Only two days into the year, and we may already have had 2016’s best fight. On Saturday night, a pair of UFC Welterweights put on a phenomenal display of martial arts, as well as an equally impressive showing of heart and determination. Today, we take a look at Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit.
It was flash against grit. Volume versus power. Video package spinning kicks against meat and potato one-twos.
We saw the challenger, Carlos Condit, throwing combinations of combinations, a tornado of ill-intentioned limbs coming against the king of biting down on the mouthpiece, the man-boulder champion Robbie Lawler.
The world of MMA is exceptionally guilty of throwing the word ‘war’ around far too liberally. Every bout between two great fighters gets the tag applied, only for people to walk away disappointed. Far from failing to live up to expectations, Lawler and Condit embraced them. By the third round, each man had dropped the other. By the fifth, both had been bloodied and hurt.
In a fight so close of course, there was bound to be controversy. Lawler retained his title via split decision. Many (including UFC President Dana White and the entirety of the FOX UFC pundits) felt that Condit was wronged.
The champion threw 177 strikes, landing 78 of those. Compare that to the output of the challenger, and people’s opinions start to make sense. Condit threw 504 strikes, landing 198.
The key, it seems, is in the third round.
Dropping the champion in the first, and pouring on offence as the Lawler’s back was against the cage in the fourth, Condit claimed round 1 and 4 as his own.
Dropping the challenger in the second, and coming back to smash vicious looping lefts into Condit’s head in the fifth, the champion possessed rounds 2 and 5.
Who, then, won the third?
Two of the judges (Derek Cleary and Chris Lee) gave it, and therefore the fight, to Lawler. Many watching, gave it to Condit. It, like so many other fights in MMA, comes down to how you personally score a fight. Do you look for quantity or quality?
The answer to that question more than likely defines who gets chosen as victor on Saturday.
In fights like this though, it’s hard to say anyone lost. Just like UFC 189, Lawler’s victory didn’t make his opponent a loser. That fight against Rory Macdonald is remembered as a ferocious back and forth affair in which both men showed such toughness that their ‘stock’ was mutually elevated. Such was the case at UFC 195.
“Carlos is a hell of a fighter,” Lawler said in his post-fight interview. “Comes from one of the best camps in the world, he had a great game plan. We battled it out, there was two winners tonight.
“Let’s do it again.”
Yet, despite Dana White showing an interest in taking a look at Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit II when asked, that rematch is far from a certainty. The loss of his second shot at the UFC Welterweight title seems to wobbled Condit’s resolve.
Revealing that thoughts of retirement had begun to creep into his mind before the fight took place, after being unable to claim the 170lb strap as his own, the ‘Natural Born Killer’ made it clear that he had some contemplating to do.
“There’s a good possibility this was my last fight,” Condit said in an interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani post-fight. “I’m happy with what I’ve done in my career, I’ve come farther than I ever imagined that I would in the sport. I’ve always fought my ass off, and tonight was no different.”
If he does choose to retire, then despite the loss, he’ll go out on a high. Winning the interim belt against Nick Diaz in 2012, the fans turned against Condit for not engaging in a drag em out brawl with Diaz. Bittered by the reaction, Condit for a while became rather unpopular in the sport, despite being an exciting fighter who has always put on captivating performances.
Now he’s given those fans the ‘war’ they demanded, meeting Lawler in the middle of the cage and attacking him for 25 minutes, ensures that if this is indeed the end for Condit, he’ll walk away respected.
