Robbie Lawler retained his UFC welterweight title against Carlos Condit

Robbie Lawler got the nod in a split decision victory over Carlos Condit to keep his welterweight championship at UFC 195.

The champion appeared to be chasing his challenger in the final 10 minutes of the five rounds back-and-forth exchange but eventually did enough to earn two out of three 48-47 scorecards from the judges.

Condit had scored a first-round knockdown with a lead-hand uppercut and Lawler returned the favour in the second with a right hook in the two most damaging blows of the fight at the MGM, Las Vegas.

The final five-minute period turned into a wild and reckless brawl with neither fighter content to rest on their laurels - when they were eventually separated by referee John McCarthy they slumped exhausted next to each other.

Lawler (27-10, 1 NC) frequently threw more power punches during the fight but Condit's (30-9) superior volume with kicks and elbows could have seen him crowned the new champion.

"I felt like I had three rounds in my pocket," Condit said. "That's why they say never leave it to the judges."

Earlier, Stipe Miocic knocked out Andrei Arlovski in the first round and could vie for the heavyweight championship in his next fight. But Ireland's Joseph Duffy (the last man to defeat Conor McGregor) but wait for his lucrative rematch after losing a unanimous decision to Dustin Poirier.