By Carlos Arias, The Orange County Register –
UFC welterweight contender Carlos Condit’s wife, Seager Marie, was a fight fan long before she met her husband. Her brother got her interested in mixed martial arts as a young girl and she has been a die-hard fan ever since.
“Sometimes after a long week of training I don’t want to watch a Strikeforce card or whatever UFC Fight Night is on,” Condit said. “I’ve been doing it all week and I don’t really want to think about it. She’s all about watching every single fight card. She gets what she wants and she wants to watch fight cards.”
So what would Condit, who faces Nick Diaz for the interim UFC welterweight title at UFC 143 on Saturday at 10 p.m. EST in Las Vegas on pay-per-view, rather be watching on TV?
“I watch a lot of Food Network,” Condit said. “I’m a food junkie.”
That’s right, “The Natural Born Killer” would rather be getting cooking tips from Guy Fieri, Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay than checking out some toe-to-toe action inside the octagon.
“I can cook. I’m a killer in the kitchen,” Condit said. “I do work. I cook all kinds of stuff. Of course, because diet is an issue and part of what I do, so most of it is healthy. I always like to do something new. I like to grab new ingredients I’ve never used and see if I can make something good out of it.”
Condit’s wife gave birth to their son, Owen, in March 2010, which has created new motivation for Condit.
“It can be difficult,” Condit said. “I mean, I think anybody who has kids knows. They can be a challenge, but it’s awesome. My son is my world. It’s that much more on my plate. It’s also a huge motivation when it comes to training and my approach to my career. This is not just a hobby anymore. I have a family to support. There’s no better motivation than that.”
Condit has developed black-belt skills in the diaper-changing department.
“I can do it (change diapers) with my eyes closed,” Condit said.
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre’s knee injury will keep him out until the end of the year, so the UFC decided to make the Condit-Diaz fight for the interim UFC 170-pound title.
“This is the toughest guy I’ve ever fought and probably the most talented guy I’ve gotten in the octagon with,” Condit said. “I expect a hell of a fight.”
“I don’t think it (fighting for the interim UFC welterweight title) takes anything away from it. Diaz is one of the best in the world. I get to step in there and have a five-round fight against Diaz to see who is better. That’s enough for me. Diaz is a guy I’ve wanted to fight for a long time. I like to put on a good show for the fans. Style-wise, this is going to be perfect for that.”
NOTES
St. Pierre said he believes Condit can pull out the victory, but he hopes Diaz beats Condit because he really wants to be the one to shut Diaz up once and for all.
“During UFC 137 (week) I felt like I had to walk around Las Vegas with my fists ready (to punch Diaz) because every time I came across him he wanted to fight there and then,” St. Pierre told UFC.com. “Every time the elevator opened (in the hotel) I needed to be ready to fight in case he stepped in. I was on edge all week. This guy is crazy. I am used to hearing (smack) talk from opponents, Matt Serra did it, Dan Hardy did it, and Josh Koscheck did it, but with Diaz he has taken it to another level. He and his coach (Cesar Gracie) have called me a coward and tried to disrespect my accomplishments. All that has done though is make me determined to beat him up. He will bring out the best in me, I will be 100 percent focused, like a bomb-expert defusing a time bomb. When my back is against the wall and I have no choice but to win, when I cannot lose to this person under any cost, that is when I am most dangerous.” …
Roy “Big Country” Nelson, who faces Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143, doesn’t exactly have the body of a Greek god, but he had an interesting take on drug testing in MMA in a recent interview with MMA Fighting.
“I’ve probably been tested for steroids probably more than any other fighter that’s ever fought,” Nelson told MMA Fighting. “It’s like a football program. There’s always going to be some guys where it’s like, yeah, you’re the one we’ve got to test, because then the program looks clean.” …
Dustin Poirier, a top-five featherweight, takes on undefeated UFC newcomer Max Holloway in the featured bout on the UFC 143 prelims on FX.
“I don’t care if he has one fight or 100 fights, I’m in this fight 100 percent,” Poirier said. “He (Hollaway) is a dangerous guy. He’s 4-0. I’m not underestimating this guy. I’m training like I’m fighting Anderson Silva. I’m over here and I’m not taking him lightly. I know how that happens to people. Just a year ago, I was in his shoes. I was getting into the cage fighting Josh Grispi, no one knew who I was and I was supposed to get destroyed by a top 10 guy. I went in there and I destroyed him. Nobody knew that was going to happen. He’s over there training and he’s thinking he is going to do the same thing to me.” …
Here are the UFC 143 main card bouts at 10 p.m. on pay-per-view: Diaz (26-7) vs. Condit (27-5); Nelson (16-6) vs. Werdum (14-5-1); Josh Koscheck (16-5) vs. Mike Pierce (13-4); Renan Barao (17-1) vs. Scott Jorgensen (13-4); and Ed Herman (19-8) vs. Clifford Starks (8-0). …
Here are the UFC 143 prelims at 8 p.m. on FX: Poirier (11-1) vs. Holloway (4-0); Matt Riddle (5-3) vs. Henry Martinez (8-1); Alex Caceres (6-4) vs. Edwin Figueroa (8-1); and Matt Brown (12-11) vs. Chris Cope (5-2). …
UFC 143 prelims Dan Stittgen (7-1) vs. Stephen Thompson (5-0) and Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs. Michael Kuiper (11-0) will be stream live on Facebook at 7 p.m.
