Why Carlos Condit is the UFC’s most entertaining fighter

IT TOOK only two rounds for Carlos Condit to remind everybody in the world why he’s nicknamed “The Natural Born Killer”.

<> on May 30, 2015 in Goiania, Brazil.

THERE’S a certain kind of ferocity that Carlos Condit brings to the welterweight division that was missed during the 14 months he was away rehabbing an injured knee, but it took him only two rounds to remind everybody in the world why he’s nicknamed “The Natural Born Killer”.

From the moment Condit stepped out from behind the curtain with a steely gaze directed towards the Octagon until his final elbows cascaded across the bridge of Thiago Alves’ nose, it was clear that the 170 pound weight class not only missed but also desperately needs a fighter like him in the UFC.

At the end of the second round of their main event matchup on Saturday night, the Brazilian doctor stepped into the Octagon and took one look at Alves’ nose, which had been rearranged to look like a map of Lombard Street in San Francisco and decided that was plenty of reason to stop the carnage before things got even worse.

In 10 minutes of time spent in the cage, Condit landed 107 strikes with almost all of them aimed at putting Alves away. While there are certainly other fighters in the welterweight division who have the ability to finish fights, Condit just unleashes a special brand of violence that can sometimes only be viewed like a horror movie with one eye closed, just waiting for something bad to happen.

Thiago Alves went down to Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 67

Through 11 fights in the UFC, Condit has six finishes by knockout or TKO, two “Knockout of the Night” bonuses and four more “Fight of the Night” bonuses on his record. He’s accomplished all of this while facing nothing less than the absolute best of the best in the welterweight division.

Condit has taken on the murderer’s row of contenders, champions and former champions and maintained his top five ranking for the better part of the last five years. He’s done so while putting on some of the most entertaining fights the UFC has ever seen, and his absence was sorely missed.

Condit is one of a kind, and his win on Saturday night presents an interesting conundrum to UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva.

The victory technically moved Condit to just 2-3 in his last five fights with losses to Georges St-Pierre, Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley, while picking up victories over Martin Kampmann and Thiago Alves. On the other hand, Condit holds a win over No. 1 contender Rory MacDonald and who wouldn’t watch a fight with him and current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler?

Following the win, Condit said that his goal is to face whoever is left standing from the UFC 189 co-main event on July 11 and would that really be the worst idea in the world?

“I think my performance speaks for itself,” Condit said after the victory.

“I want whoever has the title in a couple months. Whether it’s Rory or whether it’s Robbie Lawler, I want that guy.”

This story originally appeared on FOXSports.com

Originally published as Why Carlos Condit is the UFC’s most entertaining fighter