Though Dan Hardy earned a shot at Georges St. Pierre’s UFC Welterweight Championship with his victory over Mike Swick last week, for some mixed martial arts fans, the “true” number one contendership battle in the division was the Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson fight at UFC 106.
Two explosive wrestlers with knockout power, Johnson and Koscheck were sure to have a war in their UFC 106 contest. And while the fight was every bit as action-packed as expected, it also featured several bits of controversy.
Who won the fight? UFC 106 results of this fight follow:
(Note: This story covers the Koscheck vs. Johnson fight, for results of the full card, including Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin, click here).
Josh Koscheck b. Anthony Johnson via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:47 of Round Two
*Story of the fight: It can be argued that Koscheck did more damage with his punches, but given Johnson’s ability to use his significant reach advantage (especially early in the fight), one still had to give the stand-up advantage to Johnson–he connected with some hard, well-placed shots on the decorated wrestler. Noting Koscheck’s recent reluctance to use his top-notch wrestling, “Kos” fans had to fear that he would try to spend three rounds standing with Johnson.
Luckily for them, he ultimately decided to shoot on Johnson; it was Koscheck’s wrestling that won him the fight. In the final sequence of the fight, Koscheck hammered Johnson with elbows from half-guard, before advancing to Johnson’s back and securing a rear naked choke for the win.
An exciting fight, it was made even more intense by the presence of controversy. In round one, Anthony Johnson threw an illegal knee to a downed Koscheck, causing the “TUF” alum to wince in pain as he held his left eye. The knee was illegal regardless, but some of the replay angles suggested that Koscheck blocked much of the blow with his forearm–it was unclear if the knee ever truly connected with Koscheck’s eye.
Koscheck ultimately recovered, but the controversy was not over. In round two, action was halted twice due to Anthony Johnson suffering eye pokes in the stand-up battle (replays were able to confirm the second poke; the supposed first eyepoke was never clearly shown on camera).
After securing the victory, Koscheck called out Dan Hardy, claiming that he was the true contender for GSP’s Welterweight gold.