Alex Oliveira Surprises Carlos Condit with Second Round Submission in UFC on FOX 29 Co-Main Event
Taking a fight with Carlos Condit on less than two weeks notice didn’t stop Alex Oliveira from earning a stunning second round submission in what amounts to the biggest win of his career in the UFC on FOX 29 co-main event.
Oliviera accepted the matchup after Matt Brown suffered a torn ACL that forced him out of the fight but that didn’t slow down the Brazilian from coming out like a ball of fire as soon as the welterweights were released from their corners.
Oliveira seemed content to engage in a striking battle early but midway through the round, he abandoned that game plan and planted Condit on the mat with a big slam takedown.
Oliveira attempted to press Condit into the cage to stave off his very active ground game from the back but he couldn’t maintain control. The continued pressure eventually allowed Condit to reverse positions where he took the back and began fishing for a rear naked choke.
It appeared that Condit had the submission locked up but time ran out on him before the round came to an end.
Condit tries to lock in the RNC, but Oliveira fights out of it and survives!
Onto round 2! #UFCGlendale pic.twitter.com/F8JiRri3Qs
— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2018
Not finishing the fight ended up costing Condit dearly as he got locked up in another grappling scramble with Oliveira in the second as “Cowboy” blasted him with a series of elbows that opened up a massive cut on “The Natural Born Killer”.
The blood was flowing freely but that didn’t slow down Condit from his attacks on top but Oliveira wasn’t done yet as he ended up connecting with a big up kick from his back that seemed to rattle the former interim title holder.
Oliveira was able to latch onto a guillotine choke after scrambling up from the ground and while Condit did his best to fight free from the submission, he was eventually forced to tap out to call an end to the fight.
Getting the biggest win of his career on two weeks notice …#UFCGlendale pic.twitter.com/YmJlYuIKNZ
— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2018
Afterwards, Oliveira revealed that with an uncle in the hospital and an aunt that just died recently, he took this fight for his family and he certainly made them proud by that performance.
As for Condit, he drops to 0-4 in his past four fights with a 1-5 record in his past six bouts inside the Octagon. It’s definitely the toughest run of Condit’s career and there’s no telling where he goes from here after contemplating retirement less that two years ago.