LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The UFC welterweight title fight between champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Carlos Condit was billed as a fans’ dream fight, two fearless competitors willing to give everything in the quest for victory.
That was no hype. Lawler (27-10, 1 no-contest), of Coconut Creek, Florida, and Condit (30-9), of Albuquerque, New Mexico, threw down for 25 minutes of thrilling action in the main event of UFC 195 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Lawler took two out of three 48-47 scores for a split decision and his second successful title defense.
“He had a great game plan,” Lawler said. “There were two winners. Let’s do this again.”
When Condit was able to use his range and vary his strikes, he took command of the fight, as was the case in winning rounds 1 and 4 on all three cards. When Lawler landed his heavy hands, as he did in sweeping the second and a wild fifth, he took control.
A close round three, in which Lawler got two out of three judges’ nods, spelled the difference.
“Yeah, I felt like I had three rounds in my pocket, that why they say never leave it to the judges,” Condit said.
In the co-feature bout, Cleveland’s Stipe Miocic (14-2) made his case for a future shot at the UFC heavyweight champion, as he made short work of former champion Andrei Arlovski (25-11, 1 NC). Miocic wobbled Arlovski with a huge right to the jaw and finished him with another, getting the knockout at the 54-second mark of the opening round.
After the bout, he ran over near where UFC president Dana White was sitting cageside and demanded a title shot.
“I just really want to have my shot and I know I deserve it,” said Miocic, who has won five of his past six. “I think that win was impressive enough.”
The welterweight fight between Russia’s Albert Tumenov (17-2) and Lorenz Larkin (16-5, 1 NC) of Riverside, California, turned into a brutal slugfest. Larkin used punishing leg kicks to beat Tumenov’s lead leg raw.
But Tumenov pushed through the pain and stuck with a ruthlessly efficient boxing game plan.
That was enough for Tumenov to get a split decision for his fifth consecutive win, getting the nod on two out of three 29-28 scorecards.
“This is my fifth win in a row,” Tumenov said through an interpreter. “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.”
Brian Ortega (10-0, 1 NC) goes by the nickname “T-City,” with the “T” standing for “Triangle.” And apparently for good reason. The Los Angeles featherweight waited until the third round to get an opening for his favored triangle choke, then used it to submit Brazil’s Diego Brandao at the 1:37 mark.
It was the fifth career submission win for Ortega; Brandao (20-11) had a two-fight win streak snapped.
“I knew Diego was going to come in aggressive and he did just that in the first two rounds,” Ortega said. “I love the third round, I really turn it up in the third.”
In the main-card opener, lightweight Abel Trujillo (13-7) or Boca Raton, Florida, wasted little time dispatching Tony Sims (12-4) of Davenport, Iowa. Trujillo caught Sims in a guillotine choke as the latter attempted a takedown, then fended off Sims’ attempts at a slam and a last-ditch effort to spin out of the move.
Trujillo earned the submission at 3:18 of the opening round and snapped a two-fight losing streak.
“The arm triangle is my favorite choke and when I’m able to sink anything like that it’s over,” Trujillo said.