MONDAY NEWS DIGEST: Condit’s early retirement talk motivated by concern for brain punishment, plus Anderson Silva, Miesha Tate

CONDIT’S RETIREMENT TALK MOTIVATED BY PRESERVING HIS BRAIN

Carlos Condit may be one of the most aggressive strikers in the UFC Welterweight Division, but he appears to be very cautious when it comes to the health of his brain.

Condit’s manager Malki Kawa appeared on Chael Sonnen’s “You’re Welcome” podcast last week and shared with Sonnen how diligent Condit is when it comes to protecting his brain.

“He’s one of the few fighters I have who goes in and checks his brain and checks the damage assessed and all that,” Kawa told Sonnen (via FloComat). “He’s just looking at it like this; he took a hard shot from Maia and it caused him to like cradle up a bit and give him that position for him to lose and sink the rear-naked choke. The way I look at it is, if a fighter comes to me and says, ‘Hey Malki, I don’t think I can take this much more damage, my head is the most important part of my body with my brain and I don’t think it can take any more damage,’ I can’t argue with that.”

Condit’s loss to Maia was the first time he’s been finished outside of a freak injury in a fight with Tyron Woodley in his UFC career. On top of that, in a career that dates back to 2002, Condit has not once been stopped by strikes. He has been in many three to five round wars in recent years. Kawa reflected on how that plays into his handling of Condit’s situation.

“If this was like his tenth fight and he took that damage and he didn’t have that fight with Robbie Lawler the way he did, or that fight with Nick Diaz or George Saint-Pierre, those were five round fights that went the distance and where there was damage given on both sides. If they didn’t happen, I’d probably talk him out of it, but he’s literally telling me that when he took that shot it caused me to do this.”

While Condit’s future in Mixed Martial Arts is uncertain, his next step won’t be made without careful consideration.

Hiscoe’s Analysis: Condit’s care for the health of his brain is commendable and hopefully a sign of future trend for fighters taking ownership of their health and their careers. Condit’s story demonstrates that it’s not just the devastating knockout blows that can cause concussions or brain damage. Condit hasn’t been knocked out in his career yet he is very concerned about the health of his brain and is considering retirement while fighters who have been knocked out multiple times are fighting well into their 40s (I’m looking at you, Dan Henderson). The damage from repetitive blows to the head, whether it’s sparring or in the semi-annual 25 minute battles Condit has found himself in routinely, can cause just as much damage as being knocked out, perhaps more.

Another interesting nugget from this interview was that one of the shots from Maia on the ground hurt Condit enough to lead to the finish of the fight. Maia isn’t known as a devastating striker, and it wasn’t evident from watching the fight live so it’s just further evidence that the danger fighters put themselves into each time they fight is greater than we on the outside can truly understand.

MONDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…

-MMAJunkie shared a touching story of Miesha Tate helping a six-year old girl who broke her arm get back down a mountain to get medical attention:

Miesha Tate saved a girl with a broken arm, and the thank-you video is beyond adorable

-Here is some video of Anderson Silva doing some sparring with his 17 year old son Kalyl.

-Abel Trujillo is injured and is out of his Sept. 17 fight with Evan Dunham at UFC Fight Night 94 from Hidalgo. No new opponent for Dunham has been announced.

Abel Trujillo injured and out of UFC Fight Night 94 bout with Evan Dunham