Belonging in the UFC is an idea Condit wrestled with during his stretch of five consecutive losses between 2016 and 2018. Having been a part of the sport since the age of 15, he contemplated retirement a few times, but was driven by the desire to prove everyone, including himself, wrong.
He’s since cleared the psychological hurdles he previously faced, returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Court McGee at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs Aldana, and he intends to stay there.
“I definitely wanted to ride the momentum of that last fight,” he said. “I came out feeling good and wanted to get right back into training. I wanted to fight as soon as possible.”
Who knows if the Albuquerque native knew at the time that “as soon as possible” would mean once again traveling over 8,000 miles and 11 time zones away from home? But it’s for the best, as it seems the stars have finally aligned for this anticipated matchup.
While Brown has alluded to the fact that this fight could be his last, don’t expect either fighter to hold anything back. We can be assured that this throwback bout between two highly respected UFC veterans will certainly be a brawl.
Make sure to watch Condit and Brown at UFC Fight Island 7, Saturday, January 16, live on ABC and ESPN+ at 3pm ET/12pm PT.