Diego Sanchez was effective but not dominant in defeating Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 Saturday, taking home a unanimous decision in London in his debut at 155 pounds.
Two judges scored the bout 30-27, while another had it at 29-28. Both fighters took home $40,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night.
Sanchez (22-2) displayed some impressive striking ability as the majority of the fight was on their feet. A fit Sanchez didn't look too gaunt against an game Stevenson in what was a fairly entertaining fight.
Stevenson also looked effective with his striking, but could have stood to attempt more takedowns rather than keep it standing.
These were two high-motor fighters that kept up a good pace throughout the 15 minutes.
The big question now is whether this fight answered any questions for either fighter moving forward. Sanchez has put himself into the discussion for top 155'ers but will have to string together a few more wins against top talent before challenging for a title shot.
> Paulo Thiago defeated Josh Koscheck via TKO (punches) with 1:32 left in the first round: The fans were booing 90 seconds into the fight, which speaks more to impatience than quality of the fight.
Just seconds after Joe Rogan was discussing about how Thiago had problems striking, Thiago snuck in a right uppercut that dropped Koscheck. It was strange as there was a pause from when he hit the mat, almost as if the referee didn't know whether he should stop it.
It didn't look like Koscheck was completely out, but the replays showed that he was basically out as he hit the mat. Koscheck wasn't pleased post-fight and was bordering on disrespectful of Thiago by not standing next to the referee for the announcement.
Koscheck had a nice buildup of momentum going into this fight and looked good early, but this definitely hurts a lot. I wouldn't pay any money to see Thiago at this point.
Thiago won $40,000 for Knockout of the Night.
> Demian Maia def. Chael Sonnen via submission at 2:37 of the first round: Sonnen looked good early in his UFC debut, but Maia took him down and seamlessly got him in a triangle choke for the win.
Quite simply, Maia is freakin' awesome and is one of those guys who I think is going to have a huge 2009. Sonnen was the fourth Team Quest fighter that Maia has defeated.
Maia won $40,000 for Submission of the Night.
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