Kos KOs Yoshida!
Fallen Heroes Honored

Report by Brady Crytzer
Photos by Josh Hodges/UFC

In one of the knockouts of the year, former NCAA national wrestling champion Josh Koscheck knocked out Japanese judo wizard Yoshiyuki Yoshida at 2:15 of the opening round with a single right hand.

Fought near the historic Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fight for the Troops offered over 10,000 veterans of the United States Armed Forces a chance to see more than just great fights. Benefiting the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund for veterans with traumatic brain injury, all the proceeds made from Wednesday night’s card went directly to the men and women of the Armed Services.

Yoshida, who remains a major player in the world of international Judo competition, played the role of dark horse Wednesday night as he only had one previous bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Yoshida, who is just the third Japanese fighter to headline a UFC card since 2001 (preceded by “Mach” Sakurai and Yushin Okami) made his UFC debut a memorable one choking out The Ultimate Fighter 6 veteran Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver.

Koscheck on the other hand has experienced the ups and downs of the modern UFC and is widely regarded as one of the top welterweights in the world today. With dominate victories over Chris Lytle and Diego Sanchez and losses only to current belt holder Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves, Koscheck is a perennial contender that is never more than one victory away from a welterweight title shot

Although both men have extensive grappling pedigrees, the fight would play out to be completely on the feet. Yoshida seemed tentative to exchange as he used short kicks to keep his hard charging opponent at bay. As Koscheck closed in, the former NCAA national caught the Japanese fighter with a powerful overhand right that froze him in his tracks. In a flash the stiffened Yoshida was hit on the chin with a follow up haymaker that dropped him cold in one of the best knockouts of the year.

“I knew he was looking for the overhand right,” Koscheck said. “I just started focusing on throwing straight punches.”

“Quick” Swick Returns in Brutal Fashion

In a classic performance Mike “Quick” Swick needed only 33 seconds to knockout MMA veteran Jonathan Goulet in the very first round of their welterweight contest.

Famous early in his career for his lightening fast knockouts, Mike “Quick” Swick decided to drop down in weight to the welterweight division after being beaten by much larger fighters.

The move proved to be a good one as Swick knocked out Goulet in under one minute of action. Swick pressed the action from the beginning as he used crafty footwork to close the distance. Once within striking distance, Swick landed a flush right hand that crumpled his opponent. With Goulet on his knees, Swick unloaded with vicious punches that left the Canadian in a crumpled heap.

The official time was just 33 seconds into round one.

WEC Champ Cantwell Breaks into the UFC

WEC light heavyweight champion Steve “The Robot” Cantwell made his UFC debut a successful one after nearly breaking the arm of Razak Al-Hassan at 4:41 of the opening round.

Cantwell, who earned the biggest victory of his career with his August stoppage of Brian Stann to earn the WEC light heavyweight title, showed no butterflies in his UFC debut.

Al-Hassan pressed the action in round one with a myriad of stiff punches and traditional tae kwon do style kicks. Though he was pressing, the reserved Cantwell used much more refined strikes to stagger Al-Hassan and take him to the mat.

Once on the floor Cantwell quickly mounted his foe and locked in a tight armbar. Though Al-Hassan refused to tap, referee Mario Yamasaki halted the contest after the arm in question bent back at an extremely severe angle. With this win, Cantwell improves to 7-1 and is welcomed into the UFC light heavyweight division.

Miller Outworks, Upsets Wiman

Newcomer Jim Miller has made a resounding impact in just his second UFC bout as he battered “Handsome” Matt Wiman en route to a three round unanimous decision.

The lightweight feature started as a firefight with the lesser known Miller finding success with sharp counter punching. Miller, who took the bout on less than a week’s notice, appeared more dangerous on the feet until he was taken down hard by his opponent. Though Wiman scored a thunderous takedown, Miller locked the reality series veteran in a deep guillotine choke but failed to finish the fight. Wiman quickly escaped and found himself on top following the scramble.

Despite a lack of a full training camp Miller controlled the second round with an onslaught of heavy punches. Wiman spent the early part of round two shelled against the cage while the fresher Miller teed off with vicious combinations. After a takedown, Miller solidified the round with heavy ground n’ pound from the top position.

The final stanza saw Wiman start out strong and stun Miller with a left hook. Miller took over quickly however with a big takedown and he soon reassumed the top position. The bout ended with Miller raining down heavy punches from the top.

Judges scorecards all read the same, 30-27 in favor of Jim Miller who is now 8-0 in his last eight fights.

Credeur Batters Loughran

“Crazy” Tim Credeur scored an impressive TKO at the end of the second round over an outgunned Nate Loughran in a welterweight contest.

Credeur used heavy straight punches to repeatedly snap back the head of Loughran throughout round one. Despite the sloppy nature of the blows, Credeur found his mark with nearly every haymaker that he threw. Although he appeared overmatched, Loughran proved to have the whiskers to compete in Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Round two was fought primarily on the mat which evened the odds tremendously. Though Credeur holds the proud title of Louisiana’s first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, Loughran’s training under submission champion David Terrell created an interesting chess match. From inside the guard of Loughran, Credeur opened a deep cut above the left eye of his opponent. Once on the feet Credeur blasted his opponent with crunching punches to the chin until the bell sounded.

Loughran failed to answer the bell for round three giving “Crazy” Tim Credeur the TKO victory.

Hill Suffers Disastrous Injury; Hartt Wins

6’5 lightweight Corey Hill’s night ended suddenly as a botched kick snapped the bones in his leg just 20 seconds into round two. His opponent, Dale Hartt, was awarded the TKO victory.

Unusually tall for the lightweight division, Hill made his first splash in the UFC as a star of The Ultimate Fighter V which was eventually won by Nate Diaz. After nearly a six month layoff from active competition, Hill showed impressive skills early by taking his opponent to the mat and working from the top position. After the fighters rose to their feet, Hill put an exclamation point on the period by scoring another takedown.

The 6’5 Hill’s luck would suddenly, and violently, run out however as he suffered a fight ending leg break in the second round of the scheduled three round contest. A Hill leg kick was properly checked by Hartt but, as the shin bones collided, Hill’s leg appeared to snap on contact. The fight was immediately waved off just 20 seconds into round two. 

Hill was removed from the cage on a stretcher. A concerned Hartt accompanied his fallen opponent.

Saunders, McCully Continue to Roll

Welterweight Ben “Killa B” Saunders needed just 1:49 to stop UFC newcomer Brandon Wolff with knee strikes and punches in the opening round.

Enjoying a sizable height advantage, the veteran Saunders capitalized on his overwhelmed opponent with long distance strikes and constant pressure. After pausing momentarily following a low blow by “Killa B,” Saunders used hard knees followed by wild punches to score the TKO victory.

In the night’s lone heavyweight bout, “The Insane One” Justin McCully defeated Eddie Sanchez via unanimous decision. Though both men seemed eager to trade heavy punches, a noticeable lack of cardio preparation slowed the contest to a crawl.

Undercard Action: Bruno, Fioravanti Victorious

In a lightweight contest UFC veteran Steve Bruno submitted Johnny Rees in the second round with a tight rear naked choke. The official time was 3:44.

At 170 lbs Luigi Fioravanti won a hard fought unanimous decision over Brodie Farber. Official scorecards all read the same 30-27.