UFC 124: "St. Pierre vs. Koscheck II" from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has come to a close.
So too, has Josh Koscheck's quest to become UFC welterweight champion.
That's because he spent his portion of the twenty-five minute main event getting his ass kicked by reigning division champion Georges St. Pierre.
Prior to their showdown, there was a lot of talk about whose wrestling would prevail but in the end, it would be of little consequence. This one was all about the jab, as "Rush" made his trash-talking foe look amateurish (at best) for the better part of five rounds.
In fact, Koscheck's eye looked like a frozen kumquat by the end of round one, and rounds 2-5 didn't offer any relief. GSP turned up the heat and even secured a few late takedowns just to put some mixed in his martial arts.
It was the champ's third straight win by decision, but there is little to criticize after tonight's ass-whooping. At the fight's conclusion, color commentator Joe Rogan mused "What's next?" for St. Pierre.
Any Maniacs out there have the answer?
If there was one thing MMA fans knew heading into Montreal, it's that heavyweight sophomore and Internet sensation Sean McCorkle could talk the talk.
Unfortunately, he couldn't walk the walk.
What Stefan Struve proved (again), is that he's got the heart of a lion, surviving a painful KImura attempt early in round one to win back position and try a few subs of his own before securing mount and pounding McCorkle back into mediocrity.
"Big Sexy" knows how to sell fights. "Skyscraper" knows how to win them.
Tonight's technical knockout victory makes it two in a row for the towering kickboxer, who slowly creeps back into the heavyweight title picture after pushing his record inside the Octagon to 5-2.
And he's still just 22-years-old.
There was a deafening screech heard approximately midway through the televised event that caused fans both at home and in attendance to cover their ears in agony.
That was the Charles Oliveira hype train coming off the tracks at 150 mph.
Despite his 14-0 record and punishing submission game, it was "do Bronx" that would get a lesson in Tapology, courtesy of Jim Miller's fearless ground attack and bone crunching kneebar that had the Brazilian giving up in the opening frame.
The AMA product ate a few head kicks before dragging his lanky opponent to the ground, surviving Oliveira's dangerous guard and capitalizing on his younger foe's mistakes.
The soft-spoken Miller, who is now 19-2 and 8-1 in the UFC, sent a message to Joe Silva in his post-fight speech, telling the promotion's matchmaker "I want my shot."
And after that performance, he's likely to get it.
Mac Danzig came into his lightweight fight against Joe Stevenson having lost four of his last five contests. It was no secret that a loss to "Daddy" would likely spell the end of his UFC career.
Tonight, the only thing that ended was Stevenson's ability to stay conscious.
The two Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champs came out with bad intentions and Danzig kept his motor running in the opening minutes, pacing himself and choosing to counter-punch.
One was all he needed.
Stevenson lunged in, a bit overzealous perhaps, and took a fade-away left hook right on the button, dropping him head first onto the canvas in a lifeless dive that was eerily reminiscent of the Scott Smith face-plant from last week's Strikeforce event.
Ouch.
Danzig lives to fight another day while Stevenson heads back to the lightweight drawing board.
Thiago Alves and John Howard got the pay-per-view card started with a welterweight scrap that was billed as "an exciting match-up of two of the division's top strikers."
It didn't disappoint.
"Doomsday" kept his word and threw as much leather as he received; however, it was the relentless leg kicks of the "Pitbull" that likely made the difference in the scoring.
He even threw in a few takedowns -- probably just to prove that he could.
After recent shortcomings both on the scale and inside the Octagon, Alves insisted that he still belonged at 170-pounds. Tonight, he made it very hard to argue against him after taking the unanimous decision win over a very game Howard in perhaps his best performance since battering Josh Koscheck back in 2008.
Thiago is back -- but is he still a factor in the welterweight title hunt? It's going to be very interesting to see who Joe Silva pegs as his next opponent.
Anyone interested in Alves vs. Koscheck II?
That’s enough from us — now it’s your turn to discuss "St. PIerre vs. Koscheck II" in the comments section below. Sound off, Maniacs.
For complete UFC 124 results and detailed blow-by-blow commentary of the televised main card fights click here.
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