Now that three weeks have passed since UFC 143, which saw Carlos Condit become the UFC Interim Welterweight Champion by defeating Nick Diaz, a lot of the drama, which includes the highly debated decision in the main event between Diaz and Condit, and Diaz' post-fight positive drug test, has simmered down, Carlos Condit can get back to enjoying his accomplishment.
That accomplishment, is becoming the first World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champion to successfully win an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world title since the organization closed up shop in 2010.
Prior to "The Natural Born Killer" joining the UFC, he was on an eight fight win streak which included four title fights in the WEC, along with three straight title defenses.
His UFC debut, however, was not a successful one, as he lost a razor thin split decision to Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night: "Condit vs. Kampmann" on April 1, 2009, in a fight many believed should have gone Condit's way.
Since that setback three years ago, Condit has been on a tear, winning five consecutive fights over a who's-who of welterweights including Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, Dan Hardy and the aforementioned Nick Diaz, winning 13 of his last 14 bouts in the process.
Now, Condit finds himself at a standstill. That's because he is currently undecided as to what his next move will be.
He can either wait for current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre to finish up his rehab, or possibly defend his title against perennial top contender Jake Ellenberger, who finds himself on a six fight win streak and has not lost in over two years since dropping a split decision to, you guessed it, Carlos Condit.
"The Natural Born Killer" spoke to MMAmania.com about what it's like to be a WEC and UFC champion, as well as his future plans in the UFC's 170-pound division.
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In 2010, after the UFC absorbed all of the WEC's talent into its own roster, the promotion created two new divisions and crowned reigning WEC champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz the first ever UFC Featherweight and Bantamweight champions, respectively, without ever having competed in the promotion.
Anthony Pettis, the WEC's 155-pound champion, lost his chance at UFC gold when he was defeated by Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale, ending his hopes of a title unification bout against lightweight kingpin, Frankie Edgar.
Condit, the WEC's Welterweight champion, on the other hand, did not receive an immediate title shot nor did he receive a belt.
Instead, he reeled off five wins in the promotion, including "Fight of the Night" and "Knockout of the Night" performances in three consecutive bouts before earning his shot at grabbing UFC gold. Making the most of his opportunity, Condit defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 143 to join Frank Shamrock as the only two fighters to win a title in both organizations and the first to do so since the merger, something Carlos says he is very proud of.
"It feels great. When I got into the UFC, that was my goal, was to have two belts. I defended every time I fought for the WEC belt, so basically I'm still WEC champ because I never lost it and now I'm the interim UFC champion and it feels great."
After winning the interim title at UFC 143, Condit's next move should have been a title unification bout with UFC 170-pound champion, Georges St. Pierre. However, due to all the backlash and criticism received after his victory over Diaz, "The Natural Born Killer" accepted a rematch with the Stockton bad boy in order to silence his critics yet again.
However, one failed drug test by Diaz ended all hopes of the rematch.
Condit is now, once again, expected to face St. Pierre as soon as "Rush" is deemed fit to return to action and would love nothing more to get his chance at dethroning "GSP" and removing the interim tag. However, if it means too long of a wait, Carlos would prefer to stay active and potentially take another fight in the meantime.
"It all depends on GSP and when he will be back. I would like to stay busy. If he won't be back until the end of the year like December, then I may take another fight. But if it's sooner than that then I will wait for him. I'm good health wise, I had some minor stuff I was dealing with before UFC 143, and the fight just kind of aggravated things, but for the most part nothing serious."
It's widely believed the Jake Ellenberger punched his ticket to the top of the number one contender's list when he defeated Condit's training partner, Diego Sanchez, at UFC on Fuel TV on Feb 15, 2012.
With the uncertainty of GSP's return, Condit will keep playing the waiting game for the foreseeable future as the UFC 170-pound division plays itself out further as Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks are scheduled to tangle on UFC on Fox 3 in May in a bout that could produce yet another challenger for the 170-pound title.
For now, Condit may be sharing the top of the Welterweight mountain, but has no problems taking on any and all comers in order to prove he deserves to stand at the top all by himself.