Last Saturday's referee stoppage in the Josh Koscheck bout was very interesting. When I first saw it at regular speed, I thought it was a good stoppage. I saw Koscheck go limp and fall quickly.
But on the first replay, I changed my mind. Koscheck seemed to be alert and definitely had his arms in a position ready to intelligently defend himself. I heard Joe Rogan saying it was a good stoppage and thought, "Really?"
Then I watched the second and third replays and I changed my mind again. Yep, Koscheck's eyes did appear to roll to the back of his head and he was definitely vulnerable to more punishment. The referee's first and foremost job is to ensure the safety of the fighters and he rushed in there to do just that.
Koscheck can't really complain that much, because he did leave himself exposed to the uppercut and his arms weren't in the right position to defend that or the next shot that floored him. "Could" he have recovered? Perhaps. But that doesn't mean you necessarily "deserve" that opportunity.
What makes this even more interesting is that Paulo Thiago didn't immediately pounce when Koscheck hit the mat. If he had, Koscheck would have been in deep trouble and there would have been no controversy when the referee stopped it. But instead Thiago posed -- maybe he could tell that Koscheck was done; but he was taking a risk that the referee wouldn't be so quick to get in there to stop it. Thiago is a bit fortunate he was, because otherwise Koscheck may well have recovered.
Bottom line: my verdict is it was a good stoppage. But I'd love to see a rematch.
Speaking of which, that could happen as early as UFC 98 on May 23. Koscheck was reportedly supposed to take on Karo Parisyan, but that won't happen after Parisyan's positive drug test following UFC 94. On his blog site, Koscheck said he doesn't care who he fights, he just hopes it's someone "super tough." And he has a message for the referees: "please let the fight go until I'm put out to sleep"!
Speaking of UFC 95 losers, poor Joe Stevenson. In barely over one year he went from fighting for the vacant 155-pound belt to no-man's land with losses in three of his past four.
Speaking of the man who won that vacant lightweight belt, B.J. Penn turned down a fight against No. 1 contender Kenny Florian for UFC 99 in Germany because it's too close to his last fight. Florian is quoted as being disappointed because he'll have to wait a little longer to get paid. But my colleague Showdown Joe pointed out something that may suggest he'd be better off fighting later -- so long as it's not in Europe.
Because top fighters get bonuses based on pay-per-view numbers, a title fight on a North American card could draw 850,000 in PPV buys, while one in Europe may get a more modest 300,000. Thus, Penn's real reason for turning down this bout may have more to do with money than his schedule.
Speaking of Penn's last fight, Georges St. Pierre's camp has sent its case to the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding the claims made by Penn's camp of cheating. And they didn't pull any punches.
A letter submitted to the commission states that their complaints are "nothing more than Mr. Penn's desperate attempt to protect his reputation and commercial value after being totally dominated by a superior athlete."
Ouch.
While I agree with that assessment, that's not exactly politically correct. And I don't know how the commission is going to take it. The NSAC is going to review the incidents surrounding the bout, taking into account letters from both camps. Dana White certainly didn't do the GSP side any favours by publicly saying his cornerman cheated. And I don't think GSP's camp is doing themselves any favours by being so arrogant. Saying they apologize if there was any incidental transfer of Vaseline without admitting any intentional guilty might have been smarter.
But what all this really means is that now a third bout between these two has to happen. It's unfortunate, because I just don't really want to see it again.
One match I would like to see is being reported for August. Former heavyweight champion Randy Couture has agreed to take on former interim heavyweight title-holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. This should be good, and is looking good to happen. And how appropriate it would be to have The Natural headlining the event that will be called UFC 101.
Finally, one fighter who will make his UFC debut this summer but certainly doesn't need any schooling is Yoshihiro Akiyama. It's good to see the former K-1 middleweight in the big show, bringing his 13-bout unbeaten streak with him. He must have been upset with my rankings change, because I dropped him out of the top 10 on Monday. The very next day, he signs the papers.
And with that, I am out.
