UFC
UFC Interim Champ Carlos Condit's return dependent on Georges St-Pierre's recovery time
Feb 21, 2012 - 9:50:19 AM UFC Interim Champ Carlos Condit's return dependent on Georges St-Pierre's recovery time

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC's welterweight division is in a state of limbo at the top, with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre rehabbing from injury and new Interim Welterweight Champ Carlos Condit unsure of his next move.

Condit and his camp have said they'd wait for a fight with St-Pierre, but have also said he'd take another fight in the interim instead of waiting. Now, according to comments made to MMAJunkie.com, Condit says he hasn't made a decision, but is waiting for a clearer picture of St-Pierre's recovery time.

"I would prefer to be able to fully gauge Georges St-Pierre's recovery time before I make any decisions on my next fight," Condit said.

For St-Pierre, he feels things are going well with rehab, and told Jon Anik on Fuel TV's UFC Ultimate Insider program last week that he's ahead of schedule. However, he also cautioned against attempting to return too soon.

"I feel very good," he said on the program last week. "I'm ahead of schedule. I feel sometimes I want to do a little bit more; but even though I feel good my graft is not fused properly, [it's not] 100 %. I need to remain calm; the danger with a lot of athletes is to push through the pain and try to go too fast. If I do so, it might loosen up the graft and I might have to start the old process again and I don't want to do that."

With that uncertainty still lingering, Carlos Condit's is left waiting and wondering.

Penick's Analysis: If St-Pierre is ahead of schedule and returns ahead of November, expect Condit to wait; however, if St-Pierre ultimately is out of action until late November or early December, I think Condit will fight this summer. Whether he takes a fight with Jake Ellenberger or not is a different story, and the UFC may feel they'll have a better option by that point. One dark horse possibility could be Nick Diaz, depending on how successful he is at arguing his plea in April with the NSAC. He's hired representation, and if he can either get a suspension significantly reduced or convince the NSAC that he should be allowed a medical exemption for having marijuana in his system, it would re-open the door to a rematch with Condit, a fight to which Condit has already agreed. Granted, that's a very, very unlikely scenario, but it would be a possibility if it played out that way.

[Carlos Condit art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]