Controversy rises as Robbie Lawler defeats Carlos Condit by split decision

Poirier is now 19 – 4 with 6 wins in his last 7 fights, and charging to the top of the 155 pound division.

Condit, a former interim champion, said he had been weighing up retirement prior to the headliner at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The champion rebounded in the second by using his heavy hands to drop Condit. He had Condit staggered and wobbly on several occasions over the final five minutes, but the challenger valiantly held on to put the fight in the hands of the judges. “I wasn’t going to say no”. Lawler and Condit established a lofty benchmark for the best fight of 2016 with their thrilling draining slugfest. “Let’s do it again”. A right hook that landed flush to Arlovski’s ear buckled his legs, while another right then sent him to his knees, with a left landing to the temple on the way down for good measure, resulting in a TKO stoppage. “And, I’ve made a career out of and I’ve taken a lot of pleasure in proving doubters wrong”, Condit said. When looking at intelligence, you can’t deny Condit’s fight IQ.

Robbie Lawler, right, bested Carlos Condit in a brutal and electrifying five-round fight in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Condit looked to be the aggressor for most of the fight, with nearly double the amount of strikes compared to Lawler (176 vs 92). Lawler immediately offered Condit the opportunity in his first words after retaining the belt. It seems likely to be a long fight, much to fan’s likings, but it may be a little stale at times because of how close they are in skill level. “I was trying to live it minute by minute”.

Condit was able to reply to Lawler’s flurry with his own strikes and stood toe-to-toe with the champion. The fifth was a flat-out brawl. I’m not dejected. I just don’t know.

“There’s a possibility that might be my last one”, he insisted.

“Man, Carlos is so tough”, Lawler said. He’s never in a boring fight. “When he gets hurt he continues to go toe-to-toe”.

The first four rounds saw a contrast in game plans, with Condit (30-9) the busier man but mostly utilizing his diverse arsenal of kicks and punches to keep the fight at distance – and keep himself out of range of the explosive Lawler.

Condit had done just about everything in MMA aside from winning an undisputed UFC belt.

The only thing bad about the main event Saturday is that it wasn’t 15 rounds.

Told by UFC analyst Joe Rogan that he would if not struck by a meteor, Ohio’s Miocic said, “With my luck, I probably would”. Miocic only needed 54 seconds to dispatch Arlovski, boosting his chance for a title shot against the victor of Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez at UFC 196.