UFC Fight Night 27 Main Card Recap: Condit Takes Out ‘The Hitman’

UFC Fight Night 27 is in the books from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann squared off in a rematch of Condit’s UFC debut. Looking to capitalize on Condit’s perceived weak point of takedown defense, “The Hitman” went for an early trip and found success. Kampmann took Condit’s back on the mat, but was reversed. Kampmann took Condit down again, but Condit got up to land some punches.

The next round began with Condit looking to trade, but Kampmann stuck a good left. Condit found a good combination and defended a takedown. The “Natural Born Killer” had found his timing, scoring effective right hands and a kick to the body. He mixed it up well with knees, kicks, and punches, and never got dragged down. In the third, Kampmann finally got another takedown. Condit got back up to land more strikes to cut Kampmann open. Condit took Kampmann’s back to look for the submission. It was a dominant round.

Kampmann landed a good right hand at the outset of the fourth, but Condit fought back with a never-ending series of punches, eventually putting “The Hitman” away with some vicious knees.

In the co-main event, “Cowboy” Cerrone faced off with Rafael dos Anjos in a battle of Top 10-ranked Lightweights. The fight began with Cerrone looking to utilize his trademark kickboxing, but surprisingly, it was dos Anjos that had an advantage on the feet, continuously stalking Cerrone down. Dos Anjos dropped Cerrone with a right hand and scored a takedown. Cerrone went for a triangle, but dos Anjos persevered to land some big elbows on the ground.

Dos Anjos kept the pace up in the second, using some good body kicks. Cerrone didn’t use his usual volume of strikes, but he did secure a strong takedown to maintain top control. Dos Anjos got back to his feet and landed another hard kick to the body. The Brazilian got a takedown of his own to finish the round strong.

Dos Anjos ate a big low kick from Cerrone, and followed with a head kick. Cerrone looked to move forward with some kicks, but the pace slowed. Dos Anjos went for a deep takedown that never came. Cerrone began to land effectively with knees and punches, but it was too late. The No. 10-ranked dos Anjos landed a big right and locked up the unanimous decision win, putting himself on the map in a big way.

TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum made his Welterweight debut against Brian Melancon, and scored two early takedowns. Melancon was backing up from the get-go, and Gastelum was in control. The now-lighter Gastelum rocked Melancon with a vicious combo against the cage, following his dazed opponent to the ground with a lightning fast rear naked choke to end the bout less than two-and-a-half minutes into the first round. An ultra-impressive debut at 170 for the TUF winner Gastelum.

Two more TUF contract winners squared off at Welterweight when Court McGee and Robert Whittaker went to war. McGee started out more active in the striking, mixing it up with combos and kicks. Whittaker snapped his left jab into McGee’s eye repeatedly. McGee continued to throw a ton of strikes, but ate a stiff left. He briefly dragged Whittaker to the mat, most likely winning the first frame.

McGee landed some huge strikes in the second round, not meeting much resistance from Whittaker. He never stopped throwing precise blows despite bleeding beneath his right eye from several elbows. Whittaker fought back with some good boxing and a headkick. In the final round, Whittaker appeared sharp, but McGee landed a spinning back kick. Whittaker defended takedowns and landed some good left hooks. McGee’s strikes were finding a home less, but he never let up on the gas pedal. The gritty McGee took home another close split decision victory.

Erik “El Goyito” Perez looked to continue his undefeated run at Bantamweight against Takeya Mizugaki. The two came out throwing bombs, with Perez landing some good punches and a flying knee. “Goyito” dragged Mizugaki down to the mat, controlling the action against the cage. Mizugaki exploded with a double leg of his own, taking Perez’ back and looking for a choke.

Mizugaki landed some good shots and a knee in the second, looking to counter Perez. “Goyito” noticeably slowed and began to get tagged repeatedly. His face was bloodied when the second round ended.

During the final frame, Mizugaki continued to land, taking Perez down. Perez took Mizugaki down despite appearing the slower fighter. Mizugaki scored a throw and took Perez’ back, securing a tight choke. Miraculously, Perez got out of the hold. The two fighters clinched, and then ended the bout with a flurry. Mizugaki took home the split decision victory.

Kicking off the main card, former TUF participants Brad Tavares and Robert “Bubba” McDaniel fought at 185. McDaniel looked to put Tavares up against the cage early. Tavares used various kicks, and McDaniel’s leg was already looking roughed up. Tavares went for another low kick, then a body kick with a left hand followed by a right. McDaniel fell into a takedown but couldn’t capitalize.

Tavares briefly dropped McDaniel with a straight left, and got a body lock takedown. In the final frame, McDaniel came alive with strong left hand, wobbling Tavares. Tavares landed a hard low blow that dropped McDaniel. “Bubba” got a good double leg, smothering Tavares. McDaniel defended submission attempts from Tavares. He may have won the final round but not the fight, dropping a unanimous decision.

UFC Fight Night 27 Main Card Results:

Carlos Condit def. Martin Kampmann via R4 TKO (punches and knees)

Rafael dos Anjos?def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision

Kelvin Gastelum def. Brian Melancon?via R1 submission (rear naked choke)

Court McGee def. Robert Whittaker ?via split decision

Takeya Mizugaki def. Erik Perez?via split decision

Brad Tavares def. Bubba McDaniel via unanimous decision