| Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago Round 1
Both fighters come out cautiously pawing in the pocket. Koscheck stalking, missing with looping left and right overhands. A Thiago leg kick is the first crisp strike of the bout. Koscheck wades in close but Thiago circles away and keeps the distance. Boos begin to shower down from the crowd, and Koscheck lands a hard right overhand that cracks Thiago square, but can't follow up with the left high kick. Thiago lands another clean leg kick, and a front kick to the gut. Koscheck lands a wild, glancing right hand that forces Thiago to backpedal faster. Still a lot of close feinting as Koscheck hotly walks Thiago down. Koscheck gets Thiago's back to the cage, but his head kick and volley of punches are blocked. As Koscheck jabs, he walks into a massive submarining uppercut from Thiago followed by a left hook, and goes down hard. As a spaced Koscheck attempts to sit up, referee Marc Goddard jumps in to save the prone Koscheck at 3:29 of the first round. The recovered Koscheck angrily gesticulates to show his displeasure with the stoppage. |