UFC 171: HENDRICKS VS. LAWLER Date: Mar. 15, 2013 Location: American Airlines Arena — Dallas, TX Broadcast: PPV UFC Welterweight Carlos Condit (-130) Profile: Former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit (29-7) has seen the mountaintop, and he’s also had it torn away from him by GSP. Condit is 2-2 in his last four, with his controversial decision win over Nick Diaz and a recent knockout win of Martin Kampmann being his victories, and losses in wars with GSP and Johny Hendricks his defeats. He has wins over a who’s who of welterweight studs, including Dan Hardy, Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger, just to name a view. His nickname, “The Natural Born Killer,” couldn’t be more appropriate. In his 29 wins he’s finished 27 of his fights, with only Nick Diaz and Jake Ellenberger left standing in front of him. Everyone else however, has fallen victim to Condit’s wide variety of striking and solid Jackson/Winkeljohn trained ground game. You never know where he’s coming from, he has a bottomless gas tank, and he can knock you out or submit you with ease. Carlos Condit is the complete package and he’s one of the toughest fighters in the welterweight division. UFC Welterweight Tyron Woodley (-110) Profile: Tyron Woodley (12-2) staked his claim in the MMA lexicon with a 7-1 run in Strikeforce that culminated in a fourth-round knockout loss to Nate Marquardt to lose a chance at the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title. At UFC 156, the 31-year-old NCAA Div I wrestler made a big splash in his UFC debut, knocking out Jay Hieron in 36 seconds. Woodley would later fall to a smothering Jake Shields at UFC 161, but then would bounce back with a knockout of the year-worthy punch to shut off the lights of Josh Koscheck at UFC 167. Woodley was once considered a lay n’ pray artist, but in the last two years or so, he’s been able to develop strong hands and quick finishing power to supplement his ground game. It’s a deadly combination, and Woodley is one of the brightest up and comers in the horrifyingly-deep welterweight division. Opening UFC Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Condit a slight -130 betting favorite (bet $130 to win $100), while Woodley opened as a slight -110 underdog (bet $110 to win $100) at Several Bookmakers. This is a huge matchup in the UFC welterweight division as far as the title picture goes, as the winner of this bout is expected to fight the winner of UFC 171’s main event between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. As far as this particular fight goes, both Condit and Woodley are studs, and the winner of this match will be well deserving of a crack at gold. Condit is arguably the most well-rounded fighter in the entire division, capable of winning fights with his striking and his submissions, while Woodley has solid wrestling and KO power to go along with it. In this particular matchup, if the fight stays standing I give Condit the edge as he has an iron chin and I don’t see Woodley finishing him easily, but if the fight goes to the mat Woodley has to be given the edge as he is a control-type wrestler when he wants to, even though Condit has sweet subs off his back. It’s a tough fight to call, and I expect it to be a fun one — I just only wish it was scheduled for five rounds.
