UFC 124: Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck Full Results and Analysis

 

• Georges St-Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision.
• Stefan Struve def. Sean McCorkle via first-round TKO .
• Jim Miller def. Charles Oliveira via submission (kneebar).
• Mac Danzig def. Joe Stevenson via first-round KO.
• Thiago Alves def. John Howard via unanimous decision.
• Dan Miller def. Joe Doerksen via split decision.
• Mark Bocek def. Dustin Hazelett via submission (triangle).
• Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Rafael Natal ruled a majority draw.
• Sean Pierson def. Matt Riddle via unanimous decision.
• Ricardo Almeida def. TJ Grant via unanimous decision.
• John Makdessi def. Pat Audinwood via unanimous decision.

• Thiago Alves looks great against anyone who will stand in front of him and trade blows, but can he improve his wrestling and ground game enough to find himself back in title contention?  I don't know, but damn he looked good tonight.  Everything he needed to do to regain my confidence (and most certainly the confidence of his bosses) he did tonight.  His timing, conditioning, offense, and defense were all on point.  A mark of a great fighter is being able to make as few mistakes as possible for the entirety of the fight, and Alves made very, very few.
• Damn you Mike Goldberg for telling me that it was Joe Stevenson's son's birthday...I really hope the kid didn't watch his dad go out like that on his big day.  Yeah yeah, I'm a big softy, leave me alone.
• This is honestly, the most excited I've ever been about Mac Danzig...hell, the way he acted after that KO, you'd think it was the most excited he'd been about himself in a long time too.
• Double K presents, the Theater of Oliveira's Mind:

"ATTACK!!!...ATTACK!!!...Takedown?  Hmph...ATTACK!!!...ATTACK!!!...Hey man, what are you doing to my leg?  I was doing the submission not y- OW!  (Tap)"

• Seriously, I was underwhelmed with Oliveira's defense against  that submission, but good for Miller.  He'll have to win one more fight before that title shot is guaranteed, since the WEC's lightweight title has to be situated after Edgar vs. Maynard II.
• Before we get to the co-main event, how about Bocek's triangle against McLovin?  Hate to see Hazelett go out like that, but he might be getting his walking papers after this.
• It's a little late for Thanksgiving, but I'm so thankful that Struve beat McCorkle...Struve showed a great deal of patience, and busted out a textbook sweep that led to a quick finish from mount. 
• Note to Joe Rogan:  Being from Holland does NOT make you a good striker.  Stefan Struve's striking leaves much to be desired, but it's a work in progress.  Get the man some sparring with Semmy Schilt, ASAP, because once he learns to utilize his length properly, he'll be frustrating as hell to fight for just about anyone in the heavyweight division.
• Georges St. Pierre is the pound for pound best fighter on the planet.  I don't mess with rankings, and I personally think pound for pound is dumb, but if I had to make a choice on the matter, GSP is it.  He tenderized Koscheck's face so bad, that Koscheck couldn't handle ice even brushing it come the fifth round.  GSP didn't get the finish he wanted, but I don't think he minded battering Kos for twenty five minutes, especially when each jab to that right eye had to be incredibly painful come the end of the fight.  
• To end, let me say that I was glad to hear the Montreal crowd reluctantly accept Koscheck during his interview with Rogan.  Hate him all you want, I find it pretty cool that he said he'd like to come back and put on a better show for them in the future, and judging from the crowd's reaction, so did they.

Oh yeah, follow me on Twitter here!

SBN coverage of UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck