Seven years after their originally scheduled fight was supposed to take place, Carlos Condit and Matt Brown finally squared off.
After years of anticipation, Condit (32-13 MMA, 9-9 UFC) settled the debate and won via unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the boad.
The welterweight bout was the UFC on ABC 1 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It aired on ABC and streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
Despite largely being known for their striking abilities, Condit and Brown (22-18 MMA, 15-12 UFC) both looked to drag the fight to the ground. Brown was first to shoot in Round 1. Covered in blood from scraping his head on the cage, Brown controlled the fight until Condit hit him with a switch.
In Round 2, both welterweights opened up their striking. Brown landed a nasty elbow. Condit responded with a thunderous body kick. Condit seemed like the fresher fighter and fended off Brown’s takedowns. A slick sidestepping sweep from Condit mustered Brown to the mat.
In the final round, Condit found success in his takedowns again. Brown had his moments, but they weren’t enough. Condit swept the scorecards when the fight went to the decision.
Brown and Condit have long been linked due to their similar, fan friendly fighting style and duration with the promotion. The longtime UFC welterweights had been matched up twice prior to Saturday’s fight – once in December 2013 and once in April 2018. However, both previous pairings fell through.
With the win, Condit is on his first winning streak since 2012. Following a string of five-straight losses, Condit defeated Court McGee by unanimous decision in October. That victory was his first since May 2015.
For Brown, the loss is his second in a row. Since July 2014, Brown has gone 3-7 with four stoppage losses in that stretch. Prior to UFC on ABC 1, Brown hinted at the possibility the fight vs. Condit could be his last.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ABC 1 results include:
- Carlos Condit def. Matt Brown via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Li Jingliang def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:25
- Alessio Di Chirico def. Joaquin Buckley via knockout (head kick, punches) – Round 1, 2:12
- Punahele Soriano def. Dusko Todorovic via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:48
- Joselyne Edwards def. Wu Yanan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Carlos Felipe def. Justin Tafa via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ramazan Emeev def. David Zawada via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Vanessa Melo def. Sarah Moras via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Austin Lingo def. Jacob Kilburn via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
