UFC on Fox 21 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Maia vs. Condit Card
Carlos Condit vs. Demian Maia was more than a striker-grappler matchup. It was more like the striker-grappler matchup, at least among UFC welterweights.
In one corner of the main event of UFC on Fox 21, which went down Saturday in Vancouver, British Columbia, you had Condit, a razor-sharp muay thai striker with 15 knockouts on his resume. He's pretty good on the ground, too, but he wanted no part of that against Maia, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu hero with 11 submission wins and a five-fight win streak in the UFC Octagon.
Something, as they say, had to give.
Maia's takedowns are not a particular strong suit. Then again, neither is takedown defense for Condit, for all of his advantages on the feet. How did the fight play out?
It's just one of many questions on a night that saw Anthony Pettis debut at featherweight and Paige VanZant return to MMA action, among other things. And as always, the final stat lines reveal only so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC on Fox 21.
Winner: Demian Maia
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A round of applause for the great Demian Maia.
Alexander Yakovlev, Ryan LaFlare, Neil Magny, Gunnar Nelson, Matt Brown and now Carlos Condit. Maia earned his sixth straight win when he submitted Condit with a rear-naked choke less than two minutes into the first round Saturday.
Maia is now 9-2 since dropping down to welterweight in 2012. He opened with a takedown on Condit and was then able to transition to take Condit's back. He worked quickly for the choke and had it. Condit was fading fast when he tapped.
After the fight, Maia told broadcaster Brian Stann in the cage that he wanted a title shot and would wait to face the winner of the widely rumored bout between champ Tyron Woodley and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.
"I think now I earned a title shot, and now I will finally get a chance," Maia told Stann. "If [Thompson] fights [Woodley] first, I will wait for the winner of Woodley and Wonderboy."
Maia has a reputation as a boring grapple-grinder. Here's hoping this quick submission over a top star helps dispel that notion and earn Maia the title shot he deserves.
Loser: Carlos Condit
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"It wasn't my night."
That was Condit's comment to Stann in the cage after the fight. It's a cliche, but it was true. Maia was the better fighter Saturday night.
Condit never really got anything going. He wasn't able to defend Maia's first takedown attempt, and subsequently he spent most of the fight's 112 seconds on the mat in a vain effort to stave off Maia.
It was to no avail.
Condit also told Stann after the fight that he has "no idea" about his future in fighting. He has indicated before that he plans to be very selective in the fights he chooses. Could he walk away altogether? Anything's possible, but fans are surely hoping the answer is no, at least for now.
Winner: Anthony Pettis
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Anthony Pettis won his featherweight debut, but probably not in a way anyone predicted.
In the first round, Pettis brought his famous left foot to the table, clubbing Charles Oliveira's sides and head with big kicks. One particular shot to the liver late in the first round almost elicited a stoppage.
In between the big shots, though, Oliveira was racking up the riding time, spending quite a few seconds on Pettis' back.
By the time the second round was in full swing, Pettis had figured it out. On the ground and with Oliveira on his back, Pettis spun out of the position, defended an omoplata and got to his feet. As Oliveira lunged back for him, Pettis locked on a guillotine choke. It didn't look deep at first. But it was, and Oliveira tapped.
It was a great and much-needed win for the former lightweight champ, who had dropped three straight coming into Vancouver. Featherweight is a crowded division, but there could be a lot of fun fights ahead for him. Jose Aldo, anyone? How about Jeremy Stephens or Cub Swanson?
Options abound for an exciting fighter like Pettis, who appears to have his mojo back.
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Loser: Bec Rawlings' Face
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Paige VanZant didn't look so great in her return to the UFC. That is, until she did.
VanZant circled awkwardly from the start, seeming reluctant to engage beyond throwing a random kick or two. She also started throwing spinning strikes and high-octane techniques—tornado kick, anyone?—that didn't seem to have much of a chance of actually landing.
That was the first round. Things changed in the second.
A jumping switch kick—better known as "that kick from The Karate Kid"—found the mark on Rawlings' mug. The Aussie hit the floor, and a few seconds later, the referee waved off the bout.
It wasn't the greatest effort until it was. It will be extremely interesting to see what's next for last season's Dancing with the Stars runner-up.
Winner: Joe Lauzon
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Never leave it in the hands of the judges. You know whenever you hear that phrase, something didn't go right.
And so it went for Joe Lauzon on Saturday. He lost by split decision in a rematch of his 2012 Fight of the Year with Jim Miller.
It was a close contest, with the judges all scoring the bout 29-28—two for Miller and one for Lauzon.
"The fight was all over the place," MMA analyst Flyin Brian J tweeted. "I won't call it a robbery because it was very close, but I thought Joe Lauzon beat Jim Miller."
That pretty much sums it up. Miller did his share of damage, but Lauzon did, too, while controlling things pretty handily on the ground.
Maybe a record-tying 15th performance bonus—and this slide!—will ease Lauzon's disappointment.
UFC on Fox 21 Full Card Results
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Main Card
- Demian Maia def. Carlos Condit by submission (rear-naked choke, 1:52, Round 1).
- Anthony Pettis def. Charles Oliveira by submission (guillotine choke, 1:49, Round 3).
- Paige VanZant def. Bec Rawlings by KO (0:17, Round 2).
- Jim Miller def. Joe Lauzon by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Preliminary Card
- Sam Alvey def. Kevin Casey by TKO (4:56, Round 2).
- Kyle Bochniak def. Enrique Barzola by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28).
- Alessio Di Chirico def. Garreth McLellan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
- Felipe Silva def. Shane Campbell by TKO (1:13, Round 1).
- Chad Laprise def. Thibault Gouti by TKO (1:36, Round 1).
- Jeremy Kennedy def. Alessandro Ricci by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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