Lawler wins epic fifth round over Condit to retain title at UFC 195 — VIDEO
Nothing has been easy for Robbie Lawler during his run Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title reign.
Saturday night marked the stiffest test of that run, but he again emerged from the main event of UFC 195 at the MGM Grand Garden with the belt around his waist. Lawler survived a thrilling battle to win a split decision over challenger Carlos Condit.
Lawler needed to come out on the right side of what might have been one of the greatest rounds in UFC history to do it, especially considering the situation. With the belt on the line to the winner of the fifth and final round, Lawler and Condit traded offensive attacks. Condit threw more, and Lawler threw harder.
Condit survived several massive shots and fired back plenty of his own dangerous strikes, but in the end it was Lawler who clearly got the best of the action.
"Carlos is a hell of a fighter who comes from one of the best camps in the world. He came with a game plan, and we battled it out," said Lawler, who also survived an epic battle against Rory MacDonald in July. "And still, but let's do it again."
When the final bell rang, Condit said he thought he would be leaving the cage with the belt.
"It was close, but I thought there was a good chance I was ahead," Condit said. "I knew he was going to come out guns ablazing. You have to come out and fight.
"I wasn't hurt neurologically, but I was roughed up a little bit. I thought I had three rounds in the bag, but that happens."
Condit won the first and fourth rounds on all three cards. Lawler swept the fifth, as he did in the second when he nearly finished Condit after a crushing left hook dropped the challenger to the mat.
The difference was the third round. Lawler won it on two scorecards, while Condit got the third. Condit appeared to control more of the round, but Lawler may have struck the more damaging blows.
The Review-Journal scored the bout 48-47 for Lawler.
"Carlos is just so tough every time he fights he proves people wrong. Hats off to him," Lawler said. " He's tough and technical as hell, and he's in shape."
Stipe Miocic needed only 52 seconds to put an end to one of the best comeback stories in recent UFC history. He stopped Andrei Arlovski in his tracks with a big right hand and followed up with punches to end the fight early and snap Arlovski's six-fight winning streak.
The impressive victory could very well put Miocic next in line for a heavyweight title shot.
Arlovski, the UFC heavyweight champion a decade ago, was experiencing a rejuvenation at 36 years old after once dropping four straight fights outside the organization.
Albert Tumenov endured an onslaught of leg kicks by Lorenz Larkin, but held on to win a split decision in a welterweight bout.
It was the fifth straight UFC win for Tumenov, who limped badly on a swollen left leg as he exited the cage.
"I expected a very hard fight from Lorenz. I think he is one of the toughest guys in the division, and he holds a win over the current champion, so his record speaks for itself," Tumenov said of Larkin's 2012 win over Lawler. "He's extremely experienced, so I think that my victory tonight means a lot. This is my fifth win in a row, and even though I'm unranked, I know that I can defeat the guys in the top 10. I'm ready to climb this ladder."
Lightweight Abel Trujillo and featherweight Brian Ortega opened the main card with submission victories.
Trujillo caught Tony Sims in a guillotine as Sims charged forward for a takedown and forced the tap at 3:18 of the first round. It was his first submission victory in the UFC.
Ortega, perhaps feeling a sense of urgency after dropping the first two rounds to Diego Brandao, fell back on his jiu-jitsu expertise once the third round began.
It didn't take long for him to find the finish. Brandao rolled out of one choke, but Ortega quickly transitioned to a triangle and Brandao almost immediately tapped.
"The finish was awesome. That's what I did in the gym growing up as a kid, and it's amazing to do it in the octagon for real," Ortega said. "I knew Diego was going to come in aggressive, and he did just that in the first two rounds. I love the third round, I really turn it up in the third. He was well prepared for the fight, but I threw an unexpected choke and caught him."
Lightweight Dustin Poirier highlighted the preliminary card with a unanimous decision over Joe Duffy.
It was one of Poirier's best overall performances in the UFC, as he took control of the fight early in the second round and dominated the rest of the way.
Poirier did his best work pushing Duffy against the cage on the mat and battering him with elbows and punches.
He said the strategy was necessitated after his nose was broken early in the fight.
"My nose is crushed for sure. When I touch it, it feels like a broken light bulb," he said. "I didn't want to make it a boring fight by grinding it out, but I couldn't breathe at all. Joe hit me with a lot of punches. He had a lot of volume, but not a lot of power.
"I'd love to have a beer next, other than that I'm just back in the gym."
Former bantamweight title challenger Michael McDonald returned to action for the first time in more than two years and submitted Masanori Kanehara in the second round.
Kanehara appeared to have an arm triangle locked in tight on McDonald, but the 24-year-old escaped and immediately took Kanehara's back.
Moments later, McDonald secured a rear naked choke and Kanehara had to tap out.
"When he had me in the head and arm choke, I was losing air so quickly that I knew I was either going to pass out or explode through," McDonald said. "Luckily the last ditch effort worked and I was able to reverse him into the choke. He made a very slight mistake in the defense and it got me the 'W' tonight."
Welterweight Alex Morono was awarded a split decision over Kyle Noke and Michinori Tanaka took a split decision over former bantamweight title challenger Joe Soto.
Sheldon Westcott knocked out Edgar Garcia in the first round of a welterweight bout. Justine Kish and Drew Dober picked up unanimous decision victories.
— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamilllvrj
