Condit stops Kampmann, eyes belt
Carlos Condit got revenge.
Now, he wants a title fight.
Condit stopped Martin Kampmann early in the fourth round Wednesday night, putting himself in position to challenge for Georges St. Pierre's UFC welterweight title.
Condit (29-7) dominated most of the fight and left no doubt about his superiority over Kampmann (20-7), a disputed split-decision winner over Condit in April 2009.
Condit landed several punches to Kampmann's bloodied face in the fourth, and the referee called the fight 54 seconds in.
"I think I solidified myself as a contender," Condit said. "I think I'm still maybe a fight away from another title fight, I hope."
UFC President Dana White said Condit is in the conversation.
"He's right there," White said. "He's going to be there."
In the other major fight on the card, Brazil's Rafael dos Anjos (20-6) unanimously outpointed Donald Cerrone (20-6) in a lightweight bout.
Condit held the world No. 2 ranking in the welterweight division while Kampmann was No. 6.
Kampmann controlled the action in the first round with several takedowns, but he failed to follow up.
Condit dominated the second round, landing several punch combinations and kicks and bloodying Kampmann's face. Condit completely dominated the third round, at several points looking as though he might end the fight by knockout or submission. Kampmann, with a severely bloodied nose, barely escaped.
Condit finally finished it in the fourth round.
"I did have a lot of energy," Condit said. "I've been in those championship rounds a few times in my career. Endurance has always been a tool and a weapon for me."
Kampmann said he was drained after his early success.
"I got the fast start I wanted," he said. "I gassed out completely. After the first round, I didn't feel like I had nothing left. I didn't have gas in the tank for it."
Condit lost his previous two fights, by decision against Jonny Hendricks and St. Pierre, so it was important for him to finish the fight before it went to the scorecards.
"I didn't want three losses in a row," he said. "I didn't want two losses to Martin. The first fight (against Kampmann) was close. I didn't want it to be close."
In the lightweight main event, dos Anjos was the aggressor for much of the bout against Cerrone. He knocked Cerrone to the mat with a strong right hand with about 2 minutes remaining in the first round, then gained an advantage on the ground later in the round but did limited damage with his punches.
Dos Anjos hit Cerrone with punches and kicks in the first half of the second round, then took him down in the final minute and remained in the dominant position the rest of the round.
"I had a perfect training camp for this fight and it showed out there," dos Anjos said. "I just want to thank God for all the blessings in my life. This win over Cerrone is my fifth straight, so I've taken a big step forward in my career. Whenever the UFC thinks I'm ready for a title shot I'd be honored to take it."
Dos Anjos said he felt he needed to have a strong performance so he wouldn't lose momentum.
"It was a big chance to prove to everybody that I was a top contender," he said. "I worked hard for that. My thought was I cannot lose this opportunity."
In other bouts, Court McGee beat Robert Whittaker by split decision in a welterweight bout, and Brad Tavares defeated Bubba McDaniel by unanimous decision in three rounds. Tavares won the first two rounds and held on in a more closely contested third round.
Dylan Andrews separated his shoulder in the first round of his middleweight bout with Papy Abedi and still won, flooring him with an uppercut in the third round before following with several solid punches that caused the referee to stop the bout.
Takeya Mizugaki edged Erik Perez by split decision in a bantamweight fight that had much of the crowd on its feet at the end.
Kelvin Gastelum defeated Brian Melancon by rear naked choke submission in the first round of their welterweight bout to remain undefeated.
"I feel great and I'm very happy," Gastelum said. "I wanted to show a bit of everything, and I think I did that. I rocked him and showed my standup and in the end I got the submission. After I hurt him I didn't want to give him a chance to recover so I just went the sure thing and sunk in the choke, it worked out. I'm ready for whatever is open next. Whatever the UFC wants next for me, I'm ready."
