Carlos Condit showed flashes of his old self at UFC Fight Island 4, knocking down Court McGee and outstriking him on the way to a decision victory.
“The Natural Born Killer” made his return to the Octagon for the first time in nearly two years on Saturday. Carlos Condit, a multi-time title challenger in the UFC, and one of the most popular, exciting fighters the welterweight division had ever known, was paired up with Court McGee. Condit was looking to snap a career-worst five fight losing streak, which dated back to his controversial title fight loss against Robbie Lawler.
McGee, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 11, was out to snap his own two-fight skid. Both men, frankly, were fighting to maintain their relevance to the sport in 2020, if not their jobs.
Condit quickly rushed to the center of the cage and landed a leg kick. McGee fired back and the sequence repeated itself. Condit climbed the ladder with a kick, going to the body as both men were content to stay in kicking range early on. The veterans continued to trade kicks with punches being largely underutilized. There were combinations attempted by both fighters, but nothing of significance landed. The dosage of leg kicks remained steady from both sides. At the very end of the round, Condit landed a stiff body shot, ducked and then cracked McGee with a right hook that dropped him. McGee popped up as the bell rang and his nose was badly broken.
MY GOODNESS. What a way to end the round for @CarlosCondit!#UFCFightIsland4 live on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bnICzHyGgD
— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2020
Condit got right back to work in round two, landing a left hand on the broken nose. Condit began loosening up after a conservative first round. McGee was much less willing to engage as combinations began flying for Condit.
Round three started with more of the same. McGee looked for the leg kicks and moved forward, but was coming up short on a lot of blows. A low kick took McGee off of his feet and Condit rushed to hurt him, but got little out of it. About halfway through the round, Condit rolled his ankle and appeared to be injured. He looked less agile from there on out, but it didn’t stop him from turning up the pressure. Both threw plenty on the home stretch, but apart from a pair of big rights from McGee, nothing significant landed on either side.
Carlos Condit def. Court McGee by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
