Carlos Condit left it all in the cage at UFC 195 in his welterweight title fight against champ Robbie Lawler—including, possibly, his MMA career.
Following a controversial split decision loss to Lawler, multiple reports surfaced that Carlos Condit said he may retire. The main event at UFC 195 went all five rounds in a back-and-forth battle that got fight of the year buzz before it had even started.
Despite an output exponentially greater than Lawler's, it wasn't enough to convince the judges Condit was the new champ.
When asked directly in the post-fight press conference, Condit stated he would consider retiring.
After his fight war with Robbie Lawler didn't go his way, Carlos Condit openly admitted he's considering retirement. https://t.co/JoeCF3kSJi
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 3, 2016
Condit's MMA career began 13 years ago, and he's racked up a record of 30-9 since. A five-fight win streak followed his 2009 UFC debut, where he lost via split decision to Martin Kampmann.
Condit has some amazing brawls under his belt, including wins over Rory MacDonald, Dan Hardy and Nick Diaz—the last of which won him the interim Welterweight title.
His fight for title unification against George St. Pierre, which he lost via unanimous decision, took Fight of the Night honors, as did Saturday night's fight and two others. He's also been awarded Knockout of the Night twice in the UFC.
While Condit has a long list of achievements in the sport, he's also spent considerable time sidelined by injuries. His TKO win over Thiago Alves in May of 2015 came after a knee injury necessitated a 14-month hiatus.
Whether he'll actually retire remains to be seen—and if he does, whether he stays that way. Plenty of fighters retire but ultimately return, such as Nick Diaz, Fedor Emelianenko and Royce Gracie.
The Lawler fight was close, and the split decision confounded many who thought there was a clear winner in every round, and that it was Condit. In Lawler's post-fight interview, he mentioned an immediate rematch, so that may entice Condit to continue, as well.
And, of course, the disappointment from losing may be coloring his outlook right now, although he says it's not an emotional decision. But after a hard-fought war where he threw more than two times as many significant strikes as the champ, Condit feeling a sense of futility would be understandable.
No. 2 welterweight Tyron Woodley was next in line for a title shot, according to UFC President Dana White. Unsurprisingly, Woodley is not convinced a Lawler-Condit rematch is the way to go.
Lawler-Condit rematch? @TWooodley is having NONE of that business. #UFC195 https://t.co/pGbQi4Yri9
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 3, 2016
