A quiet intensity pulses through Carlos Condit. One that simmers just below the surface, yet is ever present and readily available when it becomes necessary to tap into. This attribute is the catalyst for his killer instinct inside the cage, and this ability to settle his opposition in brutal fashion has made him a fan favorite over the past decade.

Nevertheless, having spent the past year on the sidelines as he's rehabilitated a knee injury suffered in his last fight, shaping and corralling that intensity has brought his focus to new levels. The former interim welterweight champion refused to allow his physical situation to eat away at him from the inside and instead immersed himself in the challenges of his recovery. Where getting back to fighting form may be enough for some fighters, Condit is cut from a different mold.

The Albuquerque native is a firm subscriber to the notion of progression through sacrifice, and he'll push himself in both the physical and mental realms to produce the desired results.

“Recovery has been a tedious process, but I always had something to challenge myself with," Condit said in an exclusive interview. "Luckily, I had a physical therapist who really put me through it and not only helped me get my leg strong but kept the rest of my body strong as well, so I wasn’t coming into my training camp out of shape. It was certainly enough of a challenge to keep me satisfied.

“I kind of feel like I have been in camp this entire time," he added. "While I was initially training to get back, when the fight was announced it was just shifting into another phase of what I was already doing. Once the fight was announced then it went to watching tape on a particular fighter and working on particular things, but I’ve been training pretty intensely for months and months on end."

The former WEC welterweight champion has worked relentlessly to make sure he will return to the Octagon in peak form because relentless is the only way The Natural Born Killer knows how to operate. And with his long-awaited return against Thiago Alves at Fight Night 67 rapidly approaching, the time will soon come for Condit to be unleashed.

More than 14 months will have passed by when the cage door shuts behind him on May 30 in Goiania, Brazil, and he's eager to jump back into the fray full tilt to face an opponent who, much like himself, has built a storied reputation for bringing highlight-reel-worthy violence on fight night. The American Top Team representative is a former title challenger to the welterweight crown and has remained a divisional staple for the better part of the past decade.

Furthermore, Alves always shows up to throw down, and that's precisely what Condit loves about the matchup. He knows Pitbull will be trying to put him away from the opening bell, and the 31-year-old Jackson/Winkeljohn product couldn't be happier with those circumstances. Condit believes he's at his best when the stakes are at their highest and sees his main event tilt with Alves as the perfect scenario to put on an exciting performance for action-hungry fight fans.

“My intensity is right on point," Condit said. "I’ve had all that intensity bottled up for over a year, and I’m ready to get in there and unleash it. This is the perfect opponent to do that with because he’s coming at me. When the bell rings it’s going to be do-or-die. Either he’s going down or I am. That’s the way I like it. The more dangerous my opponent is, the better I fight.

“When I have that sinking feeling in my stomach before a fight and I have that dread that I’m going to step in there with a savage who is coming in there to hurt me…I have my best fights. I’m at my best under those circumstances. This is going to be a great fight. I’ve admired his fighting style for a long time. I want to be in fights the fans want to see, and this isn't going to be something the fans want to miss."

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.