‘The Natural Born Killer’ sent a message to the welterweight division on this day in 2015.
By this point in his career, Carlos Condit had already established himself as a firm fan favorite who would go down in UFC history.
The always entertaining contender had several highlights under his belt with his knockout win over Dan Hardy, interim title victory against Nick Diaz and subsequent title unification clash with Georges St-Pierre standing out.
After coming up short against St-Pierre, Condit struggled to regain his foothold at the top of the 170 pound division.
A loss to Tyron Woodley in March of 2014 due to a leg injury would force him to remain inactive for over a year but when he came back, Condit made up for lost time.
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Carlos Condit stopped Thiago Alves in two rounds after smashing his nose with a devastating elbow
Carlos Condit’s return was booked for the main event of the UFC’s trip to Goiânia, Brazil on May 30 where he faced Thiago Alves.
Alves had been in and out of the win column for some time but at one point, he was the most feared striker in the welterweight division.
Before challenging Georges St-Pierre for the title at UFC 100, Alves won five fights in a row via knockout and to this day, he holds the welterweight record for most knockdowns at 13.
Both men traded strikes in the opening round with the commentary team making reference to the way that Condit tends to build as the fight continues.
The former interim champion’s unpredictable striking caused significant damage at the start of the second round where Alves was dropped by a big elbow which appeared to instantly break his nose.
Condit poured on the pressure for the remainder of the round, wearing a lot of his opponent’s blood as the Brazilian continued to fire back.
The break in between rounds showed the extent of the damage as after all of the blood was wiped from Alves’ face, it appeared that his nose had been pushed upwards with Jon Anik calling it “mangled”.
Referee Mario Yamasaki called a stop to the action following advice from the doctor with Condit returning to the Octagon in style.
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Carlos Condit went on to produce an instant classic against Robbie Lawler the following year
When Carlos Condit was getting himself back in the mix at 170 pounds, there were other big changes taking place in the welterweight division.
A new era had started after Robbie Lawler defeated Johnny Hendricks in a rematch at UFC 181 to become the welterweight champion.
After Lawler defended the belt against Rory MacDonald in a classic fight at UFC 189, his next opponent would be Condit.
The two men went to war for five rounds at UFC 195 with Lawler coming out on top in a clash that will surely go into the UFC Hall of Fame at some stage.