Carlos Condit welcomes shot at Georges St-Pierre
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Carlos Condit heard about Nick Diaz missing his news conference to promote the Oct. 29 Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title fight against Georges St-Pierre, and wondered what the repercussions would be.
Condit’s manager took a more proactive step, lobbying for the Albuquerque fighter to step in if Diaz was unable to fulfill an essential duty such as promoting his fight.
‘Two hours later, I was told I had the fight,’ Condit said.
UFC President Dana White opted to scratch Strikeforce champion Diaz from the title fight.
In Condit, St-Pierre gets a 27-year-old who’s captured consecutive knockouts of the night by flying in to bury a right knee to the face of Dong Hyun Kim in July, and previously decking former title contender Dan Hardy last October with a left hand followed by a barrage to Hardy’s face on the canvas.
‘Carlos is much more dangerous,’ St-Pierre told The Times. ‘He hits harder, kicks harder, has more weapons [than Diaz]. He’s a very lethal striker and a good submission artist.’
Condit told The Times on Thursday in a telephone interview that he’s been ‘thinking about this fight for years, as [St-Pierre] won title defense after title defense [since 2006]. I knew if I was going to be the welterweight champion, i had to beat this guy.’ St-Pierre’s lone hiccup was a 2007 loss to Matt Serra that he later avenged.
‘That [loss] was somewhat of a fluke, but I believe I have the skill set to impose a lot of pressure,’ Condit said. ‘Words can’t express, it’s hard to articulate how excited I am.’
Condit joined the chorus stunned by Diaz’s actions in blowing off the news conferences. In a video released Wednesday, Stockton’s Diaz referred to a news conference as ‘a beauty pageant.’ Diaz also referred to his replacement as ‘Carlos Conduit.’
‘Looking at the situation, you have to shake your head,’ Condit said. ‘I don’t care what your job is, you don’t show up, you’re going to get fired. It’s part of our job to sell the fight.’
Condit was due to fight former two-division champion B.J. Penn on the Oct. 29 card.
White maintains that former kickboxer Condit (27-5) keeps the card credible. In June 2010, Condit beat Rory McDonald in a third-round technical knockout that qualified as that card’s fight of the night.
‘I’ve never been in a boring fight, I’m there to put on a show,’ Condit said. ‘I’m not stepping in to just say I competed with GSP. I’m there to take his title.’
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-- Lance Pugmire
