• UFC 171

Woodley stops Condit in second round

March 16, 2014
Carlos Condit could not carry on after a kick to his left leg from Tyron Woodley © Getty Images
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Tyron Woodley kicked Carlos Condit's left leg so hard, his right one hurt.

Woodley (13-2) turned in the best performance of his UFC career, stopping Condit (29-8) via TKO at the 2:00 mark of the second round.

The finish occurred when Woodley tagged Condit's lead left leg with an outside kick. As Condit spun around from the shot, his right knee gave out on him. Referee Jacob Montalvo stepped in immediately as Condit winced and grabbed his leg.

"I heard him say something when I took him down," Woodley said. "He was complaining about the knee. When he got back up, I targeted it; I didn't know which knee so I kicked at both and I hit the right spot eventually."

It was an awkward end to a high-profile welterweight bout. Woodley, who begged UFC president Dana White for the fight, dominated Condit from bell to bell. He beat Condit to the punch on the feet and took him to the floor when he wanted to.

A monster right hand set the tone early for Woodley, as he came over the top after Condit floated a left hook. With 90 seconds left in the round, Woodley scored his first takedown. Condit worked for a triangle from his back, but Woodley threw him off.

It was obvious Condit wanted to push the pace in the second round. He opened up with combinations, which left him vulnerable to the takedown. After working back to his feet from another Woodley double leg, Condit absorbed the fight-ending kick.

A member of American Top Team, Woodley improves his UFC record to 3-1. His other two wins came via first-round knockouts over Jay Hieron and Josh Koscheck. Condit stumbles to a 1-3 mark in his last four outings.

Elsewhere, Myles Jury kept his perfect record intact with an efficient win over Diego Sanchez.

Jury (14-0) circled away from Sanchez's notoriously aggressive style and showcased effective counter-punching en route to a unanimous decision.

Judges scored the contest 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Sanchez (24-7) tried to drag Jury into a brawl as he always does, but had trouble cutting the cage on the lightweight prospect. He put Jury into a guillotine choke late in the second round, but never appeared close to getting a tap.

"Obviously I didn't want to stand in the pocket too long and trade because that's Diego's strength," Jury said. "He's known for it. I wasn't afraid of his punches at all. I just wanted to fight smart."

Jury landed a hard right hand early, countering a spinning back kick by Sanchez. After nearly dropping from the punch, Sanchez taunted Jury by waving his hands forward.

Those tactics had little effect on Jury, however, as he kept distance and picked Sanchez apart with counters and jabs. Moments after the right hand, he scored a high left head kick flush. He opened a cut on Sanchez's left cheek in the first round, which bled the rest of the fight.

Sanchez landed two hard kicks to the body in the second round, but his face was a mess. With about one minute left in the round, Jury ducked under a combination and scored a double-leg takedown in the centre of the cage.

He nearly made his first mistake on the ground, as Sanchez hooked in a guillotine choke. Jury patiently worked his way out of the hold, however, at one point signalling a thumbs up to the referee.

Jury now boasts a 5-0 record in the UFC. He debuted with the promotion in 2012 following a stint on The Ultimate Fighter reality series.

Sanchez, 32, drops to 1-3 in his last four fights.

Hector Lombard (34-4-1) dominated Jake Shields (29-7-1) in a three-round decision, and made a strong statement to the welterweight division in the process. Judges scored the fight unanimously for Lombard, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Afterward, Lombard admitted he was unhappy with his performance.

"A win is a win no matter what but I just fought too safe," Lombard said. "I blew him up with some big punches early and I felt dominant throughout. I could've given more in the third round. "

Ovince St. Preux (15-5) utilized a Von Flue choke to submit Nikita Krylov at 1:29 of the first round of their light heavyweight bout.

The submission, a shoulder choke, is named after martial artist Jason Von Flue.

"The minute he grabbed a hold of my head when I was in top position, I knew I had the opening," St. Preux said. "It was just a matter of time from there.

"I trapped his arm and before the ref stepped in I actually started to let go because I felt him go out. I'm very happy with my performance."

Kelvin Gastelum survived a near knockout in the second round en route to a split decision over Rick Story.

Gastelum (8-0) was badly hurt by a pair of left hands in the middle frame, but rallied back in a close third round for his third UFC win. Two judges saw the fight for Gastelum 29-28 and 30-27. A third had it 29-28 for Story. "I expected an all-out war because Rick is a super tough guy," Gastelum said. "He's been near the top of the division for a long time for very good reason.

"This is a big win for me and I'm eager to hear who the UFC has next for me. I'm taking on all comers."

Dennis Bermudez (13-3) extended his current win streak to six with a third-round TKO against Jimy Hettes. Referee Kerry Hatley called the bout 2:57 into the round.

It was a complete performance by Bermudez, capped off with a knee to Hettes' chin that prompted the stoppage.

Jessica Andrade (11-3) improved to 2-1 in the UFC with a hard-fought split decision win over Raquel Pennington. Judges had the bout for Andrade 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29.

Persistence played a part in Andrade's win, as she walked through Pennington (4-4) counters throughout the fight to land offence of her own. She paid for the strategy at certain points in the fight, but never appeared hurt on her feet.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com

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