As Carlos Condit rises in the morning there are only a few things on his mind.
He wants to get his son Owen up and dressed, feed him breakfast, as he himself gets his first fuel of the day as well. He’ll kiss his wife and get dressed then he heads off to the gym for another grueling day of practice as he readies himself for the biggest fight of his nearly decade long fight career.
What’s different about this particular morning is Condit is waking up with a camera in his face.
As Condit is preparing for his UFC 143 showdown with Nick Diaz, he’s also being followed virtually 24 hours a day by the UFC Primetime crew that documents his every move for the special series airing on FX.
Going into the show, everyone wondered how Nick Diaz would react to the cameras? Would he even participate in the show?
Truth be told, Condit has always been just as private about his life as Diaz has ever been, and having cameras following him around non-stop leading up to this bout wasn’t his ideal scenario either, but for the chance to win UFC gold, it’s worth it.
“It’s probably about my least favorite thing to do,” Condit told MMAWeekly Radio when talking about the reality series. “I really don’t like it, but it’s part of the job. I’m just kind bearing it and getting through it. Hopefully, not only will it promote the fight and sell the fight, but maybe get me some opportunities in the future.”
It’s a frustrating job for Condit because for most of his adult life his only occupation has been fighting. Because of the UFC Primetime filming, Condit is now also one part actor. It’s not something he necessarily embraces, but it’s all for the greater good.
“If they miss something and they want you to redo it, it’s like how would you like me to re-crack that egg? It’s kind of tedious sometimes,” Condit admitted.
“They’re there filming me training for the most part. They were filming me doing what I would be doing anyways. Other than it kind of being a pain in the ass, it didn’t take away from my training at all.”
Condit’s main focus is the training because on Feb. 4 he will face possibly the toughest opponent of his entire career.
Nick Diaz is an enigma in and out of the cage. He’s hard to describe if you don’t know him, but those around him would consider him an extremely hard worker who will do anything for his teammates. A veteran of more than 30 pro fights, Diaz has faced some of the stiffest competition throughout his career and he never backs down from a challenge.
Funny enough, that almost perfectly describes Carlos Condit as well.
“I’ve been watching him for a long time. I like his style, I like how exciting he is, and I myself like to put on good shows and good fights as well, so I always thought a fight against him would be pretty spectacular,” Condit said about Diaz.
Leading up to this bout, both Condit and Diaz have been respectful of each other. Diaz and his trainer, Cesar Gracie, have complimented Condit in many ways, going as far as calling him superior to current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Respect or not, Condit is not a fighter that gets rattled in the cage. Even in the past with opponents like Dan Hardy and Brock Larson that tried to get under Condit’s skin to elicit a certain reaction, he stared back at them with the same steely gaze as any other opponent.
Of course Condit managed to submit Larson and knockout Hardy, both in the first round, but that’s not necessarily because he liked them any more or less than he does Nick Diaz.
Condit can flip the switch and unleash the animal inside once the fight starts, and when it does, he’s got one job to do: annihilate the man standing in front of him.
“That is a part of me, but I save that for competition,” Condit said about his demeanor inside the Octagon. “I save that intensity for when the cage door closes.”
And when the door closes on Saturday night and Condit is locked in the cage with Nick Diaz, it really does become kill or be killed and the better man will walk out with the interim UFC welterweight title.
Carlos Condit is more than confident that he will be the last man standing at UFC 143.
“I think styles make fights and I don’t think he’s unbeatable,” Condit said about Diaz.
“I’ve walked a long road. I’ve been fighting professionally for like nine years now, fought some of the best guys in the world, and if I beat Nick, I definitely deserve that belt because he is one of the best.”
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