Koscheck stops Hughes in first round
Josh Koscheck’s return to the octagon at UFC 135 was a successful one Saturday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver after a first-round TKO over Matt Hughes in welterweight action.
The Waynesburg native stopped Hughes at 4:59 of the first following a barrage of right hands on his downed opponent that forced the referee to halt the action. With the win, Koscheck improves to 18-5, while the Hughes falls to 46-9.
Koscheck was fighting for the first time since suffering a unanimous decision setback to champion Georges St. Pierre on December 11, 2010 at UFC 124 in Montreal. The 2001 NCAA wrestling champion suffered a broken orbital bone in the fight against St. Pierre.
“I’m more healthy now that at any time in my career,” Koscheck said. “I wanted to show the world that I’m back. I took this fight on 19 days notice, and I had to be ready for a war with Matt Hughes.”
The usually controversial contender had nothing but nice things to say about his opponent, who is in the UFC Hall-of-Fame.
“I just want to thank Matt Hughes for taking this fight this late in his career,” Koscheck said. “He’s a legend and I’m really glad I got the opportunity to fight a legend like him.”
Both fighters came into the bout possessing excellent wrestling skills, although they decided to settle things on their feet with Koscheck scoring with a quick combination. Hughes countered with a few jabs and a strong left hook, but Koscheck used his athleticism to get the better of Hughes. Koscheck looked to end the fight with a right uppercut, but Hughes eluded the shot.
After not being able to finish things with his hands, Koscheck attempted a takedown, but Hughes sprawled nicely before the younger fighter was able to land some hard rights late in the round that dropped Hughes.
Hughes was gracious in defeat, and the two embraced after the fight ended.
“I’m not retiring,” Hughes said. “I’m gonna tell the UFC to put me up on the shelf and we’ll see what happens after that.”