UFC 157: What We Learned from Josh Koscheck vs. Robbie Lawler

ROBBIE LAWLER IS FOR REAL. 

OK, OK, I'll cool it on that, but Mr. Lawler did exactly what he needed to do against Josh Koscheck to throw himself into the thick of the UFC's welterweight division. 

With a first-round knockout, Lawler just put the entire 170-pound division on notice. 

What We'll Remember About This Fight

Koscheck tried to wrestle his way to victory against Lawler, but Lawler turned the tides early and crushed the Q-tip-headed Koscheck with some ferocious punches during a battle for ground position.

The vicious left hand that started Koscheck's slide into the unconscious (...or was he?) was a reminder of just how dangerous Lawler is inside the cage. 

What We Learned About Josh Koscheck

Koscheck was finished by a vicious uppercut from Paulo Thiago in the past, and he was repeatedly dropped against Thiago Alves, so we already knew he was susceptible to the knockout. 

He wrestled well early against Lawler, and we knew he could do that too. So, what did we learn about Koscheck? 

Nothing, really. 

He will probably never challenge for the title again nor will he find himself in talks of the division's elite.

What We Learned About Robbie Lawler

Like with Koscheck, we didn't really learn anything new about Robbie Lawler. 

In predicting this fight, I felt it could go one of two ways: a Koscheck decision or a Lawler knockout. We got the latter. 

What this fight did prove, however, was that Lawler could compete with the top dogs in the UFC, and for a guy who has fluctuated between "very good" and "meh" for his entire career, this is a promising sign. 

The addition of Lawler to the already stacked welterweight division is awesome for the UFC. 

What's Next for Josh Koscheck? 

That was certainly not an ideal result for Koscheck. Now 2-3 in his last five, Koscheck finds himself in a precarious position. 

Will he go the way of his old buddy Jon Fitch and find himself the owner of a fancy leave slip? He is certainly expensive, but his ability to stir up controversy and trash talk before fights tells me he'll be around for at least one more battle. 

The loser of UFC 158's Jake Ellenberger vs. Nate Marquardt matchup makes sense for "Kos" moving forward. 

What's Next for Robbie Lawler? 

Well, that went perfectly. 

Lawler fought off Koscheck's wrestling and proceeded to scramble his opponent's brain en route to an impressive Octagon return. 

Up next for "Ruthless"? 

The winner of the aforementioned Ellenberger vs. Marquardt matchup sounds nice to me.