ROBBIE LAWLER REMAINS the top dog in the UFC’s welterweight division but he was pushed right to the edge tonight by Carlos Condit.
After an enthralling five-round main event at UFC 195 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, two of the three judges determined that Lawler had done enough to retain the belt he won from Johny Hendricks just over a year ago.
Lawler, who successfully defended his title against Rory MacDonald in the ‘Fight of the Year’ for 2015 at UFC 189 back in July, defeated Condit via split decision — 48-47, 47-48, 48-47 — in a bout that lived up to its lofty expectations.
Condit appeared to have had the better of the opening round after dropping Lawler with a right, but the roles were reversed in the second round as Lawler landed an even bigger right hand to send Condit crashing to the mat.
Lawler spent most of the third round – which would prove to be the swing round — circling on the outside and looking to counter, while Condit dictated the pace from the centre of the octagon. The fourth round followed a similar pattern, with Condit finishing particularly well with a frantic flurry of kicks, knees and punches.
Potentially trailing by three rounds to one entering the final frame, the champion’s corner put the pressure on Lawler to produce something special. Although Condit looked fresher, Lawler came out much more aggressively as he searched for a finish.
The final 90 seconds was a firefight as both men traded huge blows. Lawler undoubtedly had the better of the exchanges and although Condit appeared to be in trouble, the challenger made it to the bell, convinced that he had clinched the belt.
However, the judges put paid to his hopes of becoming an undisputed UFC champion for the first time. Afterwards, Condit sportingly paid tribute to Lawler while expressing his disappointment with the decision. For his part, the champion said he’d be happy to schedule a rematch.
In the night’s co-headliner, Stipe Miocic made a strong case to be the next challenger for the heavyweight belt when he took less than a minute to put away veteran former champion Andrei Arlovski.
After finishing Arlovski with his powerful right hand, Miocic told UFC president Dana White that he wants a shot at the winner of next month’s rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and former title-holder Cain Velasquez.
Earlier in the evening there was disappointment from an Irish perspective when Joseph Duffy suffered a unanimous-decision defeat to Dustin Poirier.
UFC 195 results
- Robbie Lawler def. Carlos Condit via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
- Stipe Miocic def. Andrei Arlovski via TKO (punches) after 0:54 of round one
- Albert Tumenov def. Lorenz Larkin split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Brian Ortega def. Diego Brandao via submission (triangle choke) after 1:37 of round three
- Abel Trujillo def. Tony Sims via submission (guillotine choke) after 3:18 of round one
- Michael McDonald def. Masanori Kanehara via submission (rear-naked choke) after 2:09 of round two
- Alex Morono def. Kyle Noke via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
- Justine Kish def. Nina Ansaroff via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Drew Dober def. Scott Holtzman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Dustin Poirier def. Joseph Duffy unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Michinori Tanaka def. Joe Soto via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Sheldon Westcott def. Edgar Garcia via TKO (punches) after 3:12 of round one
