Will Carlos Condit or Tyron Woodley get the next shot at Robbie Lawler?
Robbie Lawler successfully defended his welterweight title for a second time with a win over Carlos Condit at UFC 195, but the victory in a close, hard fought battle leaves just as many questions as it does answers especially when pondering who gets the next title shot.
Many believe Condit did enough to win on Saturday night and even UFC president Dana White said he scored the fight for the challenger after five rounds. White says he ultimately had it three rounds to two for Condit, who ended up on the wrong end of a split decision from the judges.
"I had Condit winning the first round, I had Lawler winning the second round and then it depends on how you scored that third round, which Lawler was winning that round early and then kind of shut down and didn't do much the rest of the round and gave Condit the fourth round and gave Lawler the fifth," White said at the UFC 195 post-fight news conference.
Considering Lawler and Condit put on a war of attrition over five rounds that was immediately applauded as one of the best fights in recent memory, it stands to reason that there might be a desire for an automatic rematch.
White isn't ready to make any decisions just minutes after the title fight ended. He's not even sure what's possible with Condit admitting that he may call it a career following the loss on Saturday night.
For his part, Lawler is open to the rematch with Condit but there's nothing official yet.
"We'll see how this thing plays out," White said. "You can't make these kinds of fights right after the fight. Lawler said yes he would like to do it. I'm sure Condit would like to do it again if he doesn't decide to retire. I respect both guys a lot. We'll see how this thing plays out."
Lawler-Condit rematch? @TWooodley is having NONE of that business. #UFC195 https://t.co/pGbQi4Yri9
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 3, 2016
One person who absolutely, positively does not want to see a second fight between Lawler and Condit is No. 1 contender Tyron Woodley, who has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for his chance to compete for the title.
Woodley was promised the shot in the aftermath of his last scheduled bout against Johny Hendricks that fell apart when the former welterweight champion failed to make weight, leading to the cancellation of the fight.
Woodley helped call the action as an analyst for FOX on Saturday night and while his opinion might be slightly biased it certainly doesn't mean he's wrong.
"These rematches — we see a rematch every other weekend. I think there's so many fresh guys in the division, so many guys that are hungry that are fighting to the top — hint, hint — we really don't need to see another rematch," Woodley said. "I think there's enough competitors.
"Carlos Condit can fight someone in the meantime, come back up, he will always be a top welterweight in the world. The rematches, I'm over them."
Woodley has won his last two fights and is 4-1 in his past five, including a victory over Condit in 2014. As much as he appreciates the effort Condit put forth in the title fight at UFC 195, Woodley believes he's earned his title shot and he brings a whole other set of weapons to combat Lawler if they meet later this year.
"Condit doesn't have the threat of wrestling and takedowns," Woodley said. "He doesn't have the speed. I have way more power than him. I'm hungry. I've been sitting at the door, trying to get a bite and a bone.
"Styles make fights and I think my style matches up against anyone in the welterweight division."
For now both Woodley and Condit will have to wait considering Lawler is the champion and his health will ultimately determine the timing for any potential title fights. Lawler has no preference on who he faces and will instead turn the decision over to the UFC to hand him the top contender when he returns for his next title defense.
"The UFC is going to tell me what to do," Lawler said. "I'm just going to try to get better and improve."
