USA TODAY: At UFN 27, Condit could revive title hopes by avenging Kampmann loss

INDIANAPOLIS – It’s been more than four years since Carlos Condit lost in his UFC debut.

Avenging that split-decision setback to Martin Kampmann (20-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) wouldn’t have had much importance to Condit (28-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) beyond personal pride a few years ago. But now it has become a critical fight for the former interim welterweight champion.

Condit faces Kampmann tonight at UFC Fight Night 27 (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET) at Indianapolis’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse. With two consecutive losses — one in a title-unification fight to champ Georges St-Pierre, the other against top contender Johny Hendricks — a third might not get Condit a pink slip. But getting back into title contention anytime soon would be out the window.

“A win over Kampmann puts me back in the title mix,” Condit told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “But first things first: I’ve got to take care of this guy. Martin is super tough, and he’s improved quite a bit since our last fight. I definitely have my hands full.”

Condit dropped St-Pierre and seemed to hurt him in their November fight. But the champ recovered and won a unanimous decision. Condit took Hendricks the distance in March and still thinks in a five-round fight he’d have found a way to beat Hendricks, who faded late.

The close losses don’t sit well with him, and now he’s backed into a corner.

“I have my back up against the wall,” Condit said. “Those fights were close in different ways. … So having victory slip through my fingers like that really gives me some fire to make sure I finish this fight.”

Kampmann also has been on the wrong end of a fight with Hendricks, who stopped him with a left hand 46 seconds into a November fight. A victory vs. Hendricks, which would have been his sixth in eight outings, might have put Kampmann into a title fight with St-Pierre. Instead, he went back with Condit into the contenders pack — a pack one of them can break out of today, when their first fight won’t matter anymore.

“I’ve gotten better everywhere,” Kampmann said. “In my last couple fights, I haven’t been prepared mentally. I’ve been a slow starter who had to get punched way too many times in the face before he started fighting. … That’s not a healthy way to fight in the long term.”

But if he’s past those mental blocks against Condit, he thinks he’ll have the edge.

“Condit’s one of the best guys in the welterweight division, so of course it’s a big challenge,” Kampmann said. “I beat him before. I don’t put too much (stock) in the first fight. This is a different fight, but I still feel very confident I’ll beat him again.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 27, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Carlos Condit)