A welterweight scrap between former interim title holder Carlos Condit and perennial contender Neil Magny kicked off tonight’s UFC 219 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas.
Round one begins and Magny comes forward quickly. Condit catches him with a nice leg kick. Carlos attempts a head kick but it misses the mark. Condit lands a leg kick but Magny catches it and forces Carlos to the ground. Condit immediately rolls for a knee and tries to scramble back up to his feet. Neil prevents Condit from getting up and takes full guard. Condit quickly scrambles to his feet but Magny immediately drags him back to the floor. Another scramble and Condit is back up. He presses Magny against the cage and lands a knee. The fighters break and Condit throws another kick. Once again Magny catches it but this time he cannot use the limb to score a takedown. Neil wth a nice jab. Under two minutes remain. Condit misses with a combination. He lands an outside low kick. Magny just misses with a straight right hand. Condit circles out. He is having a hard time finding his rang here. Magny with a nice jab to the body. Condit leaps in with a combination. Magny avoids any significant strikes and dives in on a single leg. Condit avoids the takedown attempt and circles out. Condit with a nice left hand and then a body kick. “The Natural Born Killer” lands a spinning back kick. Round one comes to an end.
Round two begins and Magny comes forward early with a combination. Condit avoids and then lands a kick to the body. Both fighters connect with low kicks. Condit lands another. Magny eats it and then presses forward with a 1-2 combo. Carlos takes the center of the octagon and misses with a left hook. He throws a kick but Magny catches it and proceeds to push Carlos against the cage. Condit working some short shots. Magny tries to drag him down but can’t. Magny readjusts and then secures a body lock and scores the takedown. Carlos attempts to roll for a leg but it is not there. Magny takes top position and begins working from full guard. Condit works in some short elbows from the bottom. He scrambles and gets back up to his feet. Magny with a kick and then a hard elbow that connects. Magny circles off the fence and then fires off a jab. Condit avoids and then lands a nice combination of his own that ends in a right hand over the top. The fighters clinch up against the cage. Magny scores another nice takedown but Carlos is right back up. Neil slams him right back to the floor and Carlos rolls for an armbar. Round two comes to an end.
Round three begins and Condit might need the finish here. Mangy begins by pawing his jab. Condit returns fire with a nice low kick. Neil circles out and then comes forward with a combination. Condit replies with a low kick and then another. Magny just misses with a counter right hand. Condit with a left hand but he eats a low kick from Magny. Carlos attempts to return fire but Magny catches the kick and pushes him against the cage. Condit looks for a kimura but Neil avoids and moves away. Condit presses forward and lands a nice combination. He lands a kick to the body of Magny. Neil fires back with a low kick that connects. Condit continues to apply the pressure and it costs him. Magny is able to shoot in and score a takedown as Carlos was coming forward. Condit gets back to his feet but there horn sounds to end round three.