“The opponent doesn’t really change anything.” That was Matt Brown’s response to the question of how it felt to be just days away from his fight with Carlos Condit.
The welterweight pair will collide at UFC Fight Island 7, two legends of the division in perhaps the most fan-friendly fight the UFC could make at 170lbs. Of course, the duo have been booked twice before, and to fans long awaiting their showdown, the opponent really does change everything.
Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press this week at a virtual media day to promote the event, Brown (22-17) admitted that the win over Condit might just be a little bit special after all.
“It’d be a good feather in the cap, that’s for sure,” he acknowledged. “But every fight’s big, man. Every fight’s the biggest fight. So to me he’s another guy standing in front of me. He just unfortunately got me at a bad time. I’m feeling the best that I’ve ever felt, my skills are coming together better than they’ve ever come together. I dialed in and I’m sharp, I’m on point. It’s gonna be a great night.”
Condit is likely to be dialed in as well. Late last year, he put a stop to a nasty five-fight losing streak, the worst of the former interim champ’s career. Brown, meanwhile, had a two-fight win streak stopped when he was finished by Miguel Baeza earlier in 2020.
Brown is well aware of how Condit’s fight with Court McGee back in October went. “I saw the fight, yeah. I thought he looked pretty good, a little sharper than he had,” said Brown. However, it comes down to the match-up, it seems. “I thought he had the right opponent in front of him, for him to be able to fight the way that he fought. I’m not that guy though.”
Of course, Brown expects the best version of Carlos Condit yet come Saturday. “But it doesn’t matter what version of Condit comes out there. I’m coming out myself, the best Matt Brown that you’ve ever seen. So what does it matter what Carlos Condit brings?”
While there are plenty of young names willing to throw down with Brown, “The Immortal” is at a point in his career where fans are likely to want to see him go up against other legends. One of those legends, TUF 1 winner Diego Sanchez, has been talking about a retirement fight of late. Brown actually defeated Sanchez with a hellacious elbow back in 2017.
He’d be down to serve as Sanchez’s finial opponent, however. “If he wants to, why not?” Brown replied when asked about the opportunity.
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.
