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I just went through the 3rd round 2 more times, this time paying close attention to the most significant strikes of the fight. I made the gifs below, ignoring all strikes that were either blocked, or didn't connect to the target significantly. I left out circling, clinch, etc. This is JUST the strikes that landed. There were something like 70 thrown by Condit and 11 by Lawler, and here are the ones that landed:
Condit:
Lawler:
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There are 5 clips for Condit and 6 for Lawler in those gifs. There was one knee by Condit which is hard to tell if it landed flush but I don't think it did.
Which fighter had the more significant significant strikes? I'd say Lawler. But looking at the fight again under intense scrutiny, it actually is really close. Condit was the one controlling the cage, with Lawler doing most of the circling on the outside this round.
No matter who you think won that razor close round, it wasn't a "robbery" or a bad decision. It was a close fight decided by a close round, and the champion finished the fight without getting knocked down or taken down... I think the result itself is the best. And yes if Condit can get his motivation back, a rematch would be excellent.
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