UFC 195 finished with a classic. Main events rarely live up to the hype, but Saturday night’s featured bout surely did. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler retained his UFC Welterweight Championship with a thrilling and close split-decision win over “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit. MMA Junkie shared the official scorecards:
The fight had several momentum shifts, and it was punctuated by a fifth round that will go down as one of the best in welterweight history. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto thought it might have been the best regardless of weight class:
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter took it a step further:
The fight stats for the bout are interesting, but the numbers from the fifth round are especially notable. Per UFC.com, Condit landed 81 strikes to just 43 for the champion. By most accounts, Lawler took the final round because it looked as though he was on the verge of stopping Condit, but The Natural Born Killer proved to have a granite chin.
SB Nation’s Luke Thomas shared those sentiments:
Even with Lawler’s hard combinations wobbling the challenger, it’s hard to ignore Condit’s edge in volume. In fact, he had a huge advantage in strikes landed throughout the fight. Falling just shy of 200 strikes landed, Condit hit Lawler 198 times, while the champion landed 78 strikes. That’s a huge discrepancy.
Looking at those numbers, it’s easy to find fuel for opinions like the one former UFC fighter and current Fox Sports analyst Kenny Florian shared:
With that said, decisions aren’t awarded based on strikes landed; the judges go by rounds won. The third round was probably the toughest to call. No one was rocked, but Condit did outland Lawler 22-10 in the frame.
In any case, it was a great and competitive fight. Though I scored it for Condit, it was too close to call the decision a robbery. After the bout, the challenger seemed to feel slighted by the judges, per Bleacher Report MMA:
The classy champion gave Condit all the respect he earned in his post-fight interview. Per MMAFighting.com, he laid the groundwork for a potential rematch:
Lawler isn’t a matchmaker, and some fans are clamoring for Tyron Woodley—a man who defeated Condit—to finally get his shot at the gold. After this epic clash, fans might be more inclined to shell out dough to see Lawler vs. Condit II as a main event, though, than they would for Lawler vs. Woodley.
That could be all UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and UFC President Dana White need to book the rematch.
Miocic Smokes the Pit Bull
Stipe Miocic walked through former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in 54 seconds. The two men exchanged a few insignificant jabs and body shots, but the first shot of substance came from Miocic.
A hard right hand caught Arlovski on his ear, and Miocic followed up with a right and left hand that put the Belarusian down. Arlovski dropped to all fours, and Miocic dropped one more shot that forced referee Herb Dean to call an end to the fight.
Seconds after the win, Miocic ran over to White and began screaming at him, “I want my shot!” He was referring to a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The champion is Fabricio Werdum, but he has a rematch with Cain Velasquez already scheduled for UFC 196 on February 6.
With Miocic’s knockout victory over Arlovski, he has to be next in line for a shot at the winner of the UFC 196 main event. Bleacher Report MMA thinks it’s time for Miocic to get his crack at the belt, as well:
Here’s a look at all of the results from Saturday night’s card in Las Vegas:
Results
UFC 195 Main Card
- (c) Robbie Lawler def. Carlos Condit, split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
- Stipe Miocic def. Andrei Arlovski, TKO (Round 1, 0:54)
- Albert Tumenov def. Lorenz Larkin, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Brian Ortega def. Diego Brandao, submission (triangle choke, Round 3, 1:37)
- Abel Trujillo def. Tony Sims, submission (guillotine, Round 1, 3:18)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1
- Michael McDonald def. Masanori Kanehara, submission (rear-naked choke, Round 2, 2:09)
- Alex Morono def. Kyle Noke, split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
- Justine Kish def. Nina Ansaroff, unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Drew Dober def. Scott Holtzman, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass
- Dustin Poirier def. Joe Duffy, unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Michinori Tanaka def. Joe Soto, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Sheldon Westcott def. Edgar Garcia, TKO (Round 1, 3:12)
The Highlights
Westcott Pounds Garcia
Edgar Garcia’s only chance to beat Sheldon Westcott was with his striking on his feet. Westcott made sure Garcia didn’t stay on his feet for long. Early in the first frame, Westcott secured a takedown and started pounding Garcia.
For some reason, referee Chris Tognoni elected to allow the fight to continue for 30 to 40 seconds longer than it needed to. Garcia was defenseless with Westcott clinging to his back. Finally, Tognoni called an end to the bout, and Westcott was named the victor.
The Canadian’s celebration made UFC Europe nervous:
The victory was a huge one for Westcott. He had lost his first two fights in the promotion, so the win might have saved him from the cut line.
McDonald Chokes out Masanori Kanehara
It had been more than two years since Michael McDonald last competed in the Octagon, and his return had some anxious moments. Masanori Kanehara proved to be a better grappler than most expected, and McDonald had to fight through a serious side arm-triangle choke.
Just when it looked as though McDonald was in trouble, he popped out of the hold and immediately took Kanehara’s back. Without hesitation, the American sunk his arm under Kanehara’s chin to force the tapout.
McDonald is just 24 years old despite his eight UFC bouts and 20 total professional fights. His future looks bright, but he may need to guard against overconfidence moving forward.
Trujillo Squeezes Sims
When you’re strong, you don’t necessarily need to do things in textbook fashion. Tony Sims was outstriking Abel Trujillo, before the former made the mistake of going for a takedown.
Sims slipped a wild punch nicely, but when he lifted Trujillo, the powerful Des Moines, Iowa, native was able to lock in a guillotine. Trujillo used the butterfly to push Sims over and apply his weight and strong arms on his opponent’s neck.
It didn’t take long for Sims to tap. Both fighters were coming off losses, so it was somewhat of a must-win situation. Trujillo got the much-needed victory.
T-City Explains the Meaning of His Name
I was wondering what Brian “T-City” Ortega’s nickname meant. In his victory over Diego Brandao, Ortega showed us and proved why the moniker makes sense. The “T” stands for triangle, and that’s the brand of choke he used to submit Brandao.
After likely losing the first two rounds, the Gracie-trained Ortega put his Brazilian jiu-jitsu into effect and displayed some high-level transitioning. The winning sequence started as an anaconda choke, moved to full mount and within seconds became a triangle choke.
T-City baby!
USA Today and MMA Junkie’s Ben Fowles understands the nickname but still doesn’t like it:
Whatever his alias is, Ortega showed an excellent chin, poise and some awesome grappling. Keep your eye on this young man.
What’s Next
UFC Fight Night 81
The main event scheduled for the January 17 card in Boston could easily be a headliner for a pay-per-view. MMA fans will be delighted to know it’ll be on Fox Sports 1.
UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw will defend his title against former titleholder Dominick Cruz in what could be a classic battle. In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will return to the Octagon to take on former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez.
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