By: Joyce Lynda Valdes
Carlos Condit won his UFC 143 Interim Welterweight Championship belt. He earned his title-shot against Georges St. Pierre. He watched the fight against Nick Diaz and admitted it was close. And when he was asked to rematch, he accepted. Carlos Condit has done everything right. But do we reward him for carrying himself well, for testing clean on his drug tests, for risking his title-shot and giving Diaz another go? Nope. Mostly, we ignore him. We look past him as we did when we salivated over a GSP vs. Diaz showdown that was sure to happen. And we step over the guy who did his job and made no waves, as we rush to find the answer to: “how long will Diaz be suspended?”
Condit gave a poignant interview to Ben Fowlkes at SI.com and when asked if he feels on top of the mountain, [as he should] having won, Carlos replied:
“Honestly, I don’t. It was not as satisfying as it should be, with all this stuff that went on afterward.”
From all the fan and media frenzy generated by Nick Diaz retiring, Nick Diaz wanting a rematch, and Nick Diaz failing his drug test, there is an Interim Welterweight Champion who didn’t get high and who isn’t feeling high now. And that’s a shame.
There’s the company man who follows all the rules, performs well, and retires with a clean, sometimes exceptional record. But he’s a company man, so he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, because he simply did a job he was expected to do, as all company men are. Yet, if you stop to really think about how impressive it is for a man to show up sober and work day after day, until his body and mind are so worn from the grind and from age that he can no longer perform to his known capabilities and only then does he consider or accept retirement, then you might not be so bored by the company man. You might instead think, that man is a real fighter.
