Leave it to Robbie Lawler to find some way to keep winning UFC title fights via split decision, but in a fashion that leaves everyone feeling like they got their money’s worth.

Also leave it to Lawler (27-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) to make sure the night ends in blood and exhaustion, maybe even a little controversy, but definitely nothing resembling boredom. Such are his gifts, and they are only amplified when he puts them to work against the likes of Carlos Condit (30-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC), who seems to be at his best when he’s dragging the best out of others.

At UFC 195 in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Condit performed that function in a losing pay-per-view effort, dropping a split decision to Lawler in a bid for the UFC welterweight title. He also may have helped us remember one of the things that’s so fun about the Robbie Lawler era in the UFC’s 170-pound class, which is, among other things, the fact that it’s no longer the Georges St-Pierre era.

That’s not to say there was anything wrong with GSP’s reign atop the UFC welterweight division. The former champ was – and frankly still is, if we’re just talking legacy here – the greatest welterweight of all time. His uninterrupted five-year run as champ was tremendously popular and profitable, both for him and the UFC itself, and the possibility of his return still looms over the division like a shadow we feel but can’t quite see.

Still, admit it. It’s kind of nice to have him out of the way for a while, and a wild card like Lawler in his place. The contrast between them is just too perfect.

For instance, remember near the end of GSP’s tenure, back when he was starting to seem a little too dominant for his own good? One fight after another ended in a unanimous-decision victory. He fought smart, took few risks, dismantled opponents like a software program built to identify and exploit weaknesses. He was the best, and each new fight was just an exercise in demonstrating it.

Then you’ve got Lawler. He’s the champ who gives away rounds, who needs to bleed before he can even get his heart rate up. In both of his title defenses he kept looking like he was going to lose right up until he won.

Whereas GSP fought like a man defending something he couldn’t afford to give away, Lawler fights like he doesn’t even remember the title is his to lose until it’s almost too late.

Against Condit, Lawler managed to push that forgetfulness right to the brink. Some might even say he pushed past that point, only to be saved by friendly judges. But in a fight that close, you can’t call any outcome a robbery. After getting outstruck for most of the fight and then blitzing with an appropriate and experienced urgency in the final round, Lawler could have lost the judges’ decision as easily as he won it. That, too, is part of the fun when Lawler comes out to play.

If he’s thinking about legacy in the long-term longevity sense of the word, you can’t tell it. In fact, you can’t tell if he’s thinking about past the end of the next round.

The way Lawler fights, you get the sense that he can’t stay champion for long. Eventually, something has to go wrong, right? Either he’ll wait too long, or else stake everything on a comeback that falls just short. When you hold onto your prize that loosely, you’re bound to drop it sooner or later.

That much seems clear. What’s less clear is whether he cares. And that, especially after the long reign of St-Pierre, is what makes UFC champion Robbie Lawler so great to have around.

For complete coverage of UFC 195, check out the UFC Events section of the site.