The third time will hopefully be the charm for Carlos Condit and Matt Brown.
In what could potentially be Condit’s final bout for the UFC, the pair will throw down this Saturday at UFC Fight Island 7. That follows bookings in 2013 and 2018, both of which fell through. Now, Condit (31-13) enters the fight looking for his second straight win — while on the final fight of his current UFC contract.
“It feels good. This is the third full training camp I’ve put in to prepare for this guy, and I finally get to get in there and get it done,” Condit told Cageside Press about the feeling ahead of the fight during a virtual media day on Wednesday, to promote the event in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
In terms of how he changed his preparation for Brown over the years, Condit noted that “Even though I didn’t get to fight him those last times, the skills that I worked on are still there. So I didn’t have to build a whole new skill set.”
In fact, Condit sees this most recent camp for Brown as “refreshing things that we’d already done.” Which was a positive, in Condit’s eyes. The ground work was already there.
Condit vs. Brown is a fight fans have long wanted to see inside the octagon. It’s a match-up that practically screams violence, between two longtime fan favorites. At 36, there are a number of fighters Condit, a former interim welterweight champion in the promotion, would like to challenge himself against. Both veterans, and newer names.
“There’s always new dudes, there’s always more talent coming up,” he observed. “And I love to challenge myself. There’s a few guys that I’d like to fight this year.”
Of course as noted, the fight against Brown at UFC FIght Island 7 is the final bout on Condit’s UFC deal. Which means that the New Mexico-born fighter could pack up and take his talents elsewhere after this one. But after all these years in the UFC, would he be open to competing anywhere else?
“Yeah, I think so. I’d consider it. I love what I do, and if I can still get out there and get paid to fight people, I think I’d entertain the idea of fighting for another organization,” he told us.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that “The Natural Born Killer” will be the next fighter to sign with Bellator MMA or the PFL. But the possibility is there, and a lot of it may come down to how Condit performs on Saturday. The Jackson-Wink welterweight snapped a five-fight losing streak in October of last year when he defeated Court McGee.
As to how the fight with Matt Brown might play out, Condit had some advice for fans. “It’s cliche, but don’t blink. I feel like I’m going to get this thing done.”
Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown serves as the co-main event of UFC Fight Island 7 (UFC on ABC 1) this Saturday, January 16 in Abu Dhabi. The event airs on ABC in the U.S.
