Robbie Lawler’s latest UFC thriller may send Carlos Condit to retirement

He had previously held the WEC championship and the UFC interim belt. Indeed, the statistics leaned in favour of Condit’s volume but in truth Lawler was efficient, landing less but landing with power.

Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit come together in celebration after a phenomenal battle during their UFC 195 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, January 2, 2016. “There were two winners tonight… let’s do it again.” said Lawler after his win.

And in the immediate aftermath, Condit is pondering whether the fantastic effort we saw on Saturday night will be the last we ever see from him in the Octagon. “It’s not really an emotional thing”. You know, he came real, real close to some of those spinning elbows, to hitting Robbie with that stuff. I have to evaluate, but there’s a possibility it might be my last one.

Unfortunately for Condit, despite a gutsy performance (video replay), he came up just short of claiming the official belt, as the ringside judges awarded Robbie a split-decision win (see the official scorecard here). “It didn’t go my way tonight, but I left it all in there and fought my ass off”. There’s clearly big fights awaiting the Albuquerque native if he so chooses.

Lawler was correct in that neither man lost, as Condit’s stock had to go up even in defeat. The UFC 195 main card and main event Robbie Lawler vs Carlos Condit fight begins sometime after 11:30 pm EST / 8:30 pm PST depending on how long the other four main card fights take, so plan your TV viewing accordingly. “I knew he was coming out with guns ablazing”, said Condit. Both fighters landed huge strikes and big knockdowns, yet both bounced up and kept fighting into a brutal fifth round in which they struggled to lift their arms for punches or defense. “I thought I won rounds two and five. Maybe not. But I just feel like if Robbie gets close enough to him – and I think he will – they’ll be in a phone booth … and when they get close, they’ll be banging”.

“I’ve got over 40 MMA and kickboxing fights… He’s tough as hell, he’s technical as hell, and it was an awesome fight”. He’s always, when he gets hurt he continues to go toe-to-toe. Ideally, he would most likely want to fight his opponent, who is 6-foot-2 from mid range so that he is not at any reach disadvantage and can not be grabbed too easily. “I’m fired up man. I’m ready to roll”, Miocic, 33, said. “We are two of the most skilled guys in the division, if not the sport, and I think we’re going to go in there and put on a display of violence and aggression that people won’t soon forget”.