(Author’s note: This is part one of a two part article. You can find part two here.)
Controversy. I expect that word to stain Robbie Lawler’s second title defense, and indeed much of his second UFC stint, for years to come.
Lawler went the full five-round distance with Carlos Condit at UFC 195, and after one of the most gloriously violent final rounds in the history of the sport, he walked away with a highly contested split decision, and his belt. It is Lawler’s fifth trip to the scorecards since his return to the UFC, and the fourth to inspire widespread debate. For whatever reason, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler has a knack for confounding the judges and the fans alike. Taking the win from fan-favorite Carlos Condit is just a more unforgivable offense than most.
But it won’t always be this way. History will smile on Robbie Lawler, and Carlos Condit too. Years from now, I imagine each of us will recognize what has been concealed by the immediacy of the result: this was a great fight. Not merely good, but great. Rare, and special. Fights like this are the stories we’ll share with young fans in the decades to come. We’ll regale them with these legendary deeds when they start to spout off about how their favorite fighters would crush our old school favorites, just as kids who grew up on Mayweather and Pacquiao spit on the legacies of Pep and Armstrong today. We’ll smile indulgently and think back to a time that, to me, already seems larger than life.
We’ll think back to Lawler vs Condit, and remember the pivotal moments that history is made of.
ROUND ONE
It started with pressure. As many expected, the champion pressed forward straight away, using a combination of feints and subtle footwork to force Condit’s back to the fence. This was clearly a part of Lawler’s strategy to take away the challenger’s reach and height advantage, and the onus was on Condit to change the fight, or get knocked out. A little over a minute into the round Lawler’s first committed attack must have driven this point home, as the champ eschewed the jab, stepping in behind a series of would-be knockout blows.
1. Lawler controls the center of the cage.
2. Following a quick feint, he steps into range . . .
3. . . . narrowly missing with a right uppercut . . .
4. . . . followed by a straight left that Condit manages to outmaneuver.
5. Lawler chases after Condit, firing another left hand.
6. And, after a quick shift, yet another.
7. Condit posts on Lawler’s shoulder . . .
8. . . . and tries to counter with a jump knee.
9. But Lawler clips him on the ear with a left hand.
10. And resumes his pressure.
Though not necessarily over-aggressive, Lawler made it clear from the early going that his intention was to collapse the pocket at every opportunity, or else keep Condit trapped between himself and the fence until one presented itself. Condit could not win the fight like this, and he knew it. He needed to gamble.
Risk has always defined the style of Carlos Condit. Even in his much-maligned fight with Nick Diaz, the Natural Born Killer tried for spinning elbows and body rips, each dramatic attack designed to surprise his aggressor and suddenly turn the tide in his favor.
As the second minute of round one elapsed, Condit knew that he needed one of these moments. Doing his best to keep the champ at arm’s reach, he banked on a tried-and-true strike to change Lawler’s tune.
1. Still cornered, Condit eyes Lawler for openings.
2. A quick flash of the jab gives Carlos his distance.
3. Immediately he follows up, feinting his right hand and moving forward.
4. Condit drives a shifting left uppercut right across the point of Lawler’s chin.
5. As Lawler whiffs on his counter, Condit’s follow-up elbow becomes a shove . . .
6. . . . which sends the dazed Lawler to the canvas.
7. Robbie quickly recovers his balance and clinches with Condit.
8. But Condit lands knees and takes hold of the round’s momentum.
The smile on Lawler’s face as he clinched with Condit couldn’t hide the fact that the challenger had won a significant victory early in the fight. This one knockdown, aided as it was by a push, was enough to flip the switch in Lawler’s mind. In an instant the champion went from strategist to tactician; from planning to reacting. For the rest of the first Lawler set aside his pressure fighting gameplan and became a counter puncher, trying to catch Condit coming in rather than keeping him from coming in at all. Despite Condit’s notoriously leaky defense, Lawler didn’t have enough time to adjust, and Condit held onto his lead.
ROUND TWO
Between rounds, the advice in Lawler’s corner was nebulous at best. “Keep moving,” one of his trainers told him. “You’ll get your timing.” Already Lawler had proven himself to be a far different fighter than the one who knocked out Rory MacDonald six months prior. Absent were the jab and the crisp straight left, replaced by full-power swings, each one designed to decapitate Condit, but with nothing to disguise them. Condit’s corner, headed by the inimitable Greg Jackson, seemed far more focused. His trainers gave him pointed advice, urging him to use the same combination with which he had put Lawler down in the first.
As the round began, it seemed that Condit would have his way. He came forward and tapped away with half-power kicks, while Lawler waited and waited for the perfect power shot. Condit even attempted that shifting uppercut that his corner recommended. And suddenly . . . Lawler got his timing.
1. Lawler comes forward a few steps, but doesn’t fire.
2. Condit misses on a superman punch . . .
3. . . . and follows with a kick as Lawler backs up.
4. Confident in his momentum, Condit steps forward.
5. Once again he feints with the right . . .
6. . . . and shifts to land the left.
7. Only this time Lawler counters, just skimming Condit’s jaw with an inside left hand . . .
8. . . . and following with a perfect right hook on the chin.
9. The expected result.
Condit went down like a man shot, driven to the ground by the tremendous impact of Lawler’s right hand. That he seemed to recover almost instantly is a minor miracle, and a testament to Carlos’ legendary toughness.
With a subtle fold of the hip, Lawler slipped his head off the center line as he timed his straight left. A small turn of the left foot opened his hips as he followed up, letting him drive his full weight into the knockdown blow even as he slipped Condit’s own right hand. Lawler has always countered well, and this beautiful knockdown proves just that–but he is not truly a counter puncher. Rather, since his renaissance Lawler has employed a more assertive, high-volume style, more that of a boxer-puncher than a counter puncher, his counters merely punctuating his aggression. As such, the decision to rely on counters here would prove to be a mistake against the incredible volume of Condit, but there is no denying the effect of Lawler’s perfect connection.
Though Lawler went back to his too-patient stalking soon after, this knockdown was more than enough to tilt the round in his favor. His face lit up with a devilish smile as he returned to his corner, confident that the direction of the fight as a whole had just made a drastic change. Of course, Carlos Condit doesn’t back down easily. Not even three first-round knockdowns were enough to dissuade Condit from taking a decision from Jake Ellenberger in his second UFC fight, and the sport’s greatest comeback artist was prepared to do it again.
Come back tomorrow for part two, in which we’ll sift through the confusing wreckage of round three, and eagerly make our way to the apocalyptic mayhem of round five.
For more on the epic struggle between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, check out this week’s episode of Heavy Hands, the only podcast dedicated to the finer points of face-punching.