On Wednesday, April 1st, beginning at 8 PM ET/6 PM PT, UFC: FIGHT NIGHT 18 will air LIVE on SPIKE TV from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee. On Friday, March 27th, the two fighters headlining the event, Martin Kampmann and Carlos Condit, took time to field questions from the media via conference call. PRO MMA (promma.info) was on the call in our continuing effort to bring you, our readers, the most complete and up-to-date UFC news possible.
UFC: FIGHT NIGHT 18
[podcast]http://promma.info/audio/ufn18.mp3[/podcast]
Q for Kampmann: How do you feel at welterweight now? How hard was it coming back from the loss to Nathan Marquardt?
Kampmann: I feel good at welterweight you know, the cut was pretty easy. And coming back to training, it sucks taking a loss but shit happens and you gotta keep your head up and get back in the gym.
Q for Condit: How does it feel about to make your first fight in the UFC after fighting for so many years?
Condit: I’m very excited. I think this is the natural progression for my career and I definitely feel ready.
Q for Condit: I know you made the change to Arizona Combat Sports. Why did you make the change to a new gym?
Condit: I was feeling a little bit burnt out in Albuquerque. I was looking for a change. The reason I went to Arizona Combat is they had a lot of guys who excelled in the places I needed to work on in my game.
Q for Condit: Are you still living in New Mexico and if so, can you talk about the sacrifices you’ve had to make in moving your training to Arizona?
Condit: No, I am currently actually living in Arizona, so I’ve pretty much got my house here.
Q for Condit: What particular parts of your game that they are good at that made that the right place for you?
Condit: Specifically, they had a lot of really talented wrestlers and that is the part of my game I have been working on quite a bit.
Q for Condit: Alot of people allude to and talk about the “UFC jitters” when fighters are making their debut in the organization. Does that concern you at all about perhaps coming into the big stage of the UFC and have it being an overwhelming experience?
Condit: Well, I’ve done quite a few big fights in my career so far. I’ve had a lot of pressure put on me defending my title (WEC Welterweight Title), especially when I defended it in my hometown. Pressure is something I’ve been able to deal with so I think I will be just fine.
Q for Condit: Have you done anything in particular to prepare for the style that Martin brings to the cage and how do you asses him as an opponent?
Condit: As far as an opponent, Kampmann is very very tough. He has a lot of experience, he’s done very well in the UFC, and he has some very well-rounded abilities. I’ve had some really good stand up training partners and I’ve been working a lot on my jiu-jitsu as well.
Q for Condit: Have you focused more on stand up this time than you would traditionally or has it been pretty much the same?
Condit: It’s been pretty much equal. He’s well-rounded, so if I focused on one more than the other I think that would be a mistake.
Editor’s Note: This is only a portion of the conference call question and answers. Listen to the audio above for the entire call.