UFC 120: Doing What Georges St. Pierre Couldn't, Is Carlos Condit a Contender?

“The fact that Carlos Condit I mean he did to Dan Hardy what GSP didn't” were the words of Dana White while talking to Ariel Helwani of mmafighting.com and in a way Dana White couldn't have said it better.

Of course Georges St. Pierre showed the world that Dan Hardy wasn't able to mount any offense against him, according to fightmetric.com Hardy was averaging four strikes landed per round against St. Pierre. The statistics aren't out on Condit’s fight with Hardy, but Hardy definitely landed more than four strikes during that first round.

The one weakness Georges St. Pierre and pretty much every other fighter was not able to expose against Dan Hardy was his chin. Carlos Condit found the button and put Dan Hardy away with one punch for the first time in Hardy’s 32 fight career.

The interesting angle that came out of the co-main event at UFC 120 this past Saturday night is the simple fact that Condit isn't’t a fighter who is known for that one punch knockout power, but he showcased it today against a guy who is notorious for being able to roll with the punches.

“Well you know this definitely was the biggest fight of my career fighting on the co-main event, fighting Dan pretty much in his back yard and at the O2 Arena, this is the biggest one in my career so far” was what Carlos Condit had to tell the media about the gravity of his fight with Hardy at the post fight press conference. Not only was the victory over Hardy a giant stepping stone for Condit in the UFC, the fact that he won in such devastating fashion really puts Carlos Condit on the map.

Carlos Condit has a career record of 26 wins to five losses and the one striking thing about his record is the balance he has maintained with 13 wins by way of submission, 12 wins by way of knockout and only one decision victory. Carlos Condit is one of the most well rounded fighters in the welterweight division, a division that needs well rounded contenders for as long as Georges St. Pierre reigns supreme.

Asking for the fight with Hardy and beating Hardy at his own game put Condit in the mix at 170 pounds and although he isn't next in line for a title shot, he is probably only one or two quality victories away from that shot.

Condit is no stranger to titles, before coming to the UFC he defended the WEC welterweight title three times and only lost it because the division had been absorbed by the UFC.

That being said, Condit’s transition to the UFC up until the Hardy fight hasn't been the easiest either, his first fight against Martin Kampmann was a hard fought split decision loss, he went on to win another close split decision against Jake Ellenberger and was losing a very lopsided battle to young Canadian Rory MacDonald before getting the technical knockout with just 7 seconds left.

Condit’s record in the UFC looks good, but his fights were pretty close and if any of them had been losses it would have been a big blow to his career because MacDonald and Ellenberger are so young in their respective UFC careers.

In any case, Condit weathered what could be labeled as the “UFC jitters” and with this convincing win over Dan Hardy this past Saturday he could be on his way to super stardom.

Realistically speaking, Condit is probably at least two fight away from a title shot and there are a couple of guys that fit the bill as his next opponents.

Jake Shields is making his UFC debut next week at UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez against the well rounded Dane Martin Kampmann. Both Kampmann and Shields hold decision victories over Condit and both guys are pretty much fighting for the next title shot, or quite possibly a match up with fellow top contender Jon Fitch.

Jake Shields hasn't’t lost a fight in over 6 years and has been fighting above his natural weight at middle weight for his last three fights, Shields is known as a grinder and next to Georges St. Pierre has probably the best ground game in the welterweight division.

Shields would be a great fight for Condit it would give Condit the chance to avenge his loss. Shields would also give Condit a chance to test himself against an opponent that has the kind of ground skills that the top three welterweights in the UFC have right now, those being Georges St. Pierre, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.

Martin Kampmann is another very well rounded fighter that has beaten Condit, Jacob Volkman and often talked about up and comer Paulo Thiago. Kampmann once again brings the kind of tools to a fight that the top welterweights in the division are bringing and for Condit it would be a great test and a chance to avenge a loss.

Carlos Condit should be scheduled to take on the loser of the Shields vs. Kampmann fight taking place next week, the timing would be right and a victory over either of these guys would be a step in the right direction for Condit.

After a fight with Kampmann a fight and win over Jon Fitch would definitely set him up for the title shot he is most certainly working towards. Jon Fitch is 13-1 in the UFC and has won five straight fights since losing to the champion Georges St. Pierre in summer 2008. Fitch appeared to be in line for his next title shot with his recent win over Thiago Alves, but Dana White has put that possibility in doubt for Fitch.

A win over Fitch would pretty much guarantee Condit’s shot at the title and a win over Condit for Fitch would guarantee a shot for Fitch, unless of course the champion at the time is Fitch’s best friend Josh Koscheck.

Carlos Condit is definitely peaking at the right time and if the chips fall right, a lot of good things could be lying ahead of him. Carlos Condit is as well rounded of a fighter as you can get, he is respectful towards his opponents and the fans, he is well spoken and a great figure, just the kind of guy the UFC likes to promote, one just has to ask Georges St. Pierre about that.