Morning Report: Carlos Condit calls UFC 202 press conference ‘childish’

So if you haven’t heard, there was a bit of a dust-up at the UFC 202 press conference this week. Conor McGregor showed up late, Nate Diaz walked out, and then they started throwing water bottles and energy drinks at each other across a crowded room.

In the aftermath, both Diaz and McGregor are facing fines and, as is always the case when something newsworthy happens, fighters are weighing in on the incident. Among these fighters was former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Condit is no stranger to the antics of the Diaz brothers, having fought Nick for the interim belt back in 2012, and when asked about the incident while talking with Steve Cofield and RJ Clifford on their radio show SiriusXM Rush Fight Club, Condit had this to say:

“Honestly man, it wasn’t a good look. I thought it was childish. I think a fist fight would’ve been better than throwing a bunch of water bottles at each other. I think that would be a bit more classy in my opinion… I think that for years we’ve been trying to change public perception of the sport and I don’t think this incident did much to help that.”

For years the sport of MMA was an outsider sport trying desperately to shed the “human cockfighting” label unceremoniously bestowed upon it; and though MMA is now truly main stream, lingering concerns over the perception remain among the community.

Condit goes on to say that the antics aren’t just bad for the community, they’re bad for Conor McGregor, who appeared very emotional after the brouhaha, which is exactly what Nate wants.

“Both Nick and Nate definitely like to try and get in your head, try and get you to fight emotionally. When you see guys that kind of disconnect and don’t play into that game, they do very well against them. But when you get guys like- for instance, when Donald Cerrone fought Nate he was all riled up. He was pissed. Nate had him going and he went out there and fought like shit. I think there’s something to be said for that. Conor’s a proud guy and he’s not disconnecting like I said. I don’t think that’s a smart way to go into this fight against Nate.

“Who knows how much is real and how much is just for show? If I was in his camp I’d tell him to just let them do their thing. But on the other side of it, he’s great at getting into other people’s heads. It’s two guys that kind of play that game so I doubt that he’s going to step back his rhetoric or his antics because that’s who he is.”

Condit’s fight against Nick Diaz substantiates his claims. In that fight, despite the antics and trash talk of Diaz, Condit held fast to his game plan and earned a decision victory and the interim title. Whether McGregor can do the same is yet to be seen.

On the topic of Nick Diaz, Condit also opined about the welterweight champion Tyron Woodley’s refusal to fight Stephen Thompson and instead calling out Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre. Woodley has received a tremendous amount of flack from the MMA community adopting the “money fight” approach that is en vogue, something Condit thinks isn’t fair.

“I don’t blame Woodley. I myself waited for Georges St-Pierre to come back to take that fight rather than take another fight, for a similar reason. We have a short …

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