“The Natural Born Killer” is back.
Carlos Condit is making his long-awaited return to the Octagon in a welterweight bout against Neil Magny at UFC 219 at the end of 2017, UFC Tonight announced Wednesday evening.
Condit (30-10), one of MMA’s most beloved fighters for his subtle personality and ferocity in the cage, hasn’t fought since a first-round submission loss to Demian Maia in August 2016. Eventually, many considered Condit retired, but he — somewhat surprisingly — said on social media recently he was ready to come back to fighting.
Prior to the Maia fight, the Jackson-Wink MMA product fought for the 170-pound title against then-champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 195 in January 2016, but came up short by controversial decision. Condit is 1-3 in his last four outings, dating back to August 2013. His last victory was a TKO win over fellow veteran Thiago Alves in May 2015.
Magny (19-6) is coming off a first-round submission loss to former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos on the UFC 215 main card last month in Edmonton, Alberta. The 30-year-old won 10 of 11 fights from February 2014 to March 2016, but he is 1-2 in his last three. He last defeated former titleholder Johny Hendricks at UFC 207 at the end of 2016.
UFC 219 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 30. Also official for the card is a bantamweight bout between Dominick Cruz and Jimmie Rivera and a strawweight bout between Cynthia Calvillo and Carla Esparza. The end-of-year show does not yet have a headliner.