Questions lie ahead for Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit

Although clearly beat up himself, Lawler continuously threw heavy leather, proving not only that he was a fighter in the truest sense but a warrior. He took the fourth easily, something Lawler noticed.

“He’s our Evander Holyfield, man” White said, comparing Lawler to the former undisputed boxing heavyweight champion known for his heart-pounding bouts. As Dana White, who also gave the fight to Condit has said several times, never leave the fight in the hands of the judges. However, I favor Lawler here as he has suffered drastic punishment in the Octagon, and seemed to get better from it. The close nature of the battle was reflected in a split decision verdict, with Lawler emerging victorious. Condit felt he had three rounds in the bag, but it wasn’t the case. “I thought I won rounds two and five”.

Lawler wasn’t thinking about where he stood heading into the final round because he’s always thinking about finishing the fight.

White cautioned against reading too much into what a fighter says immediately after a brutal contest like Saturday’s main event, especially from a challenger that comes away on the losing end.

After staging the 2014 UFC fight of the year against Johny Hendricks and last year’s version against Rory MacDonald, Lawler set the bar high for 2016 with a spirited rally.

Lawler’s corner told him he needed to win the round to retain his title and he started with an urgency not seen earlier on. “His movement was awesome, he’s clever, he’s sharp, and he can take a shot”. “He’s everything they said he was”. I’ve beaten a lot of guys where I’ve been the underdog throughout my career.

DID NOT WASTE TIME Miocic, for his part, scored his first-round win over Arlovski at the 4:06 mark of the first round.

White said he heard Miocic – who looked like “a psycho”, White added – loud and clear, and he should be next in line for the title. For Arlovski, the loss snapped a surprising six-fight winning streak in which “The Pit Bull” proved he still has plenty of fight left. The champion responded in round 2, as he dropped the challenger with a right hand of his own.

Condit thought he had done enough to win the belt. Featherweight Brian Ortega, meanwhile, beat Diego Brandao in the 3:19 mark of the third round by submission as well via triangle choke. Great fights shouldn’t be marred by suspect decisions, fighters shouldn’t be afraid to go the distance and 10-9 shouldn’t be the score assigned to the vast majority of rounds, especially considering how distinctly different rounds often receive the same score. Their bout will be telecast only on Fight Pass the UFC’s digital subscription service.