During his downtime from rehabbing his knee injuries, Carlos Condit had a 3-day press tour in the Philippines which was capped off with a public workout and a meet and greet session at the Trinoma Activity Center. It was a simple demonstration where the former UFC and WEC welterweight champion hit the pads and did some grappling, but it still drew thousands of Filipino fight fans crazy about Mixed Martial Arts.
Similar public workouts from UFC stars such as Alexander Gustafsson (photos) and Mark Munoz (photos) have also drawn huge crowds in the country last year, and despite having multiple plans for a UFC: Manila card in the past, the promotion has yet to push through with hosting an actual event in the country.
After seeing the tremendous response to his appearance, Condit suggested that the rabid fan base should start hitting up the UFC president online.
"I appreciate everyone for coming out here. The people that I’ve met through this trip was awesome, and I would love to be back," Condit said, in awe of the reception he got in Manila. "Be on Twitter, on social media, and keep tweeting Dana White. The support is obviously there."
As for recovering from ACL surgery, 'The Natural Born Killer' says he's targeting a bout next year, potentially against a guy like Matt Brown.
"My knee’s feeling really good. I’m almost 100%," Condit told Milan Ordonez prior to the public workout, "right now the only limitation I really have is I can’t wrestle, I have to be cautious of explosive stuff. But other than that, I could spar, kick box, hit the pads, roll in jiu-jitsu."
"I’m looking at Spring 2015, March or April. Nothing’s set in stone yet, but I think we’re looking at Matt Brown. That was supposed to happen last year and he got injured, had to pull out pretty close to the fight, so we’re going to try and make it happen next year."
Despite the jet lag and the busy schedule, Condit still went out of his way to spend a couple of hours signing autographs and taking photos following the open workout. It was an impossible task, but the 30-year-old tried to meet and accommodate as many Filipino fans in the venue as possible.
Check out some of BloodyElbow.com's photos above as Carlos Condit met with the local fan base.