Results from last night's event in Montreal:
Mark Bocek def. Dustin Hazelett via submission (triangle choke), round one
Thiago Alves def. John Howard via unanimous decision
Mac Danzig def. Joe Stevenson via knockout, round one
Jim Miller def. Charles Oliveira via submission (kneebar), round one
Stefan Struve def. Sean McCorkle via TKO, round one
Georges St. Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision
Stray thoughts:
- How beautiful was Bocek's transition from mount to triangle choke? Risky too, considering if Hazelett popped out, Bocek would have given up his top position. But he sunk it perfectly. Nice to see some slick, risk-taking BJJ.
- GSP's boxing work will be the striking story of the night, but Alves needs some love too. It looked like he reached another level of finesse last night, and I hope to see more from him if he can maintain it. He made weight and everything!
- A lot of fans billed Danzig vs. Stevenson as a "loser leaves town" match, but I think the pressure was more on Danzig. The vegan came through, stating after the fight that he had learned to generate power from the ground up and aim straight for the chin, instead of the head. Lights out. Take notes.
- Wow, Miller looked great tonight. It's rare that we see kneebar submissions, and the fact he used it on Oliveira -- no slouch with the subs himself -- lets us know that Miller is the real deal. Good mix of grappling and striking on display on this card.
- We also don't see a lot of hip bump sweeps, but Struve used one tonight to move from guard to mount, first faking with the kimura then shucking McCorkle over.
- GSP pulled one over on Koscheck. Kos assumed GSP would once again go for wrestling dominance, but GSP switched up, sharpened his boxing with Freddie Roach (doesn't Kos read the news? Don't answer that), and then lit him up with stiff jabs for five rounds. Kos showed he has heart and fought until the very last second, despite one of his eyes being welded shut.
- Joe Rogan mentioned that it looked like Koscheck had hurt his toe. My group and I could have sworn we saw Koscheck actually reach down and rip his toenail off after round one. Just us? Ouch. Along with his swollen eye, it would explain why he had trouble exploding in for strikes or takedowns in later rounds. Koscheck wasn't present at the post-fight press conference, so I haven't confirmed this.
