Mike Winkeljohn says “When they shut that cage door, Carlos Condit is a killer”

Today’s “The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo” podcast featured an interview with striking coach Mike Winkeljohn, who talked about how Team Jackson-Winkeljohn Carlos Condit’s preparations have come for his UFC interim welterweight title fight against Nick Diaz this Saturday night at UFC 143 and why he is going to be the man who leaves the cage with a date against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre when he returns to action.

“When they shut that cage door, Carlos Condit is a killer. He has finishing skills — he has so many skills available to use. He can fight off his back, throw knees, and throw punches. He’s not limited — he has a lot of weapons available to him so he can finish people in many ways. (However) I don’t think anybody has too much power for Diaz because we’ve seen Diaz walk through so many things and persevere. But Carlos does hit hard and we want him to use that to our advantage. At the same time, there’s no doubt we don’t want Carlos to get overly excited, like everybody else has, and get drawn into the wrong game (standing long with him and only boxing). Could Carlos beat him there? That’s a tossup, but that’s Nick’s game, and Carlos is going to do something else. That’s the mental war that’s going to play out.”

- Mike Winkeljohn to Mauro Ranallo on The MMA Show