The holdup on Lawler vs. Condit speedy rematch

Lawler (27-10, 1 NC) was magnanimous in victory. “There were two winners tonight”.

Maybe on a different night. Both fighters were exhausted, they threw punches and kicked each other in the face.

And though it wasn’t exactly a highway robbery, many felt Condit should’ve gotten the nod.

Silva returned last January 31 for a decision victory over Nick Diaz at UFC 183 but was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for steroid use.

Four months later, Condit lost to Johnny Hendricks in March of 2013, and although he bounced back with a win over Martin Kampmann in his next appearance, a loss to Tyron Woodley in March of 2014 once again put the talented contender’s title hopes on hold. The complaints have some merit, as Condit landed 176 significant strikes to Lawler’s 92.

“You lock me in a cage with a fighter like Robbie, and Im going to have to rise to the occasion or its not going to go well for me, ” Condit said.

White said he’s also hesitant to commit Lawler to anything at this point. He ended up throwing 117 signficant strikes in the round, landing 62. And I’ve never been in this game to be in the spotlight.

“The UFC is going to tell me what to do”, he said.

“Even if you are winning, you got to still fight”. “You’ve got to win that fifth round”.

“I don’t even remember much about what happened in the third”, Lawler said.

For his part, Lawler is open to the rematch with Condit but there’s nothing official yet. “I don’t know. I came up short tonight”. Not everyone agreed with the decision, with a giant margin picking Condit as the victor, according to MMA Decisions. He said the decision to consider retirement isn’t one that is emotional or that came in the wake of a bitter defeat. The debate about the outcome instantly overshadowed the excellence of the contest, immediately shifting the conversation from the classic battle that just played out to the ongoing issues that plague mixed martial arts judging.

Lawler’s matchup with Condit only underlined his reputation as a tenacious veteran willing to do anything to preserve the title that he finally won 12 years after his first UFC fight. All of this had gone down in the second-tier Strikeforce promotion. In his comeback fight against Alves in May 2015, Condit put on a dominant performance through a second round TKO victory, via doctor stoppage.