Following his razor thin split-decision loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 195, it looked as if Carlos Condit might be hanging up his gloves for good. It was his second title fight loss in as many attempts (not counting his interim title win over Nick Diaz), the UFC didn’t appear to have any interest in booking an immediate rematch, and Condit himself had mentioned some concerns about the future of his mental well-being. When looking back on his illustrious 39-fight career, it just didn’t seem as if Condit had anything left to prove, which made his impending decision all the more sensible.

On the other hand, pride. If Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, and Fedor Emelianenko still believe that they have another title run left in them, then why shouldn’t Condit? A win over any top 10 opponent should put him right back in the running, so really, it’d be foolish for Condit *not* to put his health on the line for one last shot at glory, if you think about it.

Thankfully, it appears that this line of thinking is something that “The Natural Born Killer” can get behind, which is why he’s announced that he will in fact be returning to take on fellow top contender Demian Maia at UFC 202.

Details after the jump. 

(“Hey Fabricio, it’s me Dan. I know this probably isn’t the time to tell you this, but you really dun f*cked up, kid.”via Getty)

Fabricio Werdum may have only been a -185 favorite heading into his UFC 198 title tilt with Stipe Miocic on Saturday, but the consensus across the board seemed to be that he would either utilize his vastly-improved striking skills to put away his Cleveland-born opponent on the feet or take him to the mat and submit him using his world-renowned Jiu Jitsu. This was the man who defeated Cain Velasquez, after all, and was hoping to kickstart his legacy as “the greatest heavyweight of all time” with a big win in front of 45,000 Brazilian fans.

The Fabricio Werdum that actually showed up at UFC 198, however, could not have looked further from the greatness he so desired. Chalk it up to blind confidence or whatever you will, but “Vai Cavalo” — a man who has not only submitted 3 of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but dominated the likes of Mark Hunt and Travis Browne in recent appearances — appeared to temporarily lose complete control of both his body and mind on Saturday night. It was quite possibly the most mind-blowingly stupid performance since Koji Oishi tried to block Nick Diaz’s punches with punches, and the result was a new champion who was all but handed the belt on a silver platter.

(Photo via Getty.)

Fight Night 62 was one of those cards that, while appearing just abysmal on paper, actually turned out to be a rather entertaining affair. I mean, sure, the main card broadcast dragged along at it’s typical sloth-like pace — something that the UFC desperately needs to change but sadly never will — and the main event wasn’t exactly the kind of barnburner we’ve come to expect from a Demian Maia fight (sarcasm), but Fight Night 62 more than made up for its lack of name power with exciting finishes. It was also a card that signaled the (competitive) end of at least two MMA careers and the possible resurgence of another, so join us after the jump for a full breakdown of what went down in Rio over the weekend.

(A bone infection is one thing, but a case of nipple eyes? There’s no coming back from that.) 

A fun fact about Demian Maia: In his 19 fight UFC career, the Jiu-Jitsu ace had *never* pulled out of a scheduled contest. Until last weekend, that is, when a bone bruise in his shoulder saw him replaced by Jordan Mein against Mike Pyle at Fight Night 49.

Unfortunately, it appears that Maia’s injury has developed into something much more serious, which has postponed his return to the octagon indefinitely. MMAFighting has the details:

[Maia] suffered a bone bruise in his shoulder while training, which later developed a staph infection. That staph infection has now led to a bone infection, which hospitalized the Brazilian welterweight this past week.

Maia’s manager Eduardo Alonso told UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani that Maia is being treated for osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection commonly caused by bacteria. Alfonso said that the infection is on Maia’s right clavicle bone, and will require a six-week antibiotics treatment through IVs, and then follow with a course orally.

As if that wasn’t bad enough already…

(Today’s terrifying MMA photoshop: Demian Maia Torso-Face, via CagePotato reader Joaquín R. See also: Lyoto Machida with re-arranged facial hair.)

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(Marquardt vs. Maia via the UFC’s Youtube page.)

Throwback Thursday is a new recurring column that pays tribute to the stars of an upcoming UFC event by taking a look back at some of their greatest defining moments. This week, we look back at the night Nate Marquardt ended Demian Maia’s undefeated MMA career in emphatic fashion ahead of his do-or-die fight against James Te Huna at Fight Night 43 this weekend. 

Despite being brutally knocked out twice in 3 minutes or less since returning to the UFC, former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nate Marquardt will be headlining the Fight Pass card (Fight Night 43) of this weekend’s Fight Night doubleheader. Paired against yet another knockout artist in James Te Huna, Marquardt will need to show some flashes of his old self if he is to defeat the game New Zealander and remain employed with the UFC.

Prior to his past two contests, however, Marquardt had only been stopped once by strikes in some 45 fights, and had actually been building a reputation as a rather fierce striker in his own right with his wins over Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouveia. Of course, it was his 21-second whoopin’ of the then undefeated Jiu-Jitsu master Demian Maia at UFC 102 that truly opened our eyes to the destructive power “The Great” possessed when he was on his game.

(The winner will face Chael Sonnen for the UFC’s inaugural gangsterweight title. / Photo via MMAFighting)

The second leg of today’s international UFC double-header — the TUF Brazil 3 Finale in Sao Paulo, Brazil — features top heavyweight contender Stipe Miocic fighting iron-jawed Brazilian light-heavyweight Fabio Maldonado, in a matchup that might best be described as a weird, funky, freaky kind of cirque du soleil-esque type of fight. Plus: The heavyweight and middleweight finals of TUF Brazil 3, Demian Maia fighting an obscure Russian dude, and TUF Brazil 1 winner Rony Jason facing off against Robbie Peralta.

Our buddy Matt Kaplan will be sticking round-by-round results from the FOX Sports 1 main card after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest updates, and follow us on twitter for additional deep thoughts.

(Ah, the good ol’ days.)

By Ryan Harkness

EA has finally pulled back the curtain on its much anticipated UFC video game, and while the extra horsepower from next-gen consoles has the sport looking better than ever, it is also ratcheting up the phenomenon known as the Uncanny Valley.

But capturing the exact essence of over 100 people is tricky work and there are still some fighters with just enough je-ne-saix-quoi to cause many to recoil in horror. Let’s take a look through through some of the best worst examples to find out who ended up the pound-for-pound derpiest character in the game…

Georges St Pierre was so busy being a hotshot action star that the EA people had to scan the wax GSP statue from Madame Tussauds. And then just like in Jurassic Park, they added some Frank Trigg DNA to fill in the gaps and bada bing bada boom! L’essence du Georges!

(Judo and wrestling = sports. Curling and ice dancing = not sports. Just wanted to clear that up. / Photo via the UFC 170 weigh-ins gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann is underway in Las Vegas, and if you’re a fan of closely-matched MMA competition…well, you definitely came to the wrong place tonight. Ronda Rousey is over a 4-1 favorite against challenger Sara McMann, and the betting line in Daniel Cormier‘s light-heavyweight debut against late replacement Patrick Cummins can best be described with an Al Bundy GIF. Then again, Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia seems like a competitive welterweight scrap, even if it’s not exactly what you’d call a barnburner.

Round-by-round results from the UFC 170 main card will be after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section.

(Damn, Vin Diesel’s acting lessons have clearly taken Rousey’s mean-mug to a WHOLE. NOTHA. LEVEL..)

By Dan George 

Let us all gather round, hold hands, and pray. Pray that this weekend’s UFC 170 manages to rise above the level of the decision-filled snoozefests that were UFC 169 and Fight Night 36. Of course, with a main event featuring Ronda Rousey, whose “kill ratio” is 100% (as Don Frye would put it if he gave two shits about this fight), and a co-main event featuring the biggest squash match of the year (so far), it looks like UFC 170 will rise to the level of those 10 decision events at the very minimum. I’m guessing that sound I just heard was all of you reaching into your wallets for $50.

Regardless of whether or not UFC 170 is able to deliver from an action standpoint, it has plenty of opportunities to deliver from a gambler’s standpoint, so join us after the jump for some sexy gambling lines (courtesy of BestFightOdds) and even sexier advice. You know, because women.

The Props:

Josh Sampo (+145) vs. Zach Makovsky (-165)

Makovsky is a perfect 3-0 since dropping down to flyweight and looked outstanding in his upset victory of Scott Jorgensen in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 9. Sampo is looking to extend his 5 fight winning streak after an equally impressive debut RNC submission win over Ryan Benoit at the TUF 18 finale. The +105 prop that he wins via decision is a nice plus money option, as “Fun Size” should be able to use his NCAA division 1 wrestling to nullify Sampo’s submission threat on the ground while getting the better of the exchanges in the stand up department. Makovsky makes the parlay at a bargain -165 to win outright.