UFC 95 Results and Bonuses: Sanchez Decisions Stevenson, Thiago KO's Koscheck

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.

> Junior Dos Santos def. Stefan Struve via KO :10 into the second round: This was a quick victory for Dos Santos, who had little trouble in dispatching Struve. Dos Santos connected with punches that dropped the lanky Struve and the referee put an end to it.

Side note: I have no issue with the UFC giving weight in stones while they're in Europe, but when they throw up the tale of the tape screen, give the weight in traditional numbers as well, ok? I have no idea what stones correlate to, so help me out a little bit.

> Nate Marquardt def. Wilson Gouveia via TKO at 3:10 of the first round: In an evenly-matched fight, Marquart eventually wore Gouveia down, who looked winded near the end of the bout. Marquardt ended the somewhat-blase fight in fantastic fashion, catching Gouveia with a flying knee that bloodied him, following up with kicks and a glancing spinning back fist. Ready for another match with Anderson Silva? I think I'd like to see him against the winner of Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva first.

>Terry Etim def. Brian Cobb via TKO at 4:49 of the second round: Etim looked solid in dispatching Cobb, getting comparisons to a young Anderson Silva by Rogan. Etim dropped Cobb and landed some unanswered punches which prompted the ref to jump in and stop it, albeit a bit premature.

Cobb complained, which seems to be a growing trend among fighters these days. Etim has such a thick accent that it sounds like he's speaking in a different language.

> Evan Dunham def. Per Eklund via KO at 2:14 of the first round: Dunham had control for most of the fight, dropping Eklund with a left hand and landing some standing punches to a grounded Eklund for the win.

> Mike Ciesnolevicz def. Neil Grove by submission at 1:03 of the first round: This was a quick win in this heavyweight match....that actually didn't involve punches at all. The two trades matching heel hooks and Ciesnolevicz (try typing that correctly) sunk his in deeper, tweaking the giant Grove's knee. This one was over before we knew it.

> Dan Hardy def. Rory Markham via KO at 1:09 of the first round: Another quick fight, Hardy caught Markham with a left hook and it was done. There's really not a lot more to say here as it was over too quickly to justify the build-up.

Josh Nason - josh [at] ropesringandcage [dot com] - has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. If you are using any content or recapping from this site, please include a link to www.ropesringandcage.com. Thank you for your support!