Carlos Condit says Robbie Lawler rematch 'only fight that raises my pulse'

When last we heard from Carlos Condit, the JacksonWink fighter was pondering retirement after a razor-thin decision didn't go his way in his thriller of a UFC 195 main event against UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.

Two weeks removed from the early leader for Fight of the Year, Condit has yet to make up his mind.

But on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour, he said a rematch with Lawler would be the fastest way to get him back in the Octagon.

"An immediate rematch with Lawler is about the only fight that raises my pulse," Condit said. "That I can get interested in. Those other fights are a little bit more, the rematch with Robbie would be, boom, we'd have a bout agreement in the box real quick and we could get that done."

Beyond that, though, Condit, while recognizing he's still at the top of his game, is still pondering the potential long-term effects of the fighting life on his health, as well as his family's well-being, as he considers whether to continue a combat sports career which spans more than 40 fights.

"I still love what I do, I still have a lot of fight left in me," Condit said. "From a looking long-term, I have to do what is right for my health, for my family, things have been difficult the last couple years, my wife has had some health problems that are fairly major, and, you know, these fights are super stressful. Like I said, I absolutely love what I do. I gotta do what's right for my family. I'm still weighing my options right now."

Condit hasn't personally spoken with UFC brass regarding his next move, but indicated his management team has. For his part, Condit says he doesn't feel any great hurry to make a decision.

"I just spent six months at least training for that fight, went in there, had a war, I'm not in any rush to do anything right now," he said.

The former UFC interim and WEC welterweight champion says he's watched the fight twice over the past two weeks, and while he acknowledges the bout was close -- Lawler took two out of three 48-47 scores for the victory -- he still believes he should have taken the decision, a sentiment shared by many.

Condit remains frustrated that mixed martial arts continues to rely on the 10-point must system, which was borrowed from boxing but isn't a precise fit.

"The 10-point must system in MMA does not, it mostly doesn't work," Condit said. "Some fights it does, I guess, but mostly it doesn't because maybe a guy ekes out a round and wins the round, but it's very, very competitive. And the next round the other guy absolutely dominates, has a huge round. He's getting scored the same as the other guy, in the very, very close round. I think that they don't think they give enough 10-8s, that would make things a little more accurate instead of these 10-9 rounds constantly."

Those who don't want to see Condit step away from the cage could take solace in his reflections on the Lawler fight -- in particular the iconic moments just after the bout's conclusion, in which both fighters leaned exhausted along the edge of the fence, then raised each other's arms in victory in the middle of the Octagon.

Condit's words in describing moments sure to be among the most memorable in MMA history don't sound like those of a man who is ready to walk away from the sport.

"That moment is why I do this," Condit said. "I'm in this sport to win and for the glory and the money and all that. I'm not going to sit here and act like its not part of the reason I do this. But really it's about pushing myself to and past these thresholds and seeing really what I'm made of and testing myself against these other guys doing the are doing same thing. I did have a blast. I had fun. That's what I live for."