Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
The main event of the evening pits WEC’s final welterweight champion, Carlos Condit, against the dynamic Martin Kampmann, newly moved down to 170 pounds after a vicious lambasting at the hands of Nathan Marquardt. Kampmann will no doubt be looking to assert his authority in the smaller division, while Condit will be attempting to prove that he is ready for more than small-show gold.
Condit is the definition of well-rounded, with dangerous striking that is only eclipsed by his stellar submission game. One of his most notable advantages is his height and reach. At a rangy 6’1″, Condit has confoundingly long arms for the division, which makes it difficult for most welterweights to stand and box with him. Some of Condit’s biggest wins are against “Charuto” Verissimo, Frank Trigg, Brock Larson, Carlo Prater, and Hiroyuki Miura. One of his big strengths going into this contest is his adaptability.
Kampmann has an extremely potent and varied offense, but Condit’s well-rounded skill set means that he will never be a fish out of water, no matter where the fight winds up.Kampmann, who trains at Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture gym, put together quite an impressive resume at Middleweight, garnering wins over the likes of Jorge Rivera and Thales Leites, but decided to drop a weight class after Nathan Marquardt put on a 1 minute striking clinic in which Kampmann played the role of punching bag.
He was impressive in his welterweight debut, overwhelming Alexandre Barros with strikes midway through the second round. Like Condit, Kampmann is good both standing and on the ground, and will probably enter the Octagon with a sizable advantage both in weight and wrestling skill.
Ultimately this fight will come down to two things: body type and cardio. While Condit’s reach advantage and ranginess may prove problematic for Kampmann in the standup, Kampmann’s more powerful and compact frame should help him secure takedowns and maintain control. That simple fact, coupled with Kampmann’s vastly superior training regimen and training partners, should be enough to turn the tide of this one in Kampmann’s favor.
I see him physically controlling Condit on his way to a unanimous, but hard-fought, decision.
