On Saturday, Robbie Lawler defended his welterweight title from Carlos Condit.
When the scorecards were read, I was too exhilarated to care about the decision. And yes, having gone in rooting for Robbie Lawler, I certainly didn’t mind seeing him win. Imagine my disappointment when, after one of the greatest title fights I’ve ever seen, I saw nothing but disappointment and derision on every message board, comment section, and social media platform. The fight was fantastic, but the judges’ decision seemed to have tainted it for just about everyone.
In yesterday’s part one, we looked at the first two rounds, each of which was thrilling and definitive. Now we’ll dive into the muck and the mire of the third, all while looking forward to the five minute epic that was the fifth and final frame.
ROUND THREE
And here this series finally falls apart. After all, this whole thing is called “Pivotal Moments.” Those pivotal moments are really the key ingredient of a great fight, and Lawler vs Condit certainly had its share. But round three . . . what to make of round three?
In perhaps the best candidate for a draw round since–well, since the first round of Lawler’s first fight with Johny Hendricks probably, neither Carlos nor Robbie managed to gain a significant lead. Condit clipped Lawler’s chin with a flying knee; Lawler ran Condit into an elbow. Condit hit Lawler’s body a bit; Lawler scuffed his jaw with a few wild bombs. For the most part, Lawler waited for big shots that rarely came, while Condit pecked away, not landing much and dealing little damage when he did.
So while this round was, in many ways, the pivotal moment of the fight as a whole, and the one on which the contested decision swung, it did not have a pivotal moment of its own. In fact, most of it looked like this.
1. Condit comes forward.
2. Pawing at Lawler’s lead hand, he steps into range.
3. And leads with a right high kick that Lawler just manages to avoid.
4. Condit lands in southpaw . . .
5. . . . and follows up with a left front kick, which Lawler once again steps away from.
6. Lawler circles to his right and blocks a Condit jab.
7. And a right hand.
8. Condit keeps coming after him.
9. He leads with a high jab feint . . .
10. . . . and then jabs to the body, though Lawler avoids damage by stepping back out of range.
11. Circling to his left now, Lawler catches Condit’s cross . . .
12. . . . and creates space once again.
The story of this round is really the story of the fight, only this round had none of the standout moments speckled throughout the rest of the contest.
Still, the sequence here tells you almost everything you need to know about the fighters. For one, Condit used volume to increase his chances of landing a shot, while Lawler was content to wait out entire combinations looking for a perfect opening. Condit deserves some of the credit for that response. By constantly giving Lawler things to think about, Condit prevented the champion from getting his timing, overloading the computer that is Lawler’s fighting brain. The Natural Born Killer also committed to his attacks but rarely, only putting his body behind a punch or kick when he was sure that Lawler was out of position to respond in kind. The rest of his shots, as in the sequence above, were throwaways by comparison.
Despite the intelligence of this approach, Condit struggled mightily to land anything of consequence, thanks to Lawler’s excellent and varied defense. As you can see, the champion constantly cycled through different responses, changing the direction in which he moved his head and his feet, and using his hands and shoulders to deflect the worst of Condit’s inconsequential striking. This kept him in the round while he allowed Condit to play the aggressor, convincing many that Condit was landing while in reality neither man was scoring.
As the fighters returned to their corners, the bout was still a tossup. ATT wrestling coach Kami Barzini seemed to suspect that Lawler was falling behind, however, instructing him to take both of the last two rounds if he could. Still, the technical advice was more than a little enigmatic. “Release all your good ones now,” Robbie was told, likely not understanding because, after all, that’s what he had been trying to do all along. Condit needed little coaching, but Greg Jackson calmly reaffirmed their gameplan nonetheless.
As round four began, it seemed a shift was coming.
ROUND FOUR
That shift didn’t come for over four minutes–not really, anyway. Twice Condit took Lawler’s leg out from under him with well timed kicks. Lawler cracked Condit with a pair of right hooks in close, and narrowly missed with a straight left. Condit threw, Lawler evaded the worst of it, and round four felt very much the same as round three.
Then suddenly, with forty seconds remaining, the champ was hurt.
1. Lawler allows himself to be backed up toward the fence.
2. Condit steps forward, feinting high . . .
3. . . . and then feinting low . . .
4. . . . before shooting a straight right down the middle, barely grazing Lawler’s ear.
5. Robbie looks to respond with an overhand but Condit gets to the mark first, clipping him on the jaw with a short left hook.
6. Lawler’s swing goes wide.
7. And Condit catches him on the back of the head with a short right.
8. Lawler reels.
In a round every bit as close as the third, this near-knockdown was more than enough to add another ten points to Condit’s score, but they don’t call him the Natural Born Killer for nothing. Sensing the finish, Condit bolted in after Lawler, who could do little but back himself into the fence. Amazingly, though, Lawler managed to avoid the worst of Condit’s complex assault, showing just how excellent his defense is when that’s all he has to think about.
1. Still hurt after a flurry, Lawler tries to create a little space.
2. Condit’s not having it, though, and he feints a jab to set up . . .
3. . . . a spinning elbow. Lawler gets both hands up high and pulls his head just out of range.
4. With Lawler once again trapped against the fence, Condit reaches out for a double collar tie.
5. But Lawler turns his upper body to catch Condit’s knee on the arm instead of the chin.
6. Condit keeps the volume up, but Lawler is constantly moving, slipping his right jab . . .
7. . . . and ducking low to partially catch a body shot on his elbow.
8. Lawler takes an assessing look as Condit steps back.
9. But Condit comes right back in. Lawler twists to block his jab.
10. He blocks what would have been a clean right hook, and takes a clipping right across the nose instead.
11. Lawler rolls to the right and Condit’s left hook sails over his head.
12. And another subtle twist puts his left hand in the way of Condit’s cross.
13. And after all that, Lawler bounces forward, once again testing the waters and trying to reclaim the center.
Note all of the subtleties of Lawler’s defense here. With no ability to fire back in his weakened state, Lawler needed to focus entirely on avoiding damage to survive the round. Instead of simply shelling up, Lawler put all of his skills to work. His tight, high guard became an active defense as small turns and tilts brought his hands and elbows in the way of Condit’s attacks. The pendulous movement of his upper body kept Condit from zeroing in on a clear opening. And he kept his eyes on Condit as much as possible, not only predicting his next move but watching him make it.
Make no mistake: you can’t win a round merely by stopping most of what your opponent throws at you. Still, Lawler’s defensive acumen must be appreciated. In a fight that saw him utilizing a much more limited arsenal than usual, it was his defense that saved him from crushing defeat. Judging by the frustrated twist to Carlos Condit’s mouth as he returned to his corner, the challenger would agree.
ROUND FIVE
Surprisingly, it was Mo Lawal who gave Lawler the advice he needed before the start of the fifth round. Knowing he was behind, Lawler would have come after Condit with murderous intent no matter what. He would have thrown enough heat to scorch Condit’s skin from a foot away. But it was Lawal who reminded him how to take that foot of space out of the equation. It was Lawal who reminded him of the one, simple tool that has brought him so much success since his return to the UFC.
“Jab, Robbie. Use your jab.”
And despite everything, seeing red after four rounds of throwing nothing but bombs, Robbie jabbed.
1. Lawler comes forward, backing Condit toward the fence.
2. A quick right jab covers Condit’s eyes . . .
3. . . . and Lawler follows it with a straight left across the cheek.
4. Condit stumbles back against the fence, and Lawler comes one step closer.
5. Another jab sticks Condit’s back to the wall as he tries a counter knee.
6. Lawler looks for another left, and misses.
7. And a hook, countered with a probing jab from Condit.
8. Condit scrapes Lawler’s lip with a cross . . .
9. . . . but Robbie rolls under the hook . . .
10. . . . and pulls away from the second right hand.
11. And jabs again, lining Condit up while taking a step to his right to line up . . .
12. . . . a heat-seeking left straight to the chin.
13. Rattled, Condit shuffles along the perimeter.
14. Lawler pursues, flashing another jab to get his distance.
15. Lawler connects with a meteoric left hand.
16. Condit stumbles back, nearly losing his feet as Lawler chases after him.
The jab kept Condit guessing, blocking his sight and hiding the timing and trajectory of Lawler’s lefts. The jab kept Condit still, steadying him for Lawler’s power shots. The jab kept Lawler in position, telling him to adjust his feet and the angle of his punches before he threw. Desperately, Robbie Lawler shucked off the timid counter puncher’s attitude that had overtaken him for the previous four rounds and revealed himself to be the same man who rallied to stop Rory MacDonald; the same man who artfully dismantled Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger; the same man who finished his tenth round of war with Johny Hendricks fuming, stalking the man he had failed to finish as if desperate for one more minute in which to get the job done.
I was reminded of Lawler’s first fight with Rory MacDonald. At the time the biggest test of his second UFC run, MacDonald flashed a variety of kicks in an effort to keep Lawler off-balance. Unfazed, Lawler kicked right back, going after MacDonald with the very same front kick that the young fighter used so much. As he returned to his corner, Lawler smiled at his coaches. “I stole his kick,” he grinned. “That’s my kick now!”
Lawler seemed to have the same reaction to Carlos Condit’s entire persona. “Natural Born Killer? I’m stealing that. That’s my name now.”
Of course, Condit fought back like no one else could. Somehow he stayed on his feet, eating punch after punch but refusing to go down. Still not recovered, he came after Lawler with combinations as the exhausted champion checked the clock, wondering how a minute and a half could feel so long. In the end, though, it was Lawler’s round. All thanks to that simple, wonderful jab.
There is good reason to feel that Carlos Condit should have won this fight. I myself would have given it to him, and the majority of MMA media scores agree. Still, the brilliance of the contest matters more than the result in the grand scheme of things. No one will ever be able to take Carlos Condit’s incredible career away from him, just as no one will be able to write off Robbie Lawler’s unbelievable resurgence. Fighters like these are the reason we watch combat sports in the first place, and fights like this are the kind we will never forget.
For more Lawler-Condit analysis, check out this week’s episode of Heavy Hands, the only podcast dedicated to the finer points of face-punching.