• UFC 120

Hardy suffers first knockout of career to Condit

Dan Hardy apologised for his defeat © Getty Images

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Dan Hardy suffered the first knockout of his MMA career as Carlos Condit confirmed himself as a major player in the UFC welterweight division at UFC 120.

In 30 previous fights, The Outlaw had never been finished while standing, but he was beaten to the punch - quite literally - by Condit as a left hook started the beginning of the end. A follow-up right to a grounded Hardy completely switched off the lights, sparking a deafening silence inside London's O2 Area.

The stoppage came at 4.33 in round one, after a period of action that had seen Condit show plenty of crispness with his strikes. A mixture of combinations made it difficult for Hardy to establish his range, although the Brit still connected with two good left hooks. In the end, the hook became telegraphed, and Condit beat him to the button for the Knockout of the Night.

"I got punched in the face," Hardy responded when asked what went wrong. "Sorry guys. Next time. That's the sport, you can get caught at any time. I'll be back next time."

Condit, who has now won three on the bounce, stated: "Dan Hardy's a great competitor, hats off to him, much respect. I'm comfortable on my feet, if it had gone to the ground I felt comfortable there too. That [punch] looks good man, we knew he had a lot of power and we trained for that exact finish."

England's John Hathaway lost his undefeated record as he succumbed to the best performance of Mike Pyle's UFC career. Hathaway had won all 14 of his previous bouts, barely losing a round, but he was well beaten by the dangerous Pyle.

ESPN had been warned pre-fight that Pyle has the talent to trouble welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre if he transfers his A game from the gym to the Octagon, and he did just that to give Hathaway a painful lesson. An inverted triangle from side control during round two rendered the Briton helpless for three minutes, with Pyle driving fists and elbows to his opponent's head.

The American set his stall out with a rare takedown of Hathaway in round one, and he also edged the stand-up to silence the home crowd. By the third, Hathaway needed a finish, but it was Pyle who continued to seek the takedown as he controlled the fight from top position.

In the heavyweight division, a surprisingly cautious Cheick Kongo battled to a draw against the hard-hitting Travis Browne. Boasting an undefeated 10-0 record going into the fight, Browne's power seemed to concern Kongo in a contest that never truly ignited.

Coming off a 1-2 record in his last three fights, Kongo went into the bout under some pressure, but he visibly felt two huge swings from the 6ft 7 Browne in round one, after which the Frenchman appeared to opt for a caution-first approach. The first two rounds were shared one apiece, but Kongo had a point deducted for constant short-grabbing in the third, forcing him to press the action, eventually doing enough to recover for a 28-28 decision on the scorecards of all three judges.

In the opening fight of the main card, James Wilks will be disappointed with his showing after he conceded a unanimous 30-27 decision to Canada's Claude Patrick. Wilks, who won the welterweight division of TUF 9, is one of British MMA's more technical fighters, but he simply could not grab a foothold against Patrick.

In a 15-minute clash that saw lengthy periods of clinching, Patrick was the man who secured top position frequently, as expected of a man who has recorded nine of his 12 victories by submission. There was little threat of a finish though, although Patrick will care little as he chalked up his second UFC victory.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.