A bloodied canvas and a broken nose were the key pieces of evidence left behind by “The Natural Born Killer” at UFC Fight Night 67 on Saturday night.
The former interim UFC champ Carlos Condit had become a forgotten soul in the welterweight division after spending over a year on the sidelines rehabilitating a torn ACL.
But as the lights dimmed and unfamiliar entrance sounds echoed throughout the arena, Condit made the world remember once more.
Thiago Alves, a former UFC title contender, stood across from Condit hoping to play spoiler to his long-awaited return. Home turf belonged to Alves, who stood proud in front of thousands at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil.
The familiar strategy of switching stances and beautifully blended striking combinations from Condit immediately put minds at ease of the post-surgery issues that at some time come along with ACL injuries. Always happy to oblige on the feet, Alves remained in the heat of the exchanges looking for any opening offered to him to land the fight-altering strike.
He found a home for a few of his signature leg kicks, but Condit’s unwavering focus had him meeting shin to shin on all the rest. It was a highly competitive striking match early on as both men looked to find their range and timing.
However, the feeling-out process came to an abrupt end in the second round as Condit feinted a straight hand before rearranging Alves’ face with a beautifully timed lead elbow. It was the tide-turning strike of the fight that put Alves into survival mode. As Condit rushed across the cage to clean up the bloody scraps of his wounded prey, Alves miraculously fought back to his feet and pushed the fight back to the center of the Octagon.
But the damage from the elbow strike had already been done. Alves’ nose was a twisted, broken mess, forcing him to rely solely on breathing from his mouth. A heart the size of Brazil saw Alves through a second-round pummeling, but at the doctor’s discretion, the fight wasn’t allowed to go any further.
Condit was awarded a victory by doctor’s stoppage. As is customary, fighters reacted on social media to the high-quality fisticuffs put on display in the fight night main event (Warning: NSFW Language).
After speaking with Dr. Marcio Tannure, the medical director of Brazil’s athletic commission (CABMMA), MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz is reporting Alves’ “badly broken” nose will require surgery. Meanwhile, Condit has already set his eyes on the winner of the welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald in July.
“I want whoever has the title in a couple months. Whether it’s Rory or whether it’s Robbie Lawler, I want that guy,” Condit said at the post-fight press conference.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
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