Fresh off their crowd-pleasing, uber-violent wins over Rory MacDonald and Thiago Alves, respectively, the UFC announced via UFC Tonight yesterday that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will defend his title against Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 193 on November 14th in Melbourne, Australia. Said an official UFC spokesman:
With the next welterweight champion set to be determined in November, you’re probably wondering, “Well, who will be the next NEXT challenger?! I need to know NOW!!!” First off, calm down and stop being so goddamn needy, and secondly, the UFC is already one step and a few billion dollars ahead of you…
Fresh off their crowd-pleasing, uber-violent wins over Rory MacDonald and Thiago Alves, respectively, the UFC announced via UFC Tonight yesterday that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will defend his title against Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 193 on November 14th in Melbourne, Australia. Said an official UFC spokesman:
With the next welterweight champion set to be determined in November, you’re probably wondering, “Well, who will be the next NEXT challenger?! I need to know NOW!!!” First off, calm down and stop being so goddamn needy, and secondly, the UFC is already one step and a few billion dollars ahead of you…
After losing his title via a somewhat controversial split decision to Lawler in their rematch at UFC 181, Hendricks bounced back with a big win over the always dangerous, always gritty Matt Brown at UFC 185. Woodley, meanwhile, has not fought since nabbing a split decision win over TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum in a catchweight bout at UFC 183.
UFC 192 goes down on October 3rd from the Toyota Center in Houston Texas and is headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson.
And finally in fight booking news, it appears that Diego Sanchez will be dropping down to featherweight for his next contest, where he will be given no easy test against former title challenger Ricardo Lamas at Fight Night 79. Sanchez, who has changed weight classes to save his career about half a dozen times by now, has not fought since stealing an absolutely unforgivable split decision win away from Ross Pearson back in June of 2014 using his patented “Swing Wildly, Land Nothing, But Keep Pressing Forward” attack (more commonly known as “Come at me, bro”-fu).
Lamas last fought in the main event of Fight Night 63, where he was TKO’d by Chad Mendes in the first round, snapping a two-fight win streak he had built since his title loss to Jose Aldo and proving once and for all that Full Training Camp Mendes > Motivated BJ Penn > Chuck Liddell With That Look in His Eyes. I don’t make up the rules, Nation. I just think them up and write them down.
Featuring a main event matchup between Matt Brown and Kelvin Gastelum, Fight Night 79 takes place on November 21st at the Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
A welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit is being targeted to headline a December 5 UFC pay-per-view event in Calgary.
Multiple sources close to the fight confirmed the news with Bleacher Report.
Our sources also indicated tha…
A welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit is being targeted to headline a December 5 UFC pay-per-view event in Calgary.
Multiple sources close to the fight confirmed the news with Bleacher Report.
Our sources also indicated that a top contender’s bout between former champion Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley is being planned for the same event in case of a Lawler or Condit injury.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise; many expected Lawler to defend his championship against Hendricks. The pair has already fought twice, with each scoring a close victory. Hendricks has been vocal about wanting the next title shot, and it seemed a lock that he would be the man to face Lawler next.
But the UFC has opted to go in a different direction with Condit.
Lawler, 33, won the championship by beating Hendricks by split decision last December. He then defended against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 in what quickly became known as one of the greatest title fights in the history of mixed martial arts. Lawler was down three rounds to one on the judges’ scorecards when he finished MacDonald in the fifth round of their instant classic.
Condit, 31, is a former interim UFC welterweight champion and former WEC champion. In his time near the top of the welterweight division, he has scored wins over Nick Diaz, Dan Hardy and MacDonald. But he lost to Hendricks in 2013 and lost to Woodley in March 2014 after suffering a knee injury. Condit rebounded from both the injury and the loss in May with a savage TKO win over Thiago Alves.
UFC President Dana White has promised a “make up” card for Calgary ever since the less-than-stellar UFC 149 failed to deliver in 2012.
“I owe Calgary, I owe them,” White told Daniel Austin of the Toronto Sun in 2014. “I owe Calgary and will pay them back. We’ve delivered to Toronto, man, we’ve brought big events there. I mean, Jon Jones and (Alexander) Gustafsson fought in Toronto, but I owe Calgary one.”
With Lawler vs. Condit (and potentially Hendricks vs. Woodley), it appears White is finally making good on his promise.
Any questions concerning Carlos Condit’s ability to still bring his signature brand of destruction were certainly answered at Fight Night 68.
The Natural Born Killer has long held his status as one the most prolific finishers in the history of the UFC’…
Any questions concerning Carlos Condit‘s ability to still bring his signature brand of destruction were certainly answered at Fight Night 68.
The Natural Born Killer has long held his status as one the most prolific finishers in the history of the UFC’s welterweight division, but his return from a lengthy 14-month stint on the sidelines recovering from a knee injury brought some uncertainty.
That said, any doubt that hovered was silenced as the former WEC and interim UFC 170-pound champion blistered Brazilian powerhouse Thiago Alves en route to a TKO finish via doctor stoppage in Goiania, Brazil.
After more than a year of diligent work to recover in which he was forced to harness and control the intensity that drives him, Condit was able to carve out a technical masterpiece against the American Top Team staple. Furthermore, the victory over Pitbull was not only another impressive addition to Condit’s resume, but the brutality unleashed inside the Octagon served as certifiable proof positive that Condit is back to form.
“It felt great to go out there and perform the way I did,” Condit told Bleacher Report. “Obviously that kind of goes without saying, but after every fight, win or lose, there is always a sense of relief like all the pressure just got let out. It’s over. All the hard work and everything you’ve done, all the excitement, nerves, dread, fear, anticipation…all of it is finally over with. And when it goes as well as it did the other night it’s awesome. But it does take a little while for it to really set in. I’m still kind of processing it to be honest.”
When two fighters who pride themselves on technique are paired together inside the cage, there is going to be a feeling-out process. And that’s exactly what unfolded in the opening round between Condit and Alves. The rangy striker came out looking to establish distance and timing while the muay thai wrecking machine was attempting to find the routes he could travel to eliminate his reach disadvantage and get close enough to use his power.
That was the dance that unfolded in the opening frame of the main event at Fight Night 68. Alves used his signature leg kicks in an effort to slow Condit down, while the Albuquerque native worked to find the openings he would later use to turn the tide of the fight. Yet, once things got underway inside the Octagon, the only thing on Condit’s mind was putting his opponent away.
The past 14 months of rebuilding his knee and the mounting pressure to perform all faded away, and the killer instinct his career has been built upon emerged.
“I was locked in right off the bat,” Condit said. “I went out there and initially you’re pretty tense. I just gave a big in-and-out breath, remembered to relax and got to work. I immediately started to find my range and things happened quickly. Honestly, he gave me the opportunity to get in there and get comfortable by the way he came out.”
“I wanted to see how he was going to come out initially. I wanted to see if he was coming out guns a-blazing, which he didn’t,” Condit continued. “He was really kind of measured and was trying to build his fight by chopping down my legs because he wanted to limit my movement. But while he was doing that I was finding out what range I was going to be able to come in and out of.
“I really didn’t think about [the knee],” he added. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to take leg kicks from that guy regardless whether I was coming off of knee surgery or not. The game plan was to avoid or to at least minimize the damage he was looking to do with his leg kicks. He landed some stuff, but it was mostly slapping, so no damage was done.”
Where the opening frame saw Alves pressing the action and landing several shots, the second round belonged entirely to the New Mexico native. Condit caught Alves with a perfectly timed short elbow that put Pitbull on the canvas and immediately forced the former title challenger into desperation mode. True to form, Condit swarmed in to take advantage of the situation, but the savvy Brazilian veteran fought valiantly to weather the storm.
And even though Alves would survive the flurries and make it out of the second round, the damage he suffered to his nose forced the cageside physician to call a stop to the fight. Even though he was unable to put Alves away in the fashion he would have preferred, Condit was more than happy with his performance at Fight Night 68.
“As I started warming up in the dressing room I was feeling it,” Condit said. “Leading up to the fight is always kind of an emotional roller coaster, but I started feeling really good getting ready in the back. I knew it was going to be my night.”
“There are a lot of different things we have in the tool box in every different fight, but depending on the matchup we decide what we are going to take out and kind of play with,” he explained. “And for this fight the elbows were super effective. I threw it—and even though we have a bunch of different things we use to transition off of it—I didn’t have to use anything else because I dropped him with the rising elbow.”
“From the way Thiago went down I could tell he was hurt,” he added in regard to the elbow strike that spelled the beginning of the end for Alves. “It wasn’t just a slip or an off balance sort of thing. The sensation I felt hitting him with the elbow, I knew he was in a lot of trouble. I jumped in to finish, was hitting him clean, but realized he was still moving and defending. I knew I had to be patient and not get too crazy or emotional because I’ve been that guy. When I fought GSP and knocked him down I got really excited and punched myself out. This time though I kept a good pace and kept putting good shots on him.”
In addition to earning the victory in his comeback fight against Alves, the perennial welterweight contender also once again found himself in the familiar position of wearing his opponent’s blood at fight’s end. While it may be difficult to imagine ever getting comfortable in those circumstances, the 170-pound knockout artist has come to see it as something that comes with a night’s work inside the Octagon.
“It really doesn’t bother me,” Condit replied. “At least in this fight it didn’t anyway. I’ve had some fights where it’s made me a bit queasy, but that’s back when I was a youngin’. I’m used to it now and to the point where blood doesn’t bother me much.”
His win at Fight Night 68 put Condit right back into the thick of things in the race for a shot at the welterweight crown, and the divisional title is exactly what he’s aiming at. In the aftermath of his victory, the versatile striker stated he’d like to face the winner of the upcoming title tilt between champion Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald after they settle their business at UFC 189 on July 11.
The current state of affairs in the upper tier of the welterweight fold is a crowded picture, and his comments evoked a reaction from fellow potential contender and former opponent Tyron Woodley, who has also been hunting down a championship opportunity of his own. Yet, despite any pushback Condit has received in the aftermath of calling for a title shot, nothing has changed in the way he views things.
He wants to be in the biggest fights available, and he’s going to do whatever is necessary to make that happen.
“They asked me the question about who I wanted to fight next and I answered honestly,” Condit said. “I don’t necessarily expect to get the next title shot, but if you ask me, then I’m going to tell you, ‘Hell yeah I want the next title shot.’ The big fight intrigues me and that’s the biggest fight I could get.”
“I really want the biggest fights available. Those are the situations I want to be in,” he continued. “There’s the title fight, but there are also crazy superfight matchups I’d really love to be in. Fights that are kind of Silva vs. Diaz-esque…those would be exciting for me. I really haven’t had a chance to think about where I sit in the division and those things will become a bit more clear in the coming weeks, but I’m going to shoot for that big fight, and I don’t think anyone, including Tyron Woodley, can blame me for it.”
“It’s not even so much about being the champion; it’s about getting big fights,” he clarified. “It’s about getting the big-money fights. Being the champion is cool, but the payday is really what I’m interested in. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, and I’m not just fighting for the money, but anymore I’m looking for the biggest paycheck I can get.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
The UFC’s jam-packed summer of 2015 kept rolling on Saturday with a return to Brazil. Most of the Fox Sports 1 events in Brazil are nothing to write home about, but this one was packed with much more intrigue than usual.
As per our custom, today we tak…
The UFC’s jam-packed summer of 2015 kept rolling on Saturday with a return to Brazil. Most of the Fox Sports 1 events in Brazil are nothing to write home about, but this one was packed with much more intrigue than usual.
As per our custom, today we take a look at what we learned, what we loved and what we loathed from UFC Fight Night 67: Condit vs. Alves.
WE LEARNED: CHARLES OLIVEIRA IS STILL SOMEONE TO WATCH
Charles Oliveira was just 20 years old when he made his UFC debut against Darren Elkins way back in 2010.
It seems crazy to consider now, because Oliveira has seemingly been around forever and has faced top competition for nearly the entirety of his run. He’s been in the Octagon with Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar and NikLentz; that’s a tough series of fights for anyone, much less someone who doesn’t turn 26 until October.
He’s had his share of good and bad moments. He has missed weight twice, and there have been occasions when Oliveira has hit the Octagon and it just seemed like his mind is elsewhere, most notably when he was facing top-shelf competition.
But through it all, Oliveira has remained a dynamic and exciting fighter to watch. He has nine post-fight bonuses during his UFC tenure totaling somewhere near $450,000. Seven of his eight UFC wins have come by submission. And with his win over Lentz, Oliveira is sending a message to the rest of the featherweight division: He is still young, and he is still a force to be reckoned with.
As he said in the post-fight press conference: He was just a boy when he made his UFC debut, and now he’s becoming a man. His submission game is obviously otherworldly, and he’s learning how to be an effective striker who uses distance to his advantage.
Point being, Oliveira has been around a long time. But he’s still young, and he’s still a fighter the UFC can depend on to put on thrilling bouts and finishes. We’re watching a fighter grow up inside the Octagon, and it seems like the best might be yet to come.
WE LOVED: THE BEAUTIFUL VIOLENCE OF CARLOS CONDIT
I’ve been asked this question before: If I had to take off my Hat of Journalistic Integrity and pick a fighter who is my absolute favorite, who would it be?
The answer has always been the same. I’ve enjoyed watching Carlos Condit ever since his World Extreme Cagefighting days, and that hasn’t changed.
Condit is a guy whom you take for granted, because he’s so quiet and nice and unassuming outside of the cage. But when he steps in the Octagon, that “Natural Born Killer” side of him takes hold, and the results are often difficult to watch.
We saw it once again last Saturday against ThiagoAlves. The first round was fairly even, but then Condit‘s striking wizardry took over in the second round. He used angles and elbows and knees, and by the time the round was over, he was covered in Alves‘ blood. That’s the hallmark of a violent fighter: when you’re covered in blood, but it’s not your own.
And boy, those elbows. Those elbows! They made me cringe, and I was sitting in a bar, thousands of miles away in Las Vegas.
Eighteen months away from the Octagon didn’t seem to faze Condit one bit. And I loved that he called for the title shot after the conclusion of the fight. He may not get it; Johny Hendricks appears to be next in line, though the top of the welterweight division is a roiling sea right now. But more fighters should ask for what they want, and Condit showed plenty of smarts in doing so.
WE LOATHED: RYAN JIMMO’S BORING FIGHT
Ryan Jimmo has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Reebok deal. Good for him, I say. For the majority of UFC fighters, the deal is a terrible one that will cost them money, and they need someone to speak up for them, because most of them are afraid of the repercussions of doing so.
But while Jimmo stands tall in opposition of the Reebok deal, he falls flat in the Octagon. Jimmo ran his MMA record to 16-1 while largely fighting in Canadian promotions. Even back then, he was known as a boring fighter—someone who sat back and didn’t take chances. And though he’s had two signature KO performances during his UFC tenure, Jimmo has mostly remained the same boring fighter he was before he came to the Octagon.
Sure, he was booted in the junk so hard by FrancimarBarroso that he needed a vomit bucket on standby. But Jimmo wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire before that happened, and he was even worse after. He fought safe and he fought from distance, and he did nothing to distinguish himself and make people remember him other than nearly puking from a nut shot.
I applaud Jimmo for taking a stand on the Reebok deal. But he’s 2-4 in his last six UFC appearances, and most of them have been dreadful. I don’t believe the UFC will cut him after this loss, simply because it’ll look as though they are getting rid of a malcontent. But he’s riding a dangerous edge with two losses in a row, and his boring performances might leave fans not caring whether or not he gets cut from the promotion, no matter the reason.
“The Natural Born Killer” is back, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s an easy declaration to make with Fight Night 67 now in the rearview mirror, but heading into last weekend’s epically-unattended-but-actually-quite-entertaining card, many of us feared that we would be in store for a Carlos Condit performance that showed every bit the wear and tear that a near 50-fight veteran coming of ACL surgery could. We expected this fight to be the first sign in the downswing of Condit, by my God were we wrong.
In a vintage Condit performance — from his aggressive, eight-limbed attack right down to the pools of blood that painted the canvas when all was said and done — the former interim welterweight champion thrashed a battle ready Thiago Alves until the ringside doctor’s said no more. It was an inspiring, technically brilliant display from Condit, and one that launched him right back into the title picture with a resounding…crunch of nose bones being broken.
“The Natural Born Killer” is back, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s an easy declaration to make with Fight Night 67 now in the rearview mirror, but heading into last weekend’s epically-unattended-but-actually-quite-entertaining card, many of us feared that we would be in store for a Carlos Condit performance that showed every bit the wear and tear that a near 50-fight veteran coming of ACL surgery could. We expected this fight to be the first sign in the downswing of Condit, by my God were we wrong.
In a vintage Condit performance — from his aggressive, eight-limbed attack right down to the pools of blood that painted the canvas when all was said and done — the former interim welterweight champion thrashed a battle ready Thiago Alves until the ringside doctor’s said no more. It was an inspiring, technically brilliant display from Condit, and one that launched him right back into the title picture with a resounding…crunch of nose bones being broken.
After the jump: Highlights from Condit-Alves, Oliveira-Lentz + more, plus the full results from Fight Night 67.
(Condit-Alves highlights, via UFC on FOX)
The co-main event of last weekend’s card turned out to be an equally entertaining affair, as Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz threw down for the second time with redemption on the line for both men. Lentz and Oliveira first fought way back in 2011, with the back-and-forth fight being declared a No Contest after Oliveira landed an illegal knee on Lentz in a scramble. Lucky for us, the rematch was just as gritty and memorable as the first time around, albeit with a much more defining ending.
And finally, the co-co-main event of the evening, former Strikeforce EliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons continued with his up-and-down UFC run by dropping a first round submission to the heavily-favored Brazilian Alex Oliveira in a welterweight contest. To say that Noons was ever really in this one would be a bit of a stretch, but it appears that the former boxer definitely took Oliveira too lightly once things hit the canvas. The loss drops Noons to 13-8-1 overall, while “Cowboy” improved to 11-2.
Carlos Condit returned at UFC Fight Night 67 for the first time in over a year, and he looked like he had never left.
Condit assessed Thiago Alves in the first round, and beat on him in the second. Condit’s striking was as good as we have seen it…
Carlos Condit returned at UFC Fight Night 67 for the first time in over a year, and he looked like he had never left.
Condit assessed ThiagoAlves in the first round, and beat on him in the second. Condit’s striking was as good as we have seen it inside the Octagon. The former interim welterweight champion has a fan-pleasing style with high output and a variety of techniques. It was the creativity that ultimately ended the contest on Saturday.
The Natural Born Killer connected flush with an elbow that floored Alves. From that point on it was all Condit as he went for the finish. Alves was tough as nails. He did not go quietly into the night and stayed active through the end of the round. The doctor called a stop to the fight between the second and third rounds, as Alves’ nose was broken from the elbow that started the onslaught. Condit felt Alves’ nose break on his elbow:
Yeah, I didn’t exactly know what happened, but I, you know, felt it on my elbow and I knew that he was hurt. I hurt him with the first rising elbow, and then hurt him again with the spinning back elbow. And I could just feel the fight drained out of him after I hit him that first time.
What’s next for the No. 4-ranked welterweight? In the post-fight interview he wanted whoever offered him an exciting fight, but at the post-fight press conference he stated unequivocally that he wants whoever the champion may be come post-UFC 189.
Robbie Lawler will defend the UFC welterweight championship against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 in the co-main event. The two met previously at UFC 167 when Lawler took a split-decision victory over the rising star in a title eliminator.
Both fights would be interesting for Condit.
Condit has faced MacDonald before, and it was a come-from-behind showing from Condit. He was losing the fight through the first two rounds, but MacDonald tired in the third. This allowed Condit to take over the fight and finish it before it went to the judge’s scorecards.
The Albuquerque Bandit has never faced Lawler, but their styles match up well against one another. It would be a rip-roaring main event for later in 2015 if the UFC chooses to go down that path following Lawler’s title defense in July. However, it may not be likely to happen just yet.
Condit’s win at UFC Fight Night 67 was his first in 14 months, and only just put him back in the win column. TyronWoodley, ranked No. 3 in the division and the man who put Condit on the shelf, has back-to-back wins to his credit. It would be difficult for the UFC to justify leaping Condit ahead of the man that beat him.
His performance this past weekend will do a lot to give the UFC pause as to who is the next contender. Condit is much more pleasing to the average fan’s eye, and he came through with an exciting and meaningful victory on Saturday. Regardless, we come away from UFC Fight Night 67 with another credible title challenger at 170 pounds.
A welterweight title fight between 
