John Alessio going forward. With Zuffa owning the UFC and WEC perhaps Condit will get his wish sometime in the future, but probably not anytime soon.
Written by admin on February 15th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Carlos Condit and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and UFC Welterweight Division and Matt Serra and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and MMA.
Much like another famous Wild West gunslinger Billy the Kid, Carlos Condit (20-4) is blazing a trail back home to New Mexico. “The Natural Born Killer” headlines the WEC: “Condit vs. Prater” event on Wednesday, February 13, 2008, from the Santa Ana Star Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The WEC live event, which will feature not one, not two but three championship fights, is slated to air on The Versus Network at 9 p.m. ET. It marks the first time since the Zuffa purchase that the WEC will venture outside the confines of Las Vegas, Nevada to host an event.
Jiu-jitsu ace Condit defends his welterweight belt in front of his hometown crowd against the formidable Carlo Prater (21-5-1). The Albuquerque native looks to avenge his first ever pro loss at the hands of Prater. Prater hopes that history repeats itself as his previous victory over Condit was four years ago in Albuquerque.
In what promises to be an exciting lightweight championship match, Muay Thai knock-out artist “Razor” Rob McCullough (15-3) defends his title against submission specialist Jamie “The Worm” Varner (13-2). The two fighters have had a total of only five fights go the distance, so this one is likely to end early, either with Varner taking a nap or McCullough tapping.
Miguel Torres (20-1) comes into his bantamweight championship fight riding an amazing 13-fight win streak with three knockout wins and 10 submission victories. Champion Chase Beebe (13-1) has also been on a roll, winning his last six fights with four submissions and two decisions. Both fighters hail from Chicago, so Windy City supremacy is on the line as well as the WEC bantamweight championship.
The undercard features a hard-hitting fighter climbing his way up the bantamweight ranks, Manny Tapia. “The Manger” puts his undefeated mark on the line against undersized Antonio Banuelos in what could be a quick night of work for Tapia.
Leonard Garcia — who was in a UFC 2007 “Fight of the Year”-type battle with Roger Huerta — makes his WEC debut against K-1 and Shooto veteran, Hiroyuki Takaya, in a battle of entertaining featherweights.
Nineteen-year-old featherweight phenom and WEC newcomer, Josh Grispi, faces a stern test in his bout with the proven Mark “The Machine” Hominick. American Top Team member and brother of Ultimate Fighter Cole Miller, Micah Miller and former WEC featherweight title challenger, Chance Farrar, meet in a bout of once-beatens.
And the always-exciting Charlie Valencia locks horns with experienced Japanese fighter Yoshiro Maeda in bantamweight action.
Here’s the complete line up for WEC: “Condit vs. Prater:”
170lbs: Carlos Condit (20-4) vs. Carlo Pater (21-5-1) vs. for the WEC welterweight title
155lbs: Rob McCullough (14-3) vs. Jamie Varner (10-1) vs. for the lightweight title
135lbs: Chase Beebe (12-1) vs. Miguel Torres (18-1) vs. for the bantamweight title
135lbs: Manny Tapia (9-0-1) vs. Antonio Banuelos (15-4)
145lbs: Hiroyuki Takaya (9-4-1) vs. Leonard Garcia (14-3)
145lbs: Josh Grispi (10-1) vs. Mark Hominick (12-7)
135lbs: Del Hawkins (22-12) vs. Coy Wheeler (6-1)
135lbs: Charlie Valencia (9-3) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (22-4-2)
145lbs: Micah Miller (8-1) vs. Chance Farrar (5-1)
135lbs: Scott Jorgensen (4-1) vs. Jess Moreng (8-1)
This is going to be a fantastic night of fights — don’t miss it!
Note: MMAmania.com reader Stephen Roe contributed to this write up.
Written by admin on February 9th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Carlos Condit doesn’t resemble a fighter, much less a champion of a major MMA organization. He looks like a college student, normal and unassuming — certainly nothing at all like his nickname, “Natural Born Killer.”
But once he enters the cage, the WEC welterweight champion becomes something else entirely. Condit turns into a scowling, lethal mixed martial artist.
“I’m not your typical fighter,” Condit revealed in a recent interview at WEC.com. “I’m not a super muscular guy, I don’t have tattoos or a cool mohawk. People don’t give me my due as a tenacious or dangerous fighter. These people doubt me and its fuel for the fire.”
This Albuquerque, New Mexico, native takes the road less traveled. Instead of training with local MMA guru, Greg Jackson, and his stable of high profile fighter’s like Keith Jardine, Georges St. Pierre, Rashad Evans, etc., Condit chooses to workout down the street at FIT NHB.
Here’s another snip from Condit:
“I have a lot of guys out of my camp that you haven’t heard of, but you will soon. We don’t have a lot of big name guys, but we have the guys that you need to be successful. The formula that we’re using, and the tools we have at my school — that’s what has brought me the success that I’ve had.”
Condit’s rematch with Carlo Prater (one of his four defeats) on February 13 should prove to be an exciting bout. With all his recent success, Condit isn’t taking Prater lightly.
Another snip:
“He’s a good jiu jitsu fighter and has good Muay Thai. He’s pretty good in the clinch, a very talented fighter and a legitimate contender.”
Condit later went on to explain in the interview, “I’m leaps and bounds from where I used to be back then. It doesn’t haunt me at all. It’s not even in the back of my mind, really. It’s a motivating factor for sure, but that was about three and a half years ago. I hate to make excuses, but back then I did it more as a hobby. These days this is my livelihood and what I do for a living. I know the mistakes that I made and I’ve remedied those problems.”
The Santa Ana Star Center should be packed with many of the champ’s hometown fans on fight night. One of these attendees will be New Mexico governor and former Presidential candidate, Gov. Bill Richardson — Condit’s father is a high ranking staffer in Richardson’s cabinet.
Condit recently revealed his mantra for life. And he hopes that it will hold true for his rematch with Prater.
Final snip:
“We make our own destiny in this world. Your destiny is basically in your hands right now.”
Condit — unlike most of us — has second chance to chart his own destiny in the rematch with Prater next week on Versus. Don’t miss it.
Written by admin on February 7th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) is putting three championships up for grabs live from the Santa Ana Star Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 13.
Headlining the card will be Albuquerque native and WEC welterweight champion, Carlos Condit (21-4), as he defends his title against Thugjitsu’s own, Carlo Prater (21-5-1).
Condit is fresh off an impressive submission victory over Brock Larson at WEC 29. He looks to cement his place as the WEC’s top welterweight by avenging his first professional loss - that came at the hands of Prater during Fightworld 2 back in 2004.
Also on the card former UFC lightweight Jamie “The Worm” Varner (13-2) tries to dethrone WEC’s lightweight juggernaut, “Razor” Rob McCullough (15-3). Varner was successful in his WEC debut against Sherron Leggett but will have all he can handle against McCullough who is undefeated (9-0) since 2004.
Rounding out the title bouts will be defending WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe (11-1) as he takes on submission master Miguel Torres (19-1). Beebe won the WEC title by defeating Eddie Wineland at WEC 26 last March but may find Torres - who has only one decision loss in 20 fights - a difficult hurdle to overcome.
The event will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets go on sale Saturday, January 12 at noon and are priced at $185, $115, $65, and $35. Tickets are available at Gettix.net or by calling 1-866-442-8849.
The remaining bouts for WEC: “Condit vs. Prater” have yet to be announced. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for the all upcoming details.
*UPDATE* Manny Tapia (9-0-1) vs. Antonio Banuelos (14-4) has been added to the WEC lineup for February’s event.
Written by admin on January 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Overall, I thought it was a slightly above average show. I liked the first show much better simply because the fights turned out better. The outcome of fights isn’t something a promotion can control so I’m not blaming the WEC. It’s just the way things went down.
Maybe some blame can be assessed to the WEC for not finding a better opponent for Paulo Filho, but if you want to find his equal then you’re going to have to bring in Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, Rich Franklin, or Anderson Silva. That’s not going to happen and I think Joe Doerksen was a handpicked opponent to allow Filho to look dominant and help build up his name recognition in the States.
If that was the goal, then mission accomplished. If you had never seen Filho fight before then I don’t know how you couldn’t have been impressed with him after last night’s performance.
I do think some people are getting carried away though as I’ve read some message forum posts proclaiming Filho a good striker now. While his punches looked pretty powerful, his technique was not refined. He works hard on his striking but he still has a long way to go before he can be labeled a good, technical striker.
I was also disappointed by the quick outcome of the Larson vs. Condit match. I expected a war. But you can’t blame anyone because looking at it from a matchmaker’s perspective, there isn’t a bigger challenge to Condit currently on the roster than Larson. It was a great matchup that just didn’t go according to plan.
I am thoroughly impressed by Condit each time I see him fight. He’s going to be big time and will definitely be fighting in the UFC within the next two years. The WEC will need to bolster their welterweight division though if they want to make things interesting until then. If he can get past Larson that quickly then there’s no one who will pose much of a threat.
Jeff Curran vs. Stephen Ledbetter wasn’t anything special in my book but it was just good to see Curran in a televised match. It looks like there is a build towards a WEC featherweight title match between Urijah Faber and Curran. While I think Faber would win that match, it would still be pretty exciting.
Jamie Varner looked great in a dominant performance over Sherron Leggett. Varner is now 13-2 and should get to fight the winner of WEC lightweight title match next month between Razor Rob and Rich Crunkilton. That’s not anything I’ve heard, just my opinion.
Random Rants:
- I’m usually a big fan of Frank Mir’s work as a commentator. I thought he did great during the first live show several months back but I thought his game was off a little last night. It seemed like he couldn’t get his timing down.
- To piggyback on a point made by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer several months back, having Frank Mir do the post-fight interviews is just a bad idea. Mir towers over everyone and makes them look like midgets. Why not just pay some local Vegas sports reporter $2,000 per show to come in and do the interviews?
- Because of quick results to a lot of the fights they were able to show a lot of fighters in attendance. It makes the WEC seem a lot bigger. I also liked the interviews with Jens Pulver and Rob McCullough and how they promoted the next show. They did a much better job of future promotion this time than last but that’s likely because when they did the first Versus live show, there weren’t a lot of definitive details about the second show.
- Speaking of Pulver, if Mir is ever in a position where he can’t do a show because he’s training for a fight, Pulver would be an excellent substitute. He’s already done some broadcast work for the UFC and the IFL. If ESPN ever hired their own analysts for their coverage of MMA on ESPNews, Pulver would be a perfect for such a role.
- They should do an even better job with future promotion. Why is it that Joe Riggs is telling The Fight Network he’s fighting Jason Miller in October? Why do so many promotions get scooped on their own news? Maybe there wasn’t enough time, but it would have been cool if the report was addressed in some fashion.
- I am real curious to know the duration of the WEC’s contract with Versus. I just feel the product deserves a better distribution outlet. They have a lot of potential superstars in Condit, Filho, Larson, Urijah Faber, Jason Miller, Carlos Condit, “Razor” Rob McCullough, and Rich Crunkilton but I just don’t think Versus gives them enough exposure. I know a lot of people who still don’t get Versus and on systems that do carry it, it’s usually buried. I have DirecTV and it’s in between a tier of premium sports channels on channel 608. The non-premium sports channels (ESPN, ESPNews, NFL Network, etc.) are all in the 200’s. You can run all the promos of the fighters you want on Versus but what good is it if the only time people watch Versus is for the WEC? People really don’t even watch the NHL on Versus. Hell, there are already rumblings that the NHL could be going back to ESPN once their Versus deal is up.
- Prime channel positioning is important. My in-laws don’t even like MMA yet they knew exactly what the IFL was when they found out I was going to cover the show this past Thursday. They know what the IFL is because they watch it every Monday in spite of the fact they don’t like MMA. Why do they watch it? Probably because there is nothing but reruns of sitcoms or first run versions of scrub reality shows on network TV right now and the IFL is on channel 17 here in the Philly area. If you’re a channel flipper, you’re going to be passing the IFL. If you’re a channel flipper, odds are you aren’t going to find the WEC.
- If they aren’t looking into it already, Zuffa should be exploring other future television options for the WEC. I know it’s easier said than done, but I think the USA network would be great. The clearance is strong and the channel has prominent positioning on most cable systems. And of course, ESPN would be even better. You would think ESPN would have room for the WEC on ESPN II with WrekCage every Tuesday or Wednesday night along with a live monthly show.
- They should also do some kind of deal with YouTube that would put all the WrekCage shows on the Internet for free. They have a product that is very appealing to hardcores and it’s time to let everyone see it and get them all talking.
- The WEC champions are as follows: Chase Beebe at bantamweight (135 lbs.); Urijah Faber at featherweight (145 lbs.); “Razor” Rob McCullough at lightweight (155 lbs.); Carlos Condit at welterweight (170 lbs.); Paulo Filho at middleweight (185 lbs.); and Doug Marshall at light heavyweight (205 lbs.). That’s a pretty impressive lineup of champions. It could be a long time until McCullough, Faber, Condit, and Filho lose (if they ever lose in the WEC).
- Right now the only fighter currently on the WEC roster who poses even a small threat to Filho is Jason “Mayhem” Miller. If Filho gets past Miller, he’ll have smooth sailing until an inevitable debut in the UFC.
- There’s still a lot of talk that more additions will be made to the WEC roster consisting of a lot of the Japanese fighters from Pride. I still haven’t heard any names though. A non-Japanese fighter from Pride that I’d love to see is Zelg Galesic. Pride signed Galesic from Cage Rage and he debuted at Pride 34 and lost. However, the guy has a ton of potential and has earned the nickname of “Mini-Cro Cop.” He’s a prospect and would fit perfectly on the WEC roster.
- The WEC should have shown highlights of fights that took place on the preliminary portion of the card. Antonio Banuelos fought earlier on the show and has increased name recognition after being featured on TapouT. He could be a future title contender at 135 lbs. but there’s no promotion behind him coming from the WEC.
Written by admin on August 6th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Sherron Leggett and Jeff Curran and Urijah Faber and Chase Beebe and Antonio Banuelos and Versus and Jamie Varner and Stephen Ledbetter and Paulo Filho and Carlos Condit and Rob McCullough and Rich Crunkilton and Jens Pulver and WEC and Brock Larson and Joe Doerksen and Jason Miller and Joe Riggs and MMA.
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