Noguiera vs herring....kos could have won it thiago landed a lucky punch

Early stoppage no question about it. If Thiago had jumped on him and he wasn't protecting his head then it would have been legit but that wasn't the case.

Fight was stopped early. Thiago didn't even get a chance to pounce on Koscheck before the fight was stopped. He had his hand up and it was possible that he was able to defend. The ref should have at least waited for Thiago to land one or two strikes.

Alright Kos needs to chill he was out like a nite light at the brink of dawn. He needs to stop being a little bitch its the ref's job to make sure fighters don't die in there srry josh not this time.

What made this knockout even more enjoyable was seeing those golden pubic hairs on that big melon of his flying around after his head hit the mat.

Early stoppage.

Fight stoppages are a spectrum. This was off centre towards the side of early, but still well within the accepted range.

I thought the ref's did a really nice job.


I wouldn't be surprised though if they ref's were told, to some extent, to try and keep a semi tight lid on the finishes. If that Fight For the Troops showwas on Spike was on 5 years ago or whenever they were starting, Dana White would be mean mugging seniors as a pit boss down at one of the Station Casino's.

I've seen multiple people say he was out, but that it was an early stoppage. Pardon my acronymic French, but WTF? If someone is out, you don't wait a few seconds to see if he comes back. You stop the damn fight. If he's rocked, but not out, THEN you give him a few seconds to see if he can adequately defend himself. I thought it was an early stoppage when I first saw it, but the replay clearly shows he was out.

The ONLY argument we should be having here is if he was out or not. The decision to stop the fight (that quickly) should be based on that.

Considering I hate this pubic-hair headed motherfucker, I'm gonna vote "whiny Koscheck"

1 more second and the fight wouldve been on.

If you don't want an early stoppage, don't punch while looking at another man's shoes, thus putting yourself in that kind of situation.

The night was filled with early stoppages, plain and simple.

Unless someone gets knocked out cold the ref should make them pounce and get a few clean and obvious shots in before stopping it. They're always yelling "Defend yourself" so they should let them at least try.

To me, it seems obvious when someone gets a flash knockout and needs to be finished (ex. Kos/Thiago & Shamrock/Sakuraba) versus someone getting knocked completely out with no more strikes needed (ex. Liddell/Evans & Hansen/Imanari).

@Hillbilly: LMFAO!

@ Hillbilly:

Funniest thing I've ever read on this site. His Dad had a bit part in Men in Black, if I remember correctly...

For my money its definitely an early stoppage. No doubt. He was out momentarily, but was pulling guard & his hands were up. Im not a fan of Josh Koscheck, but he didnt get a fair shake there.

his eyes were rolled into the back of his head. watch the replay in HD and u can see. He may think he quickly recovered but that's just because he cant remember "Lost Time".

Paulo knew he was out by looking at him thats why he didnt pounce. Kos should be grateful he didnt take any excess blows while he was out, those are the ones that do brain damage.

the replay clearly shows

that Kos was knocked out by an illegal shot to the groin. If you watch in slow motion the shot lands directly under Josh's pubic hair crushing what I assume to be his balls.

Josh should have been given 5 minutes to recover and Thiago should have been warned for a low blow.

too many early stoppages. its a goddamn fight. please let the fighters finish the fights!

IT WAS TO AVOID AN UNNECESARY BEAT DOWN! IT WAS A CLEAN STOPPAGE

QUIT BEING A LITTLE BITCH KOS!!!!!!!!!!! he was rocked clearly, it was a good stoppage!...thiago would have finished him off anyway.

oh yeah and when Kos got knocked out (cuz he did and to hear him whine about makes my day) I did a fat man back flip, which consists of raising my hand up and telling my old lady to bring more beer.

I have been talkin shit about Kos for a long time. I argue that the used q-tip is not a top ten fighter in his weight class. This proves my point. If he wants respect lets see him stop playing doorman and beat a real top ten fighter (Jake Shields?) I would love to see a Sanchez v. Koschek 2

I was just starting to like him and he's complaining about an early stoppage? Suck it up, you got caught...it happens. Don't be Houston Alexander...

it was wayy too early . and it definitely seemed like a trend the whole night.

I have no problem with the stoppage.It just looked odd because Thiago didn't pounce on Kos.

i agree it was a flash ko, but thats not the end of the fight at all. he was conscious. he may have taken a beating, but it didnt look like it paulo was not swarming him. and thats just what its about. i dunno, back to watching old pride fights until people can organize mma again.

Stopped to early, enough said. A good knock down doesn't mean you win a fight. If you get someone in a sub and they don't tap doesn't mean you win, Frye had his ankle broke when he fought ken and didn't tap, only way you should win is if it's clearly over. And Kos was not finished, I'm still pissed, still think he would've won.

that night did have alot of early stoppages. i thought that as a whole, it did feel different.

kos is a whiny bitch, he was out, sure he recovered quick, but if the ref let it go on, he would still be unconscious now. thiago won by ktfo

Ahhhhhhh, poor Kosy is pissed! too bad you punkass bitch. Every time this asshole gets put to sleep by a nicley placed strike, everything in the world is in perfect balance for a split second. Seeing this clown hit the cage floor, in a state of unconsiousness is sheer bliss. I agree that the stoppage was a little early, only because I really wanted to see several hammer fists bounce of this thick skull. Doesn't this guy always look like he just woke up after sleeping on his massive head for about 12 hours? haha. (;>~)=

I say, Whiny Koscheck!
He should shut up and accept the fact that he got his punk ass knocked out. I must admit, it would have been enjoyable to see Josh get blasted 50 or 60 more times, but I think the stoppage was fine. In Koscheck's defense, Mazzagati is famous for early stoppages, however this was not! If every guy who ever got knocked out, was allowed to continue, simply because he felt he was OK, eventually we would have someone seriously damaged or (God forbid) killed. Now Josh, go back to Buffalo or whatever hell hole you came out of and get a job picking up trash or something else you can handle, ok?

He was dazed but not out. He assumed a defensive posture. The stoppage was not consistent with other UFC fights both that night and at earlier events. The ref was trigger happy and ended what would have been a good fight.

Were I the ref I would've stopped it too. Several people have made the point that the ref is there to protect the fighters and I agree. Kos was out on his feet so regardless of how much he may have recovered by the time he was on the ground I would've done the same thing. Too bad though, he was punching the living hell out of Thiago but didn't finish him off.

Kos got hosed... if that was the goldon child GSP he would have been allowed to recover... I hate Kos but think he was screwed.

I hope they give Paulo Thiego, Jon Fitch or Mike Swick next ...LMFAO!

Kos was out before he hit the mat. Clearly, he woke up once he hit the mat, but it doesn't matter at that point. The ref caught him outcold and stopped the fight as he should have. If he's that pissed about the stop, he could prevent it next time by not bending the waist and looking at the ground while throwing a jab. Then, he wouldn't be leaving himself open to an uppercut like that.

Josh was knocked out clear & simple.

He was knocked the "f" out. All this talk about him defending himself is bullshit. His legs came up off the canvas for a second in a weak attempt to pull guard and settled right back down, leaving himself wide open. He was out. Good call REF!!!!

Looks like Josh found something to "care" about.

Chris Leben.........

Definitely not an early stoppage. Although the ref should have let it go on for a bit, just so he could have had his snivelling face smashed in. I have disliked this guy from his TUF days, he was ALWAYS an asshole and it doesn't look like things have changed much.

Sanchez is another one. An unbearable, cheesy caracature of a hardman who is destined to fall of the face of the earth. He looked VERY ordinary against Jo Daddy. He'll never see BJ OR Florian in the octagon, because he ain't fucking good enough.

i say good call. as joe rogan said after watching the replay if there had been no stoppage it just would have meant that he would have been hit a few times in the face and KO'd. he was for sure rocked and was not recovering any time soon, the stoppage was correct, even if the better fighter lost.

anybody remember heath herring losing to minotauro nogueira after he dropped him in the first round and started dropping bombs to his face and then let nogueira recover? i guess nogueira would have 0 wins in his career if he fought in london.

Kos is just a whiny lil bitch and always has been. He was out cold and Thiago was just standing there. He could have pounced on kos and beat the shit out of him if he wanted to but he just stood there and waited. That shows a lot of respect out of him. Kos just needs to put on his big girl panties and take his loss end of story!

You ever see those fights where the guy has no fucking idea where he's at for a slpit second and some fighter hits the shit out of him one more time?.....and we all sit back and say "Shit, the ref should have stopped it sooner." Kos needs to learn for his mistakes and move on .....or watch the damn video of your eyes being dazed, your hands by your side, and most importantly some Wanker being nice enough not to hit you one more time!!!! You got your ass kicked and lost me $50 bucks.

Best uppercut I've seen in awhile. But the stoppage was early. I'm not a Kos fan. Maybe Kos overlooked Thiago.

good stoppage.

Early....Very Early. It looked very similar to the Nog-Herring Ufc 73: Stacked bout and we all know how that ended.

None of the stoppages were early. Taking even one shot while unconscious can cause permanent damage... If that happens more than once this sport will cease to exist as we know it.

Demian Maia is now my favorite fighter because of what he said after his fight, about winning without hurting the other fighter... Who wants to see your favorite fighter become a vegetable?

if they are not out cold, and have thier hands up, you should have to pounce. no pounce how can you tell if they can or cannot intelligently defend themselves.

Early stoppage.

The ref stopped it early because Thiago acted like the ref should stop it.

Noguera vs Heath Herring, high kick to the head of Noguera, fight goes on and he pulls out the win. Paul Taylor vs Marcus Davis, high kick to the head of Marcus, again the fight goes on and Marcus pulls out the win. Thats just a couple that jump out at me at the moment but there have been more where a fighter has been completely knocked loopy to come back and win. The ref should have given him a chance to defend. If he can pull guard and stall untill he recovers good, if he takes a few more then stop it.

definately early stoppage. You english don't know true mma. Someone gets rokd and you think its over. Thiago was a fag for not jumping on kos. If I were in the ufc, I would never fight england cause of possible early stoppage. I was pretty pissed about the stop. Lucky for thiago cause kos would have came back and fukd him up

EARLY

that stoppage was suuuuper early. he was definitely rocked but not out cold.

Ref made the right call, instead of complaining work on your defense

He was hurt, that much was obvious, but he was putting up something that resembled a defense. I think Thiago woulda still taken him out if the ref hadn't stopped it, but the ref should have let it go. Thiago was slowly walking over thinking he had already won, if he did that for a few more seconds without the ref jumping in, kos mighta had time to recover.

I got knocked the fuck out.

I also hear that Kos is complaining about how "greasy" Thiago felt during the fight.

Josh was out on the way down, But stay say the ref didn't stop it. The next few punches would have ended it anyways. So does it even matter. the really victim here is the views. That ref robbed use of some good ground and pound!!

i thought it was an early stoppage and i like to see fights finished by the fighters. there are numerous examples of fighters coming back from the brink of defeat to win. hughes vs trigg comes to mind. hughes was knocked out from one punch and waken up on the follow up punch, then reverses position and ends the fight shortly after.
kos was hurt badly but he had his hands up and guard open. he looked aware and cognizant of his situation eventhough he had been rocked.

i feel like the fighters make so many sacrifices to follow their dreams and deserve the opportunity to recover.

I think he was out, but the fight may still have been stopped too early. Good stoppage, but next time let him get slapped a little longer to remove excuses and controversy.

Thiago's reaction after he hit him was great - like he had just hit one over the green monster and was admiring his work... he knew he was out; anyone watching that fight knew he was out. But with that said, definitely early stoppage - I think everyone wanted to see that deer in the head-lights, wiry haired crotch head, hit at least 4 more times.

how are you going to stop a fight when the guy is waiting to defend himself. that fight should not have been stopped when it was i think the ref stopped because paulo stopped fighting and didnt follow up.

It was early. I hate Koz, but it looked like he was trying to get back in the fight. He was probably rocked as all hell, but he is a fighter let him catch his ass whooping. If ref's can let justin wolf get 10,000 knees to the head they should let other fighters get at least one hit in after the knock down if the fighter looks to be trying to recover.

However, none of us were in the ring so maybe the ref saw something that we didn't. And Josh is a littly whinney girl so his display afterwards makes me not care if the stop was early or not.

Stoppage was a little early, but Kos was not trying to pull guard. His legs and arms were flopping like a fish out of water. He got a little too cocky in there.

Yeah beetch, Big Nog Vs Heath Herring , Nog won by decision... Another After Brock lesnar knocked out Randy Couture they give him like a whole minute until they finally stopped the fight. They Obviously are seeing if the fighters can "recover"... shit that guy recovered so fast.

@Fedor a million ankles

I agree with what you're saying. 1 or 2 more punches wouldn't have made a huge difference in damage taken. I was just commenting on the Roman Gladiator-esque fight to the death way of thinking that makes MMA look bad.

There is a difference between getting knocked off of your equilibrium (happens to Fedor alot) and being knocked out. Kos was out cold (2nd blow insured that) before he hit the mat.

I know whoever brought race into it was a moron, cause not all the refs were British, being a Brit i felt a lot of the fights were stopped early, no one wonder they were free on TV, pathetic really.

@ wandering wade

I don't think that not stopping fights early would cause any significant increase in the amount of damage a fighter takes. If 2 more punches would turn a close call into a decisive victory, then they should let them throw those couple more punches.

I don't want to see anybody get hurt worse than they have to but getting knocked off your equilibrium for a split second does not mean you lost the fight.

That stoppage was legit. Most of the TKOs Liddell had gotten were stopped in a similar manner, if not earlier. Fair stoppage.

Although i would of liked to of seen Kos' bonce bounce off that mat a few more times. The stoppage was correct imo.

I think alot of this early stoppage bitching that goes on often comes about when the oponent hesitates in delivering the last barage of punches, it gives the dazed/rocked/ktfo person the sense they could of continued, where as its realy just mercy on behalf of the other fighter.

That and the fact Koscheck is a whiny cunt and sees it as a chance to justify his loss by bitching about regional refs.

Tho werent most of the refs american ? pls correct me if im wrong

it could go either way. by the time the ref stepped in... Josh was probably recovered, but the ref had a long way to run to get inbetween... when the ref started moving, Kos was out. we've seen a ref step in before only to say "keep going", and no one liked that either. sure its not ideal, but... dont be out for a second and give the ref a chance to stop the fight.

Don't like KOS at all, shitty attitude. As much as I liked seeing his fro flop around after that nice combo uppercut and left hook, I do think KOS could have turned that fight around had it continued. But on the other hand I agree Thiago should have ended it instead of raising his arm and patting himself on the back. Leave no doubt next time Paulo!

I think it was a good stoppage by the ref. Koscheck's eyes were definetely open...but rolling to the back of his head. He also did indeed manage to have his hand up, but it looked like he was pleading to Thiago to not hit him again. Irregardless, I think a lot of mma fans are too blood thirsty. I want to see people get KTFO, too, but I don't really care to see somebody pummelled into oblivion or see a limb snapped in half,either.

@MC Obscene

"This is fucking MMA, let them fight till it is a no doubter."

Guys like you are the reason why MMA still has a bad rep in some peoples eyes. What if a ref let's them fight "till it is a no doubter" and the losing fighter is put into a coma or worse dies? That's the end of MMA as we know it. It's the refs job to ensure the safety of the fighters, not ensure that the fight remains exciting at any cost.

Thiago standing over him like that is what prompted the stoppage. Prepare to see more of that kind of posturing.

That's why I miss Big John, he wouldn't let you fight till you were dead or your arm was snapped in two but it always seemed like the perfect amount. I don't remember ever watching a fight he reffed and thought the fight was stopped prematurely. That being said, Kos is a douche. Accept the fact you had a flash knockout. Your muscle memory kicked in when your head bounced off the mat like a basketball, but your severely crossed eyes weren't fooling anyone... unless Eddie Bravo has also patented "Retard Guard". "Put your hands flat on the mat with your rigid neck holding your head straight up and cross your eyes as hard as you can. Put your legs into something resembling an open guard to have something to bitch about later IF the fight gets stopped. This will give the appearance you were severely rocked and invite the opponent so you can try to break his hand on your face."

I think it was an early stoppage. You can see cause is about to get up but goes back down ready to defend himself.

Good stoppage...but no violent spirit by Thiago

I not a fan of Koscheck but I think it was def stopped early. Dos Santos on the other hand had the beanpole in a vunerable position and that stoppage was justafied.

Kos has been totally rocked before, only to recover in what seems an unbelievably brief time. I think he would have been able to pull guard and ride that out.

Stoppage = too early

I think the call was bullshit and that Koscheck got robbed. Joe Rogan was an idiot about the whole thing. If the ref had NOT stopped the fight, Joe would have gone on and on about how great the refs are for allowing fighters a moment to recuperate.

That ref was an idiot. Kos hit the ground hard but he wa SITTING UP when the ref stopped the fight. HOW IS HE KNOCKED OUT IF HE'S FUCKING SITTING UP? Thiago was going in to finish it because even HE knew that Kos wasn't out.

Bad reffing is bad for the UFC.

Regardless of liking Kos or not, I watched Brock Lesnar hit Randy 40+ times before they stopped it; I think all top contenders would rather wake up seconds/minutes later.

The fight should be what is decisive, not the refs call.

This stoppage is no better than if they had stopped Nogueira's last fight against Herring when he got rocked. Maybe he was out for a split second, but when the ref jumped in he was all there, in guard position, looking at Thiago.

CHRIS LEBEN

the only problem i saw there is that thiago didnt jump on him and finish the fight. this makes it look like he stoped the fight not the ref. kosh was out and was about to get rocked but i bet he would rather get knocked the fuck out on the mat then have it stoped like that. your a fighter do your job you fight till the ref stops it and then people dont question it

There is no doubt it was stopped a tad early but there is also no doubt that Kos was unconcious for a brief moment. All guys that go out for a sec always say later that they didn't even know they were out or for how long. There is no feeling of lost time for them so as far as Kos was concerned he knew he got tagged but was ready to go.
I for one am not a Kos fan and would have loved to see him pummled a bit more before the stoppage but even if he was alert enough to continue does anyone really think he would be able to mount an effective defense against such a master at BJJ? Probably not. The reality of the situation is that if you don't want to to get your fight stopped early don't get tagged and roll your eyes back in your head. If Nappy headed Cock-face would have kept his hands up and not gone in swinging like a baby on a tittie he wouldn't have lost that fight. He was clearly ahead on the books and just needed to show a little patience.
I can totally understand why he couldnt though. With all of that pubic hair on his skull his brain is swimming in testosterone. That can make some pretty bad decision making. Just ask my 14 year old knocked up girlfriend.

It is partially Kos' fault. He got caught. His eyes went to the back of his head, the ref is there to protect the fighters, but i think Thiago didn't have the killer instinct he should have had. Once Kos was on the floor Thiago should have made sure the fight was finished instead of casually walking over to Kos and giving the ref the opportunity to stop it. Bottom line Kos got caught and he should have been more careful, back to the drawing table. I might be wrong but Thiago doesn't look like he can hang with the likes of GSP, Jon Fitch or even Mike Swick. How about Dan Hardy vs. Paulo Thiago?

Damian Mia is a monster!

i think if this exact thing happened in a gsp vs. anyone it wouldn't be an issue but since it was kos vs. some noob, then it's a problem. kos had his bell rung. any ref would have stopped any other fight in that situation.

@ UFC Fan
Dude i was with you until you said 'lucky punch'.... I'm sure Paulo meant to throw that mean upper cut. There's no such thing as a 'lucky punch' in a fight.

Kos looked like Chuck when Rampage knocked him out. When you fall back that hard, momentum can bring your legs up. That doesn't necessarily mean kos was trying to pull guard but only kos know for sure I guess. His neck was stretched and stiff like a turtle when he was trying to roll over after the stoppage. Homeboy was D.O.N.E. Look at his eyes. The stoppage was fine.

Leben over Martin, Scott Smith over Pete Sell. I am not of fan of Koscheck by any means, but that was clearly stopped too early. That might have been the worst stoppage ever. It is definitely comparable to similar unfair and premature stoppages such as the Vera/Werdum, Grice/Veach, and Slice/Thompson. The latter two were clearly winning their fights before having them stopped just like the Kos/Thiago fight. Kos has every reason in the world to be pissed. That is a really bad loss to have on his record when he was totally out-classing the other guy up to that point of the fight.

Koscheck needs to call up BJ Penn and have him get started on a video.....that will show everyone is was early stoppage.

Koscheck is just being a whiny bitch. Watch the replay he is out, its more then just getting knocked down, he was out, Thiago should have followed it up and blasted him, but he didn't need to Kos was out watch the fucking replay.

Hey was lights out. His eyes were glassy, he was staring up and seeing nothing. He's lucky thiago doesn't have a killer instinct or he WOULD have taken more head shots. If he wad been fighting Diego Sanchez the ref would have had to pry them apart. He's being a baby because yes, he was winning the fight, but no, he was not coming back. These big strong fighters who are afraid to man up after a fight and admit they got rocked- pathetic. Man up and move on.

Legit stop and beautiful ko. It took him time to fully recover after the stoppage. He wouldve been stomped. He should be thankful. You people complain when the stoppage is "too early" but yet you call for mazzagati's head when he lets some poor guy get killed after he's out. Where's the line? Is it really too thin to see?

KOS need a new haircut thats all.

I want a rematch

Kos got KTFO! if paulo wanted to be a dick he could of ruined him but he stopped knowing kos was out. watch the replay paulo could of landed a undefended haymaker right to joshs dome if he wanted to.

My impression was that the stoppage was too early. I've seen enough one-hitter-quitters in the UFC to know that Koscheck, a 14-fight UFC veteran, deserved to at least go out all the way. Reminds me of the Pete Sell-Nate Quarry fight.

Look at this from the ref's point of view: supposing he lets Koscheck get his face slammed a few more times after and then calls it off. Kos then spends about 5 minutes on the mat like Matt Lindland did after the Belfort fight with a neck brace on and a face full of blood, while the replay shows he was out when he first hit the mat. Now I don't know the way refereeing in MMA works, but I assume there is some form of overseer or regulator monitoring their performance, and I would also assume that said regulator would prefer one of his referees stopping a fight early thus preventing permanent injury than letting one continue for too long.

Now look at this from Dana's point of view: yes, he wants the fans to be happy as they're the ones buying tickets and merch and PPV's. At the same time though, he also wants this sport sanctioned in New York, as should every MMA fan reading this (NYC = more money, more money = more fighters/fights, more fighters/fights = more exposure). Koscheck getting pounded some more after going to sleep helps his cause exactly none.

i thought at first that it was too early. but if you watch the replay (i watched it a few times) even when the ref is holding josh, he is looking off to the left looking really rocked. so, even if it was early he was rocked but the ref should have given him a second longer. maybe josh would have felt better if he had the opportunity to be punched in the face a couple times after he hit.

@KissMyAnthia
Watch some more Fedor fights. There are some where he looks like he's ready to buckle, but rather than lose balance he'll latch onto his opponent and hold on long enough to recover. It's literally like he's knocked-out standing up, but refuses to go down.

@Anonymous (the one talking about kos not having a complete game)
GSP's legacy came to be, because of his outstanding wrestling. His power to put his opponents wherever he wishes comes from his wrestling and he admits it. As well as in older fights (pre-UFC) you can see it. Then when you take into account some guys are like Kos who have the most solid ground games, and then there are guys like Kongo who have amazing stand-up. They don't really need to complete their mma skills full circle but rather patch holes in their style. Guys like Chuck Liddel who stand up, but then have amazing wrestling only to use it to prevent takedowns. Kongo is definately improving takedown defence, in the same aspect as Sherk finally sharpened his boxing.

Heres the thing about it:
Cupcake was lights out!
He woulda got mashed...which I woulda loved to seen.
sadly the refs dont want the fighters to get hurt anymore than is normal, bottom line good stoppage.
the most important part is how UNprofessional cupcheck is, instead of being a man and taking it, he goes the other way, and acts like a spoilt retard!
Its funny how he can act all smug and cocky, and talk his shit when he wins, BUT get caught with a lucky punch, get beat when you are a the clear choice to win, and then you see the REAL josh!
Grow up KOS, you are never gonna be a top tier fighter with that lack of inner pride and childish behavior. Learn to have some respect for your sport and those in it, and maybe one day they will respect you. No one wants another douchebag like Phil baroni, and thats exactly what you act like, you eraser headed moron.
Cry all you like, you got Knocked the fuck out, suck it up, stop crying, and blaming others for your fuck up!

Without a doubt it was early. This is fucking MMA, let them fight till it is a no doubter. If I was Kos I would be super pissed too. I have seen guys come back and win from a worse shot then that!!

Stoppage was fine. The fighters always say "Let me get KTFO'd" but then you end up like Wanderlei Silva late in your career with a glass jaw.

Kos was out; him getting punched in the head twenty more times wouldn't have proved anything and would have caused permanent damage.

Dos Santos crumpled Struve twice and buckled him once inside of 5 seconds. You simply cannot have that happen and claim you are still ready to fight.

Marquardt destroyed Gouveia and left him crouching against the cage.

You could argue the stoppages were only, but under the rules the refs made valid calls.

Even if the ref didnt stop it could he really put up a fight? he did get rocked real bad, maybe he got knocked out. but even if he didnt get KO'ed he was seconds away.

early stoppage...the ref jumped the gun

I don't think there's any value to the fighter who got hit making the argument, especially in any sort of KO.

Post-fight interviews have shown time and again that these guys' memories of the event of getting hit are often garbled or inaccurate; think of how many times you've seen someone try to take the ref down, or been informed by the replay of what actually happened.

While this stoppage has to stand, hopefully the ref takes away a lesson that next time he may want to take his time getting in there just to be sure people have nothing to say. The only other thing I can think of is to have fighters check a "DNR" of sorts on their bout agreement; a little checkbox that says "[__] Try to smash me in the event of a KO" for competitors that would rather get stretched out completely than deal with the uncertainty.

I think it was a fair stoppage but even still, it's better to err on the side of caution than not.

I like how he thinks he had his hands up in defense. Um, no sir.

That card rocked and seeing the blonde Q¬tip get KTFO was part of the reason why it was so good. I dont get all the bitching about the stoppages. This is MMA, once you lose conciousness in a fight ypu also lose your right to argue the stoppage, in my opinion of course.

There was a GIF on the Sherdog forums that shows pretty conclusively that this was an early stoppage (sorry, but I'm not goig to wade back in there for at least a week or two). Koscheck got rocked and was out for a few seconds but was obviously raising his legs to defend himself or establish a guard.

The fight should not have been stopped, but I have no doubt in my mind that if Thiago had jumped on Kos right after that nasty combo, he would have landed enough clean hammerfists or punches that it would have been stopped in a way nobody would be bitching about now- and ironically in a way that would have done much more damage to Koscheck's image.

So in my opinion it's Kos who's the real beneficiary of the early stoppage, and probably the UFC and us who are the losers. It's clear that early stoppages are becoming a trend and we certainly aren't going to see as many epic fights if someone doesn't push back against this. I'm not saying it should be like early Pride where fighters were allowed to be beaten to bloody pulps, but some sort of balance is necessary. Last night was out of whack.

Come back fights after getting rocked:
Marcus Davis over Paul Taylor
Joe Doerkson over Patrick Cote

Flash KOs are hard to call. The problem was that Thiago waved to the ref that the guy was down before the Ref came in and made the call. Just like when BJ beat Sherk. If BJ didnt wave and Sean Sherk didn't get up there would be no controversy.

Def. good stoppage...Paulo didn't even jump on him like he could have....he just slowly walked up waiting for the ref cuz he knew he could have jumped on him and continued the beatdown...

Bottomline...Kos admitted he doesn't study fighters before fighting them and he paid for it.

Whatever, that was so NOT an early stoppage. The refs job is to protect the integrity of the fight and the safety of both fighters. Its obvious that Kos was kO'd on the feet. That being said, how safe would the fighter be after being Ko'd then allowed to continue fighting risking getting knocked out a second time, possibly getting a concusion, or worse. If you are fighting and you get knocked out I'd bet that you would freakin hope the ref would stop the guy from pounding you out even more! Kos is pissed because he fucked up, got ko'd and is once again eliminated from title contention. He is not a premier fighter, great wrestler sure, but not a premier all around fighter. Lots of guys have been training standup there entire lives. Kos has been doing for what 3 years, its no suprise that he has wholes in his standup. No one should be surprised! If you are then you haven't training nearly long enough to understand the complexity of an all around game and how long it really takes to be the best of the best. KOs, not even close. He will never hold a belt in the UFC at any weight. Rashad, same deal though he has the belt, don't expect him to keep it for long. After he inevitably loses it, he won't get it again.

It was a good stoppage. Kos had his hands down and would have taken more punches.

It seems like every fighter was complaining about early stoppages, even though it was deserved. I think they are just complaining because they are worried about getting dropped!

nah, it was good.

he was out...he came back pretty quick, but he was flash-ko'd for sure. when the ref is actuallystopping it and holding him, Josh is pretty stiff and sort of starring off. he was out of it long enough to warrant a stoppage.

It is the referee's JOB to make sure that your brain does not get splattered. Just because your eyes are open and your hands are up in the air does not mean you are going to defend yourself anytime soon. Koscheck wants to tell everyone that he doesnt need to watch the other guy's tapes, and when he gets caught with a solid shot he is bitching. Stop blaming the ref, you get rocked like that with eyes rolling back thats a TKO

The stoppage wasn't too early - BUT due to the simple fact that Thiago did NOT jump him straight away, Koscheck might have been able to live for a little longer, so if you look at it that way, yes it's an early stoppage. But he was out.

None of the stoppages were criminal, but it did seem like the referees were erring on the side of caution all night long. That makes me think they were probably told to keep things on a tight leash.

Koscheck was definitely rocked when he hit the mat, but did appear to be recovering when the ref (who I'm not sure had a great angle anyway) stepped in. In a perfect world, he probably would've let it go a few more seconds, not only because it would've been the right thing to do but also because we would've been treated to seeing Koscheck get punched in the face a few more times.

A little of both if you ask me... Maybe a second too early but Kos needs to cut the bitching out.

that was bullshit !!!! kos was hurt! but not out! way way way way too early!!

It was a little early like a few of the fights last night but I don't think that any of them were horrible stoppages... the refs could have let them take a couple more shots before jumping in but the results would have been the same. It's a tough balance between making sure the fight is actually done and making sure a guy doesn't take too much unnecessary punishment.

Ref should've gave kos a little more time, rampage got to hit wandy one last time and he was clearly out after the first. To many early stops goin on as of late. Kos could've recovered and won the fight, he was winning by a large margain. I'm still pissed.

Also, good call dude who brought up Lindland vs Belfort - that's the kind of thing no one wants to see, really. Lindland was down for fucking ever, and that's not what this sport is about.

I'm English and therefore likely biased, but I don't think any of the stoppages were all that early. At the end of the day, I think people saying Kos was stopped too soon are just bitter that Kos didn't get his shit completely ruined.

Yeah, some of the fights could have gone on a little longer, but I don't think they'd have lasted much longer before they were stopped. You know, two or three hammer fists later.

Very early stoppage. Everytime ufc go's oversea's the ref's or judge's screw up alot of fights. Kos will be alright he'll just have to fight his way back up the latter again.

early stoppage!

Kos was out cold before he hit the mat, but only for a second, by the time his head hit the floor he was back awake and ready to get Thiago into his guard, i personally think the ref should have let it keep going, even if Kos did literally get knocked unconscious.

I've always been a big fan of Kos and he got caught by a sloppy puncher who, if he fights decent competition, will get knocked out the next fight himself. I believe had Thiago jumped into Kos' guard, the ref would have let it go on, but the ref being the ref, looked at the body language of Thiago to decide to stop the fight rather than if Kos was about to defend himself i mean come, this is MMA for fucks sake, let the man fight, if he got pummeled on the floor, then stop it, but now when hes about to defend himself, boxers get knocked down all the time, if they are quick enough to show they are still conscious by the time they realize their on the mat, the fight goes on!

There was a trend of early stoppages with Koscheck's being the most glaring. He was rocked but he looked like he was ready for Thiago by the time Thiago was going to pounce on him. Yes it was an early stoppage, it appeared that the ref didn't recognize Kos preparing to pull guard.

All of that being said, the refs have the power to stop the fight when they feel it is ready to be stopped.

wasnt there a fight between joe doerkson and someone else who i cant remember where one of them got rocked and ended up sinking in a RNC and when joe rogan interviewed the winner he didnt remember finishing the fight?

The ref made the right call. Kos was out cold before he hit the canvas. He'd have ended up getting submitted if it did continue on the ground.

I think it was a good stoppage, it wasn't controvercial at all. but I also would agree that the debate to let it go a little bit longer is valid, even though as soon as I saw that I was thinking belfort vs lidland for some reason, had thiago been able to capitalize on that kos wouldn't get up for a while...

I'm a fan of Kos, and was surprised he got KOed. he was out, plain and simply. I don't think someone with the pride of Kos would be able to accept a loss from someone he was just supposed to walk through.

His fighter instincts went on auto-pilot when he got punched, but you can tell in his eyes for two seconds he was in LaLa land.

Kos just needs to build a bridge and get over it.

Tough call, ref made the right choice. If he was out and another punch landed to his head while he was down, it could have been nasty for pube head.

Ehh It was a no win situation for kos in that fight.. win or lose ..

I thought it was an early stoppage, let them fight.

it might have been a tiny tiny bit early, but i don' think the stoppage changed the outcome of the fight.

there were a couple of "early" stoppages last night, but again, i think all they did was save a few fighters from taking extra, unnecessary damage.

to put things in perspective, can we think of any examples of someone being that *out* at any point in the fight and then coming back to win?

n

kos was definitely rocked after he got floored, but i think the ref might have been able to let it go a second longer. thiago was rushing up to finish the fight so kos might have been able to recover. but the ref stopped it so we will never know.