The retirement bug is biting several notable names this week.
On Thursday, MMA Fighting reported
that the former interim Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight
champ Carlos
Condit (32-14) is hanging up his gloves. Condit competed twice
in 2021, winning a decision over Matt Brown
and then losing on the scorecards to Max Griffin
for what could be his final bout. The 37-year-old fan-favorite
leaves the sport with a stellar career finish rate of 87 percent.
News of the legend’s retirement has since been confirmed by
other outlets.
Condit captured the aforementioned interim belt by topping Nick Diaz on
the scorecards at UFC 143 in 2012. An attempted unification with
Georges St.
Pierre did not go in his favor, although he had the champ hurt
due to a head kick in the third frame. After the loss to “GSP,”
Condit fell on hard times, losing eight of 12 matches, including a
razor-close championship defeat to Robbie
Lawler that most scored in favor
of the New Mexico native. Towards the end, “The Natural Born
Killer” halted a five-fight skid by topping Court McGee
and Brown on the scorecards in back-to-back outings. Condit earned
a whopping seven post-fight bonuses for his various battles through
the years, for the third-most in UFC welterweight history.
Condit rose to prominence due to his undefeated run through
World Extreme Cagefighting, where he stormed
through competition with five finishes in his five appearances.
Condit held the final title of that promotion before its absorption
into the UFC, defending it thrice against Brock
Larson, Carlos Prater and Hiromitsu
Miura in the span of a year. Before his jaunt through WEC, the
Jackson-Wink MMA staple made a name for himself by entering into
the Rumble in the Rock welterweight tournament in 2006, where he
dispatched Renato
Verissimo and Frank Trigg
on his way to the finals. Condit fell short to Jake Shields
in the finals in a five-round battle.