Photo by Steven St. JohnTribune

Tribune

Carlos Condit winces as he unwraps his wrist after a workout. Fellow fighter Arlene Vaughn is waiting to collect the cloth. Condit, a Cibola graduate, is headlining Wednesday night's World Extreme Cagefighting card at Santa Ana Star Center. "This is something I've dreamed of since I was a kid," he said.

Photo by Steven St. JohnTribune

Tribune

Mixed martial arts fighter Carlos Condit works out with cornerman Rob Monroe. The 23-year-old Condit will defend his welterweight title against Carlo Prater on Wednesday night.

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For the past six years, Carlos Condit's pursuit of mixed martial arts success has taken him all over the globe.

It only seems fitting that Condit, considered by many to be one of the top 10 welterweight fighters in the world, is poised to have the crowning moment of his career here in his backyard.

Condit (21-4), a 23-year-old Albuquerque native and Cibola High School graduate, defends his world welterweight title Wednesday night against Carlo Prater (21-5) as World Extreme Cagefighting comes to Rio Rancho's Santa Ana Star Center with arguably the biggest card in the organization's six-year history.

"This is something I've dreamed of since I was a kid," Condit said. "To have all the biggest names in the sport coming to town, and to have me headlining is just a dream come true."

The WEC, a smaller but vastly popular subsidiary of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, has quickly gained popularity by televising its events live on the Versus network and showcasing the lighter weight classes in mixed martial arts.

Condit's tilt with Prater is one of three title bouts on Wednesday night's nationally-televised card, with lightweight champion Rob McCullough and bantamweight champion Chase Beebe putting their belts on the line as well.

It is a monumental event for a city that has become a hotbed for mixed martial arts fighters. At the forefront of the movement for years has been MMA guru Greg Jackson's academy, a camp which has helped hone the likes of Diego Sanchez, Keith Jardine and current UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre.

But Condit says, with the amount of talent in the Albuquerque area, it's only a matter of time before some big names start coming out of his camp, Fighters-in-Training/No-Hold-Barred, as well.

"Those guys that you haven't heard of yet, you will soon," Condit said.

And Wednesday night is the perfect opportunity for gaining some exposure for Duke City fighters.

Condit's fellow New Mexico native and FIT NHB teammate Coty "Ox" Wheeler is scheduled to appear on the card, taking on 42-fight veteran Del Hawkins.

Wheeler has used MMA to pave a new path for himself.

FIT NHB trainer Rob Monroe says the 29-year-old Wheeler has the potential to turn some heads.

"Ox is incredible. He's an unbelievable showman," Monroe said. "He pulls off some stuff that's just amazing, and he does it here in the gym, but he's also able to pull it off in his fights."

Also on the card is Jackson prot‚g‚ Leonard Garcia, who gained fame for pushing UFC lightweight contender Roger Huerta to a third-round decision. Garcia is slated to fight Japan's Hiroyuki Takaya.

But for all the talent on display inside the cage Wednesday night, most of the attention will be on the main event, Condit vs. Prater.

At face value, the matchup is nothing more than a title defense. Prater, a seasoned veteran with more than 25 fights to his name, is making his WEC debut. Condit is facing his third challenger for the welterweight belt since becoming the champion at 177 pounds in March of last year.

But beneath all that is a bit of personal retribution for Condit, whose first loss as a professional came in Albuquerque, against Prater more than three years ago.

"While I've been training, I've kept in the back of my mind the reason why I lost that fight," Condit said. "I didn't prepare for that fight like I should have. I just keep telling myself that if I'm prepared, I'll be fine."

The WEC expects the MMA show to leave an indelible mark on the city of Albuquerque.

If Condit, Wheeler and Garcia get their way, the city of Albuquerque will know their names, too.