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Carlos Condit ready to chase UFC title after dominant TKO stoppage in return

The last time fans saw Carlos Condit fighting in the Octagon, his knee unraveled on pay-per-view in the second round of his fight against Tyron Woodley at UFC 171.

It had been 14 months since that night in Dallas, and coming off a fresh ACL reconstruction, Condit made up for lost time, putting on a fiery and inspired performance against Thiago Alves on Saturday night in Goiania, Brazil.

Carlos Condit flexes during a weigh-in for a UFC event. (Getty)
Carlos Condit flexes during a weigh-in for a UFC event. (Getty)

After an opening round filled with troubleshooting and respectful prodding, Condit came unleashed in round two. The harbinger of Alves’ defeat came on a lead left elbow that was set up off a jab. The slicing shot came at Alves so quickly that it was virtually unrecognizable on the broadcast.

Even UFC announcer Brian Stann, who was seated cageside, thought the strike was an uppercut when viewed with the naked eye.

It was an unbelievable combination by Condit, and in true “Natural Born Killer” fashion, he wasted little time applying the pressure.

Credit to Thiago Alves, though; he did not go quietly.

It took numerous flurries from Condit, an all-out ground assault and plenty of back and forth between the two before the fight was eventually stopped.

The end came in between the second and third rounds, after Alves' nose had become so mangled by Condit's onslaught that he admittedly could not breathe. The ringside physician had no choice but to halt the action.

The stoppage wasn’t for lack of trying on Alves’ part, however, as he connected with more than a few powerful punches before the fight was waived off.

“I thought I could keep fighting for at least another round," Alves said. “But congratulations to Condit, he did a really good job, and the doctor stopped the fight and I have to respect it.”

The performance displayed by Carlos Condit, coming off such a lengthy layoff, was nothing short of amazing. He arguably lost the first round due to stiff counter punches and stifling leg kicks brought on by Alves.

But after a between-rounds pep talk from coach Greg Jackson, Condit came out with a stone-cold focus in round two and it didn’t take long for him to land the fight changing elbow.

“Well, after the feeling-out process, I just started thinking about the different things we worked on,” Condit explained. “We put together a lot of different tools -- a lot of different tactics. And the first thing that I threw [the elbow], that we have worked on, really, really worked.”

Alves was covered in at the end of the second round. He was understandably displeased with his performance after losing such an exciting fight in front of his home country fans.

The finish of Alves moves Condit into rarefied welterweight air. It was his 10th finish for the UFC and WEC, which makes him second on the all-time finish list behind only Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes.

Unfortunately for Condit, this win marks just his second win in five fights. So, a potential title shot is probably not in the immediate future of the UFC’s No.4 ranked welterweight.

Post-fight, Condit says he’s OK with whoever is next. He just wants to fight people that the fans want to see him fight.

With performances like Saturday night, “The Natural Born Killer” is a fighter who continues to sit atop MMA’s pound-for-pound most entertaining list.

And sometimes – as we’ve seen with his contemporaries – being noticed for your grit, is better than being noticed for your gold.

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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or