LAS VEGAS – Carlos Condit admits there was a time when maybe the fire didn’t burn inside him the way it should inside the octagon, but he insists that is absolutely no longer the case. Come UFC 264, he plans on showing it.

“I’m here to do the thing, and I’m f*cking excited,” Condit told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s media session at the UFC Apex. “I’m all in. I get an opportunity to throw down. I can push my chips to the middle of the table, f*cking winner takes all, and I love this sh*t. I’m f*cking super stoked, you know?”

Condit, 37, has been a fixture in the UFC and WEC for more than 14 years, but he ran through a very difficult stretch between 2012 and 2018 that saw him stumble through a 2-8 run and openly consider retiring from the sport.

However, he’s since earned back-to-back wins over Matt Brown and Court McGee and says rather than making any major changes to get the improved results, he believes being completely present was imperative.

“Just really wanting to be here,” Condit said. “I think there was a number of fights where I think I was like, you know, one foot in, one foot out – and like I said, for a number of reasons. But, yeah, I think I got past that.”

On Saturday, Condit (32-13 MMA, 9-9 UFC) gets a chance to continue that streak when he meets Max Griffin (17-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) on the ESPN-broadcast preliminary card of UFC 264, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena. It’s the first event in “Sin City” to take place with a sold-out crowd since the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and Condit believes being back in front of fans will certainly play to his advantage.

“When you pull something off or you land something, it’s like having several thousand hype men,” Condit said. “You get that instant feedback – not only just like like the tactile feeling of hitting somebody, but then just that audible roar of people’s excitement, it’s awesome.”

The featured attraction at UFC 264 is obviously the main event and the epic trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, but Condit remains one of the most popular figures in the sport, and his fan-friendly style has produced countless spectacular highlights.

With the most difficult days of his career currently in the rearview mirror, Condit says he won’t predict what remains on the horizon. But as for Saturday night, he’s ready to produce another special result

“I don’t know after Saturday what the f*cking rest of my life looks like or what my career looks like,” Condit said. “But Saturday night, I’m going to put my feet on that canvas, and I want to f*cking throw down.”