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“I’m the real deal and I’m ready for Condit. I’m ready for it, so it’s just a matter of getting (Condit) to agree, but (the WEC) definitely wants it to happen. It’s up to Condit’s camp to figure out what it wants. I’d like to fight as often as possible, but the way it’s looking, this is the fight I want to wait for. I don’t want to risk anything like I did before fighting Condit the first time. I was supposed to fight him when I fought Kevin Knabjan two months before, and I think I peaked too early for that. It’s hard to peak twice in two months, so if it comes out that way, that’s the way I’m going to have to take it.”

Those words came from WEC welterweight contender Brock Larson (24-2) just hours after his first round drubbing of Carlo Prater more five months ago at WEC 35. Since that time he’s stayed true to his word and has quietly waited for his rematch with division champ Carlos Condit to come to fruition.

Apparently, his patience is about to pay off.

The word on the street is that “The Natural Born Killer” will defend his title next on a WEC event in March against Larson. The two standout fighters first threw down at WEC 29 in August of 2007 with Condit securing an fight-ending armbar near the halfway point in round one.

The loss was only the second of Larson’s so far stellar career. His first setback came by unanimous decision at the hands of Jon Fitch back in 2005 at Ultimate Fight Night 2. On the other side of that coin, his hit list includes names like Prater, Shannon Ritch, Erik “Bad” Apple, John Allessio, Ryan Jensen, Keita Nakamura and others.

Of his 24 wins, only two of those have gone to decision, while 16 of his opponents have been forced to tap out. He knows how to finish fights. Carlos Condit definitely has his hands full, regardless of what happened in their first fight.

Here’s the champ’s thoughts on potentially facing Larson for a second time:

“It’s not ideal, because I have everything to lose, and he has everything to gain. The pool of contenders is a bit shallow. There’s not a whole lot of guys for me to fight. He’s a very tough guy, and just because I beat him before doesn’t mean anything. I’m going to have to be on my toes. I’m very motivated to fight him, and I’m looking forward to a very tough training camp.”

Condit’s last fight also came on the WEC 35 card in August. He successfully defended his title with a fourth round technical knockout win over Hiromitsu Miura in what is considered to be one of the best fights of 2008.

Larson trains with one of the real up-and-coming camps in the United States these days in Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. He gets day-to-day training with some of the top wrestlers in the sport and works with a team that is known for producing fighters with great cardio.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Condit was running out of gas late in that Miura fight. If Larson can avoid any early mistakes this time around, he may just have the stamina, strength and ability to become the next WEC welterweight champion.

We’ll find out in March … maybe.

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“I’m the real deal and I’m ready for Condit. I’m ready for it, so it’s just a matter of getting (Condit) to agree, but (the WEC) definitely wants it to happen. It’s up to Condit’s camp to figure out what it wants. I’d like to fight as often as possible, but the way it’s looking, this is the fight I want to wait for. I don’t want to risk anything like I did before fighting Condit the first time. I was supposed to fight him when I fought Kevin Knabjan two months before, and I think I peaked too early for that. It’s hard to peak twice in two months, so if it comes out that way, that’s the way I’m going to have to take it.”

– WEC welterweight Brock Larson tells MMAWeekly.com that he wants another shot at Carlos Condit’s title. Larson looked to be controlling the champ early on in their fight at WEC 29 last August, but the crafty Condit was able to secure a fight ending armbar midway through the opening round. Larson, who trains at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy with guys like Sean Sherk, Brock Lesnar and Nick Thompson, is a beast at 170 pounds. And despite the previous loss, poses some difficult problems for “The Natural Born Killer” with his strength and wrestling ability. Larson’s only other loss during his 26-fight career was to UFC number one contender Jon Fitch in a decision. He’s certainly worthy of another shot at the gold coming off three straight first round victories, but will the WEC give Miura a rematch with the champ first? If that’s the case and Larson plans on waiting for a rematch with Condit, he’ll be out of action for a long time.

Carlo Prater vs Brock Larson - WEC 35 Video
[See post to watch Flash video]

WEC 35 from the “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 3 has come to a close. And there was no shortage or exciting fights or bonus-worthy finishes.

Similar to the UFC, the Zuffa-based WEC promotion often passes out awards for “Fight of the Night,” “Submission of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” after each event.

Sunday was no different — the promotion rewarded several participants on the card for their performances. In fact, in a rare move two of the three title bouts on the card received “Fight of the Night” honors, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Here’s the list of fighters who earned some cold hard cash for their outstanding performances at WEC 35:

Fight of the Night: Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura and Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks
Knockout of the Night: Brock Larson
Submission of the Night: Brian Bowles

Each fighter received $7,500 for their efforts in addition to their respective base salaries, which you can check out right here. Not a bad cherry on top, but a far cry from the usual $40,000 to $75,000 dished out for bonuses at UFC events.

For those who missed it, Bowles’ guillotine came out of nowhere. It looked like he was going to get slammed by Damacio Page; however, in mid air he secured the choke, which was impressive enough to win submission of the night over the other two under card matches that ended with a tapouts.

A very explosive 37-second knockout from Brock Larson will not only earn him some extra scratch, but this impressive win should get him back in line for a shot at Condit’s title. It appears either Larson or a rematch with Miura is up next for Condit … there aren’t too many other options.

Either way, it should be another great welterweight title fight for the WEC.

For complete WEC 35 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

WEC 35: Stann vs. Cantwell is set to take place this Sunday Aug 3. from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The show gets underway at 9pm EST live on Versus.

CageToday.com will have WEC 35 Results live starting at 7pm EST.

MAIN CARD

• Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura (T)
• Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell (T)
• Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks (T)
• Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page
• Josh Grispi vs. Micah Miller

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Brock Larson vs. Carlo Prater
  Result:
• Blas Avena vs. Dave Terrel
  Result:
• Shane Roller vs. Todd Moore
  Result:
• Mike Budnik vs. Greg McIntyre
  Result: Mike Budnik defeats Greg McIntyre by Submission (Triangle Choke) at of R3.
• Scott Jorgensen vs. Kenji Osawa
  Result: Scott Jorgensen defeats Kenji Osawa by Unanimous Decision. (30-27 x3)

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WEC 35 Quick Results

Hiromitsu Miura (169) vs. Carlos Condit (169.5)
Steve Cantwell (205) vs. Brian Stann (201.5)
Marcus Hicks (155*) vs. Jamie Varner (155)
Damacio Page (135) vs Brian Bowles (136)
Josh Grispi (145) vs Micah Miller (145)
Carlo Prater (170) vs Brock Larson (171)
Dave Terrel (170) vs Blas Avena (170)
Todd Moore (154) vs Shane Roller (155)
Mike Budnik (154) vs Greg McIntyre (155)
Kenji Osawa (135.5) vs Scott Jorgensen (135.5)

Marcus Hicks came in at 156. Since this is a title fight, no one pound allowances are given. He was given one hour to drop the pound and eventually did, coming in at the 155lb.

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MMAmania.com has confirmed that Brock Larson and Carlo Prater have signed on to do battle in a welterweight tilt at WEC 35 on August 3, ensuring that the winner gets one step closer to a rematch with reigning 170-pound champion, Carlos Condit.

Prater — who is one of the few who has actually defeated Condit albeit in an ancient encounter back in 2004 — made his debut for the Zuffa-owned promotion against the “The Natural Born Killer” at WEC 32 this past February. Condit, however, would avenge his loss in short order, submitting Prater in the first round via rear naked choke.

Since that time, Prater has fought twice outside of the organization, picking up wins over Marcelo Brito and Garett Davis in the UWC and Raw Combat organizations, respectively. He certainly has his sights set on a rubbermatch with Condit, but Larson stands in his way for now.

Larson is coming off a high charged disqualification victory over John Alessio at WEC 33. The fight was stopped after Alessio landed a knee as Larson attempted a takedown. Larson, however, had one knee down as he took the shot, meaning that the blow was illegal.

He suffered a broken jaw as a result of the errant blow. And it added more fuel to the fire between the two rivals. In fact, after the official announcement was made with the result of the bout a melee between the two fighters and their camps broke out.

Larson and Alessio ceratinly have unfinished business. But with the “Natural” now out with a broken arm — and no longer fighting for the WEC — Larson has to focus on Prater and then Condit. Somewhere along the way perhaps he will get to settle the score with Alessio.

Again, the winner of this fight could still be next in line to fight Condit possibly later in the year.

Condit will actually be one of three champions also booked to fight at WEC 35, taking on former middleweight Hiromitsu Miura in a co feature fight of the evening. WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann and WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner will also compete, as well as several talented up-and-coming fighters such as Micah Miller, Cub Swanson, Damacio page and more.

This is a stacked line up of fights, which is set to go off from “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and air on the Versus network at 9 p.m. ET.

WEC 33 “Marshall vs. Stann” takes place tonight from The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Broadcast Live on Verses @ 9pm EST.

Main Card

Brian Stann (204) vs. Doug Marshall (204)
Ed Ratcliff (155) vs. Marcus Hicks (156)
Bryan Baker (184) vs. Chael Sonnen (186)
Steve Cantwell (203) vs. Tim McKenzie (203)
Hiromitsu Miura (170) vs. Blas Avena (170)

Preliminary Card

John Alessio (170) vs. Brock Larson (171)
Sergio Gomez (156) vs. Richard Crunkilton (156)
Ryan Stonitsch (171) vs. Alex Serdyukov (169)
Chris Manuel (136) vs. Kenji Osawa (134)
Scott Harper (186) vs. Logan Clark (186)

Brock Larson takes on John Alessio at WEC 33 March 26 from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada

WEC 33: Paulo Filho Vs. Chael Sonnen
March 26, 2008
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast Live on Versus

The Brazilian news site Tatame reported that Paulo Filho asked to have his fight rescheduled till June, due to a bout of depression.

According to Sherdog, it know looks like the WEC isn’t going to just let him out of his obligation one month before the fight.

Filhos manager Ed Soares responds:

“He went through some personal issues, and he basically pulled everything together. During difficult times you get to see who your true friends are, and everyone is coming together to help him get ready for this fight.”

Main Card

Paulo Filho Vs. Chael Sonnen
Doug Marshall Vs. Brian Stann
Ed Ratcliff Vs. Marcus Hicks
Steve Cantwell Vs. Tim McKenzie
Hiromitsu Miura Vs. Blas Avena
John Alessio Vs. Brock Larson
Sergio Gomez Vs. Richard Crunkilton Jr.
Ryan Stonitsch Vs. Alex Serdyukov
Chris Manuel Vs. Kenji Osawa
Logan Clark Vs. Bryan Baker