UFC 124 Recap
With the holiday season upon us, Dana White and the UFC brought Christmas to MMA fans a little early. Or so they thought. Someone needs to tell “Dana Clause” there’s coal in our stockings. And we weren’t even naughty.
Before we get to UFC 124, we need to backtrack a bit. Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck first met in the Octagon at UFC 74: Respect in August 2007. Going into that fight many people felt that Koscheck (a 4x NCAA Division 1 All-American Wrestler) would have an edge in the ground game over GSP (who at the time was seen as the better striker). Ironically, it was GSP who used his ground game (as well as his striking) to take down Koscheck effortlessly en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Now let’s fast forward to Fall 2010. The UFC and Spike TV began to air the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter with GSP (now UFC Welterweight Champ) and Koscheck (#1 contender) as the coaches of the opposing teams. Like previous seasons, the two coaches were slated for battle at the end of the season. With every new episode, the tension between two fighters took on a life of its own. Koscheck would crack jokes at GSP’s expense, and GSP tried to ignore him. GSP’s tolerance didn’t last long because by season’s end he vowed Koscheck would regret the insults.
After all that, we come to this past Saturday. The stage was set for UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2. Koscheck claimed he would take the belt from GSP in Montreal, and GSP seemed content with letting his fists do the talking in the Octagon.
Funny thing about history…it has a way of repeating itself. Much like the first fight, GSP dominated Koscheck in every way possible. For all five rounds, Koscheck couldn’t overcome the superior striking, ground game, clinch, and Octagon aggression of GSP. All Koscheck could do was weather the onslaught. GSP was at least gracious enough to give Koscheck a Quasimodo makeover en route to another unanimous decision.
Now here’s my issue with the way the fight ended. The UFC taunted and teased us for months leading into this fight. And with the obvious animosity shared by the two fighters, would anyone (in his or her right mind) not want a spectacular finish? I’m glad you won GSP, but this MMA fan (and I’m probably not the only one) was hoping for a knockout or a tapout for Christmas. I didn’t know you had a bit of the Grinch in you.
Other Notable Fights from UFC 124:
Dan Miller def. Joe Doerksen via split decision.
Thiago Alves def. John Howard via unanimous decision.
Mac Danzig def. Joe Stevenson via KO (punch) at 1:54 of Rd 1.
Jim Miller def .Charles Oliveira via submission (kneebar) at 1:59 of Rd 1.
Stefan Struve def. Sean McCorkle via TKO (punches) at 3:55 of Rd 1.
