Carlos Condit to UFC: Where Does He Rank?

Many MMA sources are reporting that WEC Welterweight Champ Carlos "the Natural Born Killer" Condit is going to move to the UFC, and that the scheduled rematch with Brock Larson is cancelled.

Many people have been asking where Condit would rank in the UFC, and now the fantasy becomes reality, so the question is a very valid one.

Sherdog reports that his first opponent in the UFC will be Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 18 (Apr. 1, 2009). Kampmann, has been very impressive in many of his fights at Middleweight, with only a loss to Nate Marquardt on his UFC record.

With GSP, possibly B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, and Josh Koscheck all at the top of the division, and with former champs Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, the UFC's welterweights are very stacked.

Also adding Condit and Kampmann to the welterweight class of contenders only makes this division even more elite (Jake Shields, please?). Other top welterweights are Karo Parisyan, Mike Swick, Anthony Johnson, Dustin Hazelett, Akihiro Gono, Denis Kang, Marcus Davis, and Dong Hyun Kim. (I am assuming Diego Sanchez stays fighting at Lightweight.)

So, where does Condit fit into all of this?

Well the UFC will have some shakeout after the first part of 2009 as the following fighters all square off:

GSP -vs- BJ Penn (Jan. 31)

Fitch -vs- Ghono (Jan. 31)

Parisyan -vs- Hyun Kim (Jan. 31)

Johnson -vs- Fioravanti (Feb. 7)

Koscheck -vs- Paulo Thiago (Feb. 21)

Condit -vs- Kampmann (Apr. 1)

Hughes -vs- Serra (May 23)

I see Condit having some potentially outstanding match-ups depending upon the outcomes of some of the above fights.

Anthony Johnson and Dustin Hazelett would be great match-ups for Condit to prove where he would fit in as a contender in the UFC, but they might try to put him into the top tier if he gets past Kampmann which would mean either Koscheck, Fitch, or winner of Hughes/Serra.

I like the possibility of him facing the Hughes/Serra winner, I think that would give him more "name recognition" for the UFC to sell him as a legitimate contender in future bouts against the division's elite.

But Kampmann is no one to look past, as he has proven he can win in many fashions and is tough enough to hang in there with Condit.

I hope Condit is successful in the UFC; he is only 24 and has tons of potential; but I am sad to see the WEC drop another weight class from its ranks.