When Jon Fitch was forced to pull out of his bout with BJ Penn at UFC 132, Carlos Condit lobbied to get onto the card, replacing Fitch against Penn. The former WEC welterweight champion will get his wish of being on the fight card but his opponent will not be Penn as he also withdrew from the fight card. Condit instead will face the undefeated South Korean Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1) on July 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“This is a great style matchup, with Kim’s Jiu-Jitsu and the fact that he likes to strike, it’s going to be a battle,” said Condit. “He’s undefeated and I know what a win over him will mean for my career. This is a great opportunity and a huge fight in terms of my climb towards the title.”
Condit (26-5) last fought at UFC 120 where he silenced a packed house at the O2 Arena with a first round knockout over Dan Hardy. Currently riding a three-fight win streak, Condit hold an impressive record of 8-1 in the UFC/WEC.
Kim is also riding a three-fight win streak after recently winning a unanimous decision over the very tough Nate Diaz at UFC 125 in January. Kim is a very strong and big welterweight fighter who holds the level of 4th Dan black belt in Judo which both should pose a great challenge to Condit.
A win over for either of these fighters will put them near the top of the division alongside Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Jake Shields, Thiago Alves and of course the welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
UFC 132 will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and will feature a main event between the bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz taking on the only fighter to defeat him, Urijah Faber.
