Condit: Win over Maia gets me title shot
Carlos Condit says defeat of Demian Maia leads to title shot
Top UFC welterweight Carlos Condit appeared recently on SiriusXM Rush’s Toe-2-Toe with Brian Stann and talked about his upcoming fight with Demian Maia. The fight was originally scheduled for three rounds at UFC 202, but was moved to five rounds at UFC on FOX 21 on August 27th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Condit had spoken of retirement after losing a title shot to Robbie Lawler at UFC 195 in January, and mused that only a title shot would drag him back into the Octagon. But he thinks he has the next best thing – that a win over Maia will lead to a title shot.
“I feel like it gives me more opportunity to do what I need to do in this fight, which is create openings to implement my game against a very tough guy to fight,” said Condit, as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting.
“I think that a win in spectacular fashion over Demian Maia gets me the title shot. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Arguably Demian Maia could be the No. 1 contender. The reason he’s not is because of his fighting style, not the most exciting dude but he’s beat the who’s who in the division. So I think that a win over him without a doubt gets me back to a shot and an opportunity to get the belt around my waist.”
“He’s a tough fight. If there was any other way to get to No. 1 contender, I admit I’d probably want to take it too. He’s a tough style match-up for me. But I’ve never backed down from a challenge. It’s exciting to me to try to solve the puzzle that is Demian Maia with the tools that I have.”
“I think the difference in this fight and the outcome is going to depend on who can keep the pressure on the other guy in those resting periods. Who can push the pace and not let the other guy rest. I’m gonna have to go with Woodley. Robbie Lawler is a phenomenal fighter but he’s been in so many wars recently that I’m wondering how much of a toll is that going to take on him?”
A win over Maia could indeed lead to a title shot, vs. the winner of Stephen Thompson vs. the winner of Saturday’s Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley at UFC 201. And that’s if there are no injuries …
