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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"Honestly I kind of felt in a weird way lucky because it was 12 years into my career that this happened. It could have happened a long time ago and really set me back. At least I've accomplished quite a bit in the sport before this happened and ultimately something like this is inevitable in a sport like MMA... The knee feels very strong, it does feel very stable. I get a little bit of inflammation here and there, but that's pretty much the same with all my joints. I think that's the wear and tear of being in training camp. In my surgery, I got a cadaver graph and they put an Achilles' tendon in, which is actually like four times thicker than your natural ACL and after your body assimilates it, it is quite a bit stronger.
...I do take a lot of positives out of this. It happened, it is what it is, but I got to work on things that I wanted to work on as far as my personal development as a martial artist instead of training for a specific person or a specific game plan so I feel I improved in a lot of areas in my time off. I wrestled a lot. I really went back to some of my fundamentals in regards to my balance and positioning and my stance. Foot positioning, leg positioning, which part of that was some of the rehab because you really have to focus on the structural integrity of your lower knee and ankle and I think it has helped my overall game and performance."
-Carlos Condit focuses on the positives regarding his knee injury in an interview with FoxSports.com.
Penick's Analysis: Condit has an opportunity to plug himself right back into the Welterweight Title picture with a return win this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 67. The injury was certainly a setback, and it's meant a significant time between fights, as well as an even longer distance from his last major win. Just to put this in perspective, Condit's injury came in his first fight since beating Martin Kampmann in August of 2013. That was the same night that Donald Cerrone lost to Rafael dos Anjos, whom he'll now face this fall after winning eight straight fights. So it's been quite some time since Condit was a relevant fixture at the top end of the division because of that injury, but he approached his recovery in encouraging fashion, and he promises to once again be a contender upon his return.
[Carlos Condit art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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