UFC 124 live results: Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

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One of the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view events of the year, UFC 124 takes place Saturday night in Montreal. The event is headlined by Georges St. Pierre defending his UFC welterweight title against challenger Josh Koscheck.

Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett

Both of these fighters are highly respected for their jiu jitsu skills. Hazelett is moving down to 155 pounds following a poor outing in a stoppage loss to Rick Story. Bocek is one of the lightweight division’s most underrated talents.

Round 1. Boceck closes the distance and takes Hazelett down. Hazelett defends with rubber guard but Bocek passes into side control. They grapple for positioning while Bocek throws down elbows. Bocek locks up a triangle choke from top position and rolls to bottom. He has a really tight triangle and is throwing elbows. Hazelett taps. Dustin Hazelett, once a hot rising prospect in UFC, may find himself out of the organization after being dominated two straight fights. It’s a nice win for Bocek, though. After the fight he says he has the best jiu jitsu in the lightweight division and wants to fight George Sotiropoulos in Toronto next year.

Winner: Mark Bocek, triangle choke submission, round 1.

Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller

Doerksen is a well traveled veteran of the sport who has fought on and off for the UFC many years. Miller is half of one of MMA’s top brother combinations. His brother Jim will fight later on the show.

Round 1. Doerksen connects with a pair of nice right overhand punches. Miller takes him down. Miller works some ground and pound from inside Doerksen’s guard. Kind of a slow round. 10-9 Miller.

Round 2. Doerksen connects again with nice punches. Miller takes him down 30 seconds into the round, but Doerksen immediately executes a nice sweep to gain top position. Doerksen then opens up with much harder ground and pound than Miller was using in round 1. Miller looks for a triangle. Doerksen avoids it, but as he postures up Miller springs forward and takes him down. Doerksen looks for a sweep and then cranks a kimura. Miller gets his arm out of danger. Miller uses a little ground and pound at the end of the round. The judges are very likely going to give this round to Miller because he had a longer riding time but I give it to Doerksen on the basis of more effective offense. 10-9 Doerksen, 19-19.

Round 3. Miller gains top position. Miller uses ground and pound from the top and Doerksen is bleeding from the nose. Doerksen throws elbows from the bottom. 10-9 Miller, 29-28 Miller.

Winner: Dan Miller, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Thiago Alves vs. John Howard

Alves is one of the most feared muay thai fighters in MMA, while Howard has demonstrated tremendous knockout power of his own.

Round 1. Alves is swinging big early. He connects with some solid punches and a hard leg kick. He then takes Howard down and fire some punches from top. Howard goes for a heel hook but Alves avoids that and gets up. On the feet, Alves opens up. He lands a nice right/left punch combination. He follows with some brutal leg kicks and a pair of vicious knees. Alves continues with leg kicks that stagger Howard. Howard has shown a tremendous ability to take punishment in the first round but if Alves keeps this up Howard won’t last the full 15 minutes. Alves 10-8.

Round 2. Alves starts with punches. A low kick accidentally hits Howard’s groin. Howard retaliates with stiff leg kicks of his own. Alves answers with another hard leg kick. Alves shoots for a takedown and slams Howard down. Alves uses some ground and pound and looks to pass guard unsuccessfully. Alves throws some elbows as the round comes to a close. Alves 10-9.

Round 3. Alves starts out with some more leg kicks and trades jabs with Howard. Howard shoots in for a takedown. Alves defends well and they return to the standup. The pace has slowed slightly. Howard lands a nice leg kick but gets dropped with a right cross. Alves lands a pair of nice hooks. Alves follows with a hard leg kick and hard body kick. They brawl wildly as the fight comes to a close. Tremendous performance by Alves and Howard showed great toughness. Alves 10-8, Alves 30-25.

Winner: Thiago Alves, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig

Both of these men won the Ultimate Fighter but have struggled in recent bouts.

Round 1. Stevenson lands a right hook as they feel each other out. Danzig throws a few jabs and a knee from close quarters. As Stevenson lunges in, Danzig catches him with a short counter left hook that knocks Stevenson out. That’s a huge win for Danzig. Stevenson is out cold.

Winner: Mac Danzig, knockout, round 1.

Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira

Miller is a tough, durable lightweight with five straight wins in the UFC. Oliveira is a Brazilian prodigy with elite athleticism and excellent skills standing and on the ground.

Round 1. Oliveira throws a head kick and then shoots for a takedown. Miller defends easily and then takes Oliveira down. Oliveira looks for a guillotine from half guard but Miller avoids trouble. Oliveira releases the guillotine and looks for a kimura and then an armbar. He doesn’t come close to either. After a scramble Miller applies a beautiful kneebar and Oliveira has to tap. Big win for Miller and Oliveira looks dejected. Miller threatened with a heel hook to set up the knee bar.

Winner: Jim Miller, knee bar submission, round 1.

Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson

This is an undercard bout that took place earlier in the evening.

Round 1. Pierson lands a bunch of punches on Riddle early. He is dominating the standup. They clinch and Pierson throws some knees. As they break, Pierson lands some more nice punch combinations. As Riddle moves in, he gets caught with a counter hook and drops. Pierson follows Riddle to the ground with more punches and knees to the body. Riddle tries to get up but Pierson slams him back down. Pierson works to get Riddle’s back and looks for an RNC. Riddle gets out. Pierson again takes over with punches. 10-8 Pierson.

Round 2. Pierson again is picking Riddle apart. Riddle goes for a takedown but doesn’t get it. Pierson continues to dominate the standup and is consistently connecting with Riddle. Riddle calls for more and Pierson obliges with further jabs. Riddle connects with a punch and looks for a choke but Pierson ducks out and runs away to the other side of the ring. Riddle connects again and Pierson runs away again. Riddle looks for a guillotine, doesn’t get it, but gets the takedown. Nice comeback by Riddle but Pierson still takes the round. 10-9 Pierson.

Round 3. Pierson throws some leg kicks and jabs. Riddle moves forward with punches and they’re literally all missing. It’s a bizarre spectacle. It’s like he doesn’t want them to connect. He’s doing tae bo or something. Pierson answers with punches to the head. Riddle’s connect rate this round has to be some sort of all time low. Riddle connects with a few punches and opens up a cut under Pierson’s eye. Riddle shoots for a takedown but Pierson defends well. Riddle may not have been that effective, but he did connect some and was much more active this round. 10-9 Riddle, 29-27 Pierson.

Winner: Sean Pierson, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve

McCorkle has talked a lot of trash and gotten under Struve’s skin. They’re both very tall. This is way on the low end of UFC co-main events.

Round 1. Struve is very worked up. Struve fires some big punches that don’t connect and McCorkle slams him to the mat. McCorkle looks for a kimura but Struve avoids it. McCorkle ends up back in Struve’s guard. Struve looks for an armbar from the bottom but McCorkle gets out. Struve begins throwing punches from the bottom. Struve sweeps and takes top position. He then opens up with tons of punches from the top and McCorkle is just covering up. The referee stops the bout. McCorkle appeared to gas in just a manner of minutes.

Winner: Stefan Struve, TKO, round 1.

UFC welterweight title: Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

St. Pierre and Koscheck coached the most recent season of the Ultimate Fighter and have developed a rivalry. They fought previously in a competitive bout at UFC 74. St. Pierre got the better of the wrestling on balance against the former collegiate national champion Koscheck, but Koscheck spent little time working on his wrestling leading into the bout. St. Pierre is the huge crowd favorite and Koscheck the villain in Montreal.

Round 1. They don’t touch gloves to start the fight. St. Pierre peppers a few jabs and takes Koscheck down 25 seconds in. Koscheck gets right back up. GSP lands a nice straight right. GSP shoots for a takedown but Koscheck defends very well and GSP doesn’t come close. GSP lands a nice jab but Koscheck stuffs the takedown. Koscheck has a mouse under one of his eyes as GSP keeps firing the jab. GSP lands another nice straight punch and high kick. Koscheck moves forward with a few jabs of his own. Koscheck shoots for a takedown from way outside. GSP defends for a while but Koscheck finally get it with 15 seconds left. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Round 2. Koscheck’s right eye is a mess. It’s completely swollen up. GSP with a superman punch early and throws in some leg kicks with the jabs. Koscheck throws back a few hooks but GSP is the much more active fighter. There are profane chants directed at Koscheck in the building. GSP is picking Koscheck apart with the jab and leg kicks. Koscheck lands his best punching combination of the fight including a good uppercut. Surprisingly Koscheck made little effort to try to get a takedown this round. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Round 3. GSP lands some more jabs and a nice overhand right. He throws a low kick and then a high kick. St. Pierre shoots for a takedown but Koscheck defends well. His takedown defense has been excellent but he has lost the standup big. GSP goes back to the jab-oriented standup. He then closes the distance, clinches, and looks for the takedown on Koscheck again. Koscheck defends. St. Pierre throws some more leg kicks and jabs. Koscheck throws back with wild looping punches that don’t come close to GSP. Koscheck’s eye appears to be causing him huge problems. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Round 4. The doctor looks at Koscheck’s eye very closely but allows the fight to continue. GSP shoots for a takedown and gets it, but Koscheck immediately gets up. They scramble and Koscheck looks for a leglock unsuccessfully. In the standup, GSP goes back to the jab. He is fighting very conservatively against an outmatched opponent who can’t see. GSP lands a nice left hook. GSP connects with a further series of jabs. He opens up with hooks and midrange kicks. Koscheck misses a head kick by a mile. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Round 5. St. Pierre lands a nice straight counter as Koscheck moves in. Koscheck lands an overhand right. GSP goes back to the jab. He just throws jabs over and over again with the occasional leg kick while Koscheck throws big haymakers that miss. Crowd sings ‘Hey hey goodbye’ to Koscheck. GSP looks for a takedown with two minutes left. GSP gets it with a minute and a half left. Koscheck stands back up in a hurry. Koscheck is bleeding under the eye. They hug at the end of the fight. 10-9 St. Pierre, 50-45 St. Pierre.

Winner: Georges St. Pierre, unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).

Koscheck congratulates St. Pierre after the fight and says it was a pleasure to fight in Montreal even if he would have liked to have put on a better show.

--Todd Martin