by: Jack Bratcher
Carlos Condit, the WEC Welterweight Champion, put his title up against Hiromitsu Miura Sunday night in Las Vegas. It was one of the most exciting fights of the night and one of the more memorable fights of the year as well. Each of the WEC champions who fought tonight found themselves tested and Stann even lost his belt. Carlos Condit was the heavy favorite coming into this fight and many thought he would run right rhrough Miura. That was not the case. Condit faced a style of fighting we are not used to in the WEC and apparently Condit wasn’t used to it either: Judo.
Hiromutsu Miura came out in round one with multiple powerful Judo throws and trips that stunned Condit and had to have shook the foundation of his confidence. As the rounds progressed, Miura showed off his striking skills and his ability to reverse dominant positions over and over. Condit was in trouble numerous times throughout the fight taking shots while standing and while on his back. Miura looked very impressive and gave Condit the fight of his life. Both fighters gave everything they had to the point of exhaustion right up until the fourth round with less than a minute to go. A worn-out Condit got up from the ground, threw a knee to Miura that dropped him. Condit then found the energy to get on top and pound it out. Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit is able to retain his Welterweight Title with a fourth round TKO of Hiromitsu Miura, “The Last Samurai”.
Miura did something I haven’t seen since Condit has been in the WEC. He showed the fact that even Carlos Condit has room to improve. It cannot be stressed enough how good Miura looked. It was a war that saw both fighters winning the fight at different moments. However, it’s also important to note something else was highlighted tonight and that is the incredible heart of Carlos Condit. He took some very hard shots and was on the losing end of flurries. He fought to the point of exhaustion for nearly twenty minutes straight and still pulled out the victory. That is highly commendable. Congratulations to both Condit and Miura on one highly entertaining battle.