Brutal misfortune in two recent fights means nothing for Carlos Condit. Ultimately, MMA is a results business. Condit (30-9) can't rely on rationale -- albeit justifiable -- should he lose to Demian Maia (23-6) in Saturday's main event and drop to 2-5 in his past seven fights. "Dwelling too much on the past, other than to learn specific things is counterproductive for me," Condit said. "I try to step back, look at it objectively, what could've been done differently in terms of strategy and approach.
"Looking at it in the context of my career and the time, effort and sacrifice I've put into it, it gets a little emotionally heavy."
At UFC 171, Condit tore his left ACL and meniscus against soon-to-be welterweight champ Tyron Woodley (16-3), a TKO loss due to injury. A 14-month layoff and win over Thiago Alves (21-10) later, Condit earned a title shot. He lost a heavily disputed split decision to then-champion Robbie Lawler (27-11, 1 NC) at UFC 195.
"I felt like I controlled the fight," said Condit, who held a 176-92 striking advantage over Lawler. "Thirteen years of doing this, on the grind, the ups and downs of the fight life, and I get this opportunity. Boom. One judge makes the difference between getting the title and not getting it."
A TKO win is all that separated those results from decision losses to eventual belt-holder Johny Hendricks (17-5) and future Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre (25-2). Condit acknowledges the upside of world-class competition is instant championship consideration with favorable outcome.
"A decisive win over [Maia] gets me a title shot. I don't see why it wouldn't," Condit said. "He's fought and beaten a number of really good guys in the division. That's all big-picture stuff. I have to focus on what I have control over."
Maia, 38, presents a predictable but no less simple puzzle to solve Saturday in Vancouver. He's a fourth-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and has won multiple world grappling titles. He's the only modern fighter in the promotion to win five consecutive bouts by submission -- a feat accomplished in his first five UFC fights.
"He's a phenomenal jiu-jitsu practitioner," said Condit, a BJJ brown belt himself. "In the past, especially when he was at 185, where he ran into trouble was when he tried to get away from that. Obviously, I want to play to my strengths: stand up and strike. I have to stay out of his death traps and push the pace. My cardio, my conditioning, is a weapon."
Condit, 32, is a former interim welterweight champion and held the WEC's 170-pound belt for almost two years until the UFC absorbed the division in 2009. His forward, tactful striking -- and the debatable loss to Lawler, to a degree -- endears him to fans. Condit's credentials and divisional ranking keep him in the title conversation. That's despite four losses -- all against current or future title-holders -- in six fights since 2012.
"For that last fight [against Lawler], man, I was almost obsessive about the training," Condit said. "That is detrimental. You need to get into that relaxed state where your body assimilates the gains. It makes those neuromuscular connections you've been working on.
"This camp, we've really made an effort to relax, shut down, switch off."
Saturday will be his sixth main event in eight fights. However accustomed to the stage, the ability to mentally unwind with so much at stake is admirable. A win over Maia at Rogers Arena in Vancouver could land Condit a rematch against the seemingly selective Woodley and yet another stab at the welterweight belt. A loss against one of the UFC's slickest submission artists plummets, if not altogether erases, those hopes in a deep, tumultuous division.
"There's definitely a lot on the line," Condit said. "This is somewhat of a make-or-break fight with regards to my title aspirations. After the fight going the way it did with Robbie, a win over Demian earns me a shot."