MMA Nation - UFC 135 Results And Instant Analysis: Jon Jones Claims His Moment

Video: UFC's Josh Koscheck Says He'll Fight Anybody For The Right Amount Of Money

2011-10-11T18:16:14Z

Josh Koshcheck is coming off a major victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 135. MMA Nation caught up with Koscheck at the UFC 136 Fan expo to get his thoughts on the fight with Hughes as well as what he sees in his MMA career going forward. Koscheck is extremely candid about his placement in the division as well as his motivation to keep fighting.

For those that are unaware, the American Kickboxing Academy welterweights have been calling Matt Hughes out for years, hoping that if they prodded enough, the former UFC champion would take the fight. At UFC 135 in Denver, it was Josh Koscheck who got the opportunity when Diego Sanchez dropped out of the fight due to injury. Koscheck took the fight on extremely short notice and defeated Matt Hughes in the first round. When reflecting back on not just the fight but also the storyline leading up to it, Koscheck was unsure it would ever happen.

"I didn't think it would to be honest with you. With the fight with Matt Hughes because the fact that he's getting up there in age and I was calling him out for a while. It was an opportunity I had to jump on because of the nature of the story line and the history between me and Matt Hughes." He added,"Obviously, I don't want to disrespect Matt Hughes. He's a great fighter and he's done a lot of great things for the sport. He's been a legend and he will be a legend forever in this sport as a pioneer. I think it was a good opportunity for me and I seized that opportunity."

With the division now wide open due to the Jake Shields loss at the hands of the Jake Ellenberger, Koscheck's opinion on his standing in the division as well as fight he wants to take is pretty straight forward and honest. As he explained, "Listen, I'll fight any of those guys. I want to fight the guys at the top. That's where I want to be and the guys at the bottom want to fight the guys at the top. I'll fight anybody. Realistically, I want a big fight. I want my next fight to be a big fight. Who could be it be? Nick Diaz, BJ Penn, Condit, maybe someone at 185. There are a lot of really good guys at 185. I want big names and big fights. I'll fight anybody for the right amount of money."

Koscheck has also been extremely honest about his motivation for fighting. He is a prize fighter and has always been up front that he chases the money the sport offers. Knowing that he's far from a title shot, he's willing to adopt his teammate Mo Lawall's philosophy of fighting at money weight, as he'll fight anyone as long as the price is right. In his words, "I'm not gonna get a title shot anytime soon unless GSP loses so we gotta be real on that. Now it's time to get paid. It's time to fight as much as I can and hopefully get back to the title shot some day but if I don't then I'll just make money. That's what it's about."

Jon Jones Mesmerizes Rampage Jackson At UFC 135

2011-09-25T03:37:54Z

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones proved that he is at another level from the rest of the division by battering and finishing Quinton "Rampage" Jackson by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:14 of the fourth round. After the fight, a humbled Jackson proclaimed Jones "for real" and said "the kid had me mesmerized."

UFC 135 results: Jon Jones defeats Quinton "Rampage" Jackson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:14 of round 4.

Jones used his enormous reach advantage to dictate 100% of the fight. Poor Quinton's only offense of the first round was a medium feeble knee to the body. This after taking an array of shots from Jones: elbows, front kicks, an variety of punches, jabs, hooks and knees. It was almost sad to see the legendarily fearsome Jackson acting like a mouse trapped in a cage with a snake.

In the fourth round, Jones finally poured it on and went for the kill early enough in the round to go for a finish. The fatal choke followed shortly thereafter.

Josh Koscheck Snuffs Matt Hughes At UFC 135

2011-09-25T03:11:57Z

UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes came into tonight's UFC 135 welterweight bout against Josh Koscheck off a loss. At age 37. On the last fight of his contract. Everyone expected Koscheck to beat him up, most badly. The gamblers had Koscheck as a 5 to 1 favorite.

UFC 135 results: Josh Koscheck defeats Matt Hughes via knockout (strikes) at 4:59 of round 1.

But Hughes didn't hesitate to take it to Koscheck right away and intially seized the initiative against the younger fighter with an ill-intentioned jab right to the orbital bone. This was a championship fight move since Koscheckk had just spent most of a year on the shelf with a broken orbital bone. Koscheck seemed stunned and intimidated.

Hughes was able to hold the initiative for only part of the round before Koscheck remembered he's the faster fighter with more power in his hands. A Kos combination stunned Hughes and reminded him that it's 2011 and not 2005. Hughes gamely fought back and going into the final minute looked to have a chance to take the round. But then Koscheck landed and from there it was all over. Koscheck stunned him, dropped him and finished him on the ground with only one second left.

Mark Hunt Zombies Ben Rothwell At UFC 135

2011-09-25T02:53:31Z

Mark Hunt continued the heavyweight division's unlikeliest come back story by beating Ben Rothwell at UFC 135. Hunt improves his record to .500 (7-7; 2-1 UFC) after leveraging a clause in his contract with the old Pride Championships that forced the UFC to give him a couple of fights when they bought the Japanese organization.

UFC 135 results: Mark Hunt defeats Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27).

When Hunt, then 5-6 came back into the UFC, no one would have predicted he'd lose 45 pounds and beat Rothwell, a fighter ranked in the top 25 by the USA TODAY / MMA Nation Consensus MMA Rankings. Following his win over Chris Tuchscherer, Hunt now has a two fight winning streak going in the UFC.

Rothwell was coming off a long layoff after ACL surgery and he appeared to run out of stream but the thunderous punches of Hunt played a role in that as well. In the deep waters of the fight, Hunt battered a staggering Rothwell like a movie heroine battering a relentless but defenseless zombie with a baseball bat.

The UFC could have a new contender in the heavyweight division and his name is Mark Hunt.

Travis Browne Whales On Rob Broughton At UFC 137

2011-09-25T02:14:36Z

Heavyweight Travis Browne looked faster, sharper, more powerful and better than Rob Broughton at UFC 137. At everything but conditioning that is. In the third round Broughton made a charge at an utterly exhausted Travis Browne. Alas he wasn't able to do much with the opportunity and Browne cruised to a unanimous decision, taking every round on every card.

UFC 135 results: Travis Browne defeats Rob Broughton via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Browne hit Broughton with numerous leg kicks in the first two rounds. He also dominated Broughton positionally. It seemed that Browne could take Broughton down with a single leg at will. Once on the ground, Browne easily took mount and landed ground and pound.

Brown got the mount again in the third, but was clearly much diminished from his condition in the first two rounds. Broughton couldn't do much of anything with the opportunity. His high water mark was threatening Browne with a kimura but Browne cleverly escaped danger.

After the bout, Browne denied that it was the altitude that caused him to fade in the final round.

"That dude is big. It wasn't the altitude, I train in Albuquerque. That dude is just big," Browne told Joe Rogan after the fight.

Nate Diaz Stocktons Takanori Gomi At UFC 135

2011-09-25T01:37:34Z

Nate Diaz, a tough kid who learned to fight on the streets of Stockton, gave Takanori Gomi a guided tour of the tough side of town at UFC 135. He picked Gomi apart with punches until Gomi went for a take down that only sealed his fate. Once on his back, Diaz happily went for the kill, trapping Gomi's head and arm in a triangle that became an arm bar to get the tap out.

UFC 135 results: Nate Diaz defeats Takanori Gomi via submission (armbar) at 4:27 of round 1.

Only four years ago, Gomi took everything Diaz' big brother Nick Diaz could throw at him for more than 15 minutes and shattered Diaz' orbital bone in the process. Diaz eventually caught a tired Gomi in a gogoplata for the finish, but it was one of the great bouts in MMA history.

Time changes everything. In 2011, Gomi wasn't even competitive with Diaz' little brother. Nate smacked Gomi at range and at will. Jabs, straights, hooks, Diaz landed it. Diaz will look to re-establish himself as a title contender in the UFC lightweight division.

Anthony Ferguson Breaks Aaron Riley's Jaw In First Round TKO Win At UFC 135

2011-09-25T01:17:05Z

The Ultimate Fighter winner Tony Ferguson proved he belonged by re-breaking the jaw of veteran Aaron Riley to pick up his second straight UFC win at UFC 135. Ferguson caught Riley with a shattering uppercut in the mid-point of the first round. He followed up with more strikes but couldn't finish Riley.

UFC 135 Results: Tony Ferguson Breaks Aaron Riley's Jaw In First Round TKO Win.

Unfortunately, Riley's jaw had been broken before and he knew exactly what was happening. Riley told his corner, including Greg Jackson, that his jaw was broken and the fight was done.

Ferguson, who won the reality show at welterweight, looked sharp at 155lbs and battered Riley with sharp boxing and had no problem staying free to fight at range. It will be interesting to see if Ferguson will get much air time on Fox since he's a Spike TV era guy. Sadly for Ferguson there won't be anymore UFC's on Spike TV.

After the fight Ferguson talked about the move to 155lbs, "I didn't like it at first because I like my cakes and pies at 170. But I feel great at this weight.

"I'm happy but I didn't get a chance to show you everything I've got but I'm still excited about this win," Ferguson said.

Tim Boetsch Tosses Nick Ring At UFC 135

2011-09-25T00:50:16Z

It took a round or so of their UFC 135 middleweight bout for Tim Boetsch to get a handle on Nick Ring, that or it took Ring a round to run out of gas in the high altitude of Denver's Pepsi Center. Ring was able to hit and run and play matador with the bullish Boetsch in the first round, but once Boetsch could put his hands on Ring in the second and third, it was a decided matter.

UFC 135 results: Tim Boetsch defeats Nick Ring via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

Boetsch caught up with Ring in the second round and began to land hard right hands. Ring survived to take more damage but a caught kick gave Boetsch A slamming take down was followed up with some ground and pound. The round was Boetsch's but worse was to come for Ring in the third.

In the third Boetsch's dominance was highlighted by a hard left hook and an amazing hip toss to side control that iced the fight for Boetsch.