What is it with welterweights that make them want to leave every ounce of their soul on the octagon mat?
In six months, we’ve seen two of the greatest ever UFC title fights and both have taken place in the same weight class.
Robbie Lawler defended his title for the second time when he earned the most razor-close of razor-close decisions over a tremendously game Carlos Condit on Saturday night.
Here's the Lawler-Condit #UFC195 scorecard pic.twitter.com/oVW2cnD5IJ
— Mark La Monica (@LaMonicaMark) January 3, 2016
The main event of UFC 195 ended with the majority of fans expecting the title to change hands but nobody was overly disturbed to see Lawler’s hand raised at the end of five rounds of war.
It looked like another masterminded gameplan from Greg Jackson as Condit took the opening stanza by using his reach advantage to keep Lawler on the outside.
But the champion stormed back to level the pegging in the second as he stunned ‘The Natural Born Killer’ with a vicious right hand.
The third was a tight encounter that likely came down to a quality versus quantity debate on the scorecards, with Lawler landing more damaging blows but Condit lighting his opponent up with volume strikes.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3kjbg7_ufc-195-robbie-lawler-vs-carlos-condit-fight-highlights-122016_sport
Just like the co-main event of UFC 189, Lawler’s belt looked to be escaping him as he tired in the fourth round and Condit suddenly looked to have one hand on the gold after five minutes in which he looked a class apart from ‘Ruthless.’
But Lawler, as he’s made a habit of, showed a champion’s spirit as he fought back to not only claim the fifth but almost finish Condit in the process.
Many, Condit included, believed that he should have taken the decision by 48-47 but the judges didn’t see it that way as Bruce Buffer roared “And stillllll!” and left all fighters with an almighty level to reach if they are to rival Lawler-Condit for 2016’s Fight of the Year honours.
