Koscheck blocking a high kick from Alves.
Josh Koscheck stepped in on short notice about two weeks before the fight, replacing an injured Diego Sanchez. The fight earned Thiago Alves his title shot against Georges St. Pierre. Koscheck did consider it a number-one contender match, as did Alves, and so it was one. The fight was a brutal display of Alves's vicious leg kicks. Alves had a broken thumb after the fight.
The Fight[]
The first round began. They circled. Alves missed an inside leg kick. Alves landed a really nice left hook unnoticed by the commentators. Four twenty-five. Koscheck missed a side kick and slipped but stood quickly. Alves missed an inside leg kick. Four minutes. Alves landed a counter left hook and dropped Koscheck, Koscheck tried to stand, Alves dropped him with another, Koscheck stood, blocked a high kick, tried a single, Alves defended and they broke. Koscheck looked recovered already. Three twenty-five remaining. Alves missed a Superman punch and landed an inside leg kick and they exchanged missing mostly. Three ten. Koscheck narrowly missed a straight right. Three minutes. Alves faked a Superman punch. Koscheck blocked a high kick. Koscheck jabbed and landed a right hand. Two thirty. Koscheck landed a leg kick, ate one inside. Alves landed a left hand and a leg kick. Alves landed a Superman punch and a left hand. Koscheck landed a big right hand and a body shot a moment later. Two minutes. Alves landed an inside leg kick. They circled. Alves landed a hard leg kick. One twenty-five. Alves blocked a right hand, partially blocked really. Koscheck landed a body shot, ate a knee to the face and grabbed a leg but Alves was defending. Still defending. One minute. Still defending that single. Alves escaped finally and they broke. Koscheck blocked a hard high kick. Thirty. Alves landed a hard leg kick. Alves landed another hard leg kick. Twenty. Ten. Alves landed an inside leg kick and another a moment later, it hit the groin and they touched gloves, and the first round ended. "What did he hit me with?" Koscheck asked. His corner told him not to worry about it. Alves's corner told him "try some right hands". The second round began and they touched gloves. Alves landed a snappy inside leg kick. Koscheck missed an uppercut. Koscheck landed a leg kick. Alves blocked a right hand. He dodged another. Four fifteen with Alves landing a nice leg kick. Alves landed a left hand, faked the Superman punch. Four minutes. Alves partially blocked a nice switch high kick, it looked great. Alves landed an inside leg kick with three thirty-five. Koscheck narrowly missed that right. Alves landed a leg kick, tripped and dodged a jumping knee. Koscheck missed a spinning back kick. They clinched with Koscheck landing a good knee to the body. Koscheck foot-stomped. Three minutes. Koscheck kneed the leg. Alves broke with a missed elbow. Alves showed good head movement. Alves landed a hard leg kick and missed a high kick. Two twenty. Feeling each other out. Alves landed a body kick, ate one himself. Alves landed an inside leg kick. Two minutes with Koscheck blocking a high body kick but eating a nice short uppercut. Alves landed a hard leg kick and a hard body kick and a right hand and a narrowly missed body kick. Alves faked another Superman punch and landed a good leg kick. Koscheck landed a good right hook. One twenty. Koscheck's footwork was suffering. Alves landed an inside leg kick. Koscheck shot for the single, Alves was defending. Koscheck landed a foot stomp with one minute as they clinched. Good takedown defense from Alves. The referee wanted them to show him something. And again. Thirty-five. Alves still defending. Koscheck turned to try to take the standing back but couldn't and got a body lock. Back to the clinch. Ten. Koscheck landed a knee to the body. The second round ended. Koscheck's corner wanted him to relax and he wanted the right to the head and not to the body. They told him that he needed a knockout and that they needed to put him away. Alves's corner said stay away from his rights because that's "all he got, Thiago." The third round began and they touched gloves. Koscheck landed an inside leg kick, ate a snappy inside leg kick himself. Alves landed an inside leg kick and a left hand and a right and Koscheck was hurt and turtled up. He held the leg and Alves pulled away and landed a one-two and a knee to the face on the way up. Koscheck was wobbly. They clinched. Four fifteen. Alves broke. Four minutes with Alves landing a leg kick and a right hand and they clinched. What a flurry from Alves there. Alves is the one winning on the scorecards and he's the one headhunting. Koscheck trying for a single. The referee wanted movement. Alves landed a knee. Koscheck broke with an elbow but said that he had taken an eyepoke. The crowd booed. I think that was a legitimate eyepoke. Koscheck continued very quickly and they touched gloves. Three twenty remained. Koscheck landed a right hand and ate a leg kick. Three minutes. Alves landed a hard hard leg kick. Koscheck narrowly missed a right hand. Koscheck narrowly missed another. He ate a brutal leg kick once more. Two thirty. Koscheck landed a leg kick. Koscheck blocked a hard high kick. Alves landed an inside leg kick. Two minutes with Koscheck missing a double jab. Koscheck pumped it again and Alves indicated an eyepoke himself. The crowd booed. Alves was taking a moment. Alves continued after a moment. They touched gloves. One thirty-five with Alves landing an inside leg kick. Alves landed a hard leg kick. Koscheck checked an inside leg kick. Alves's left eye was swelling. Alves nearly buckled the leg with a hard leg kick. Koscheck blocked a high kick, like the pic. He blocked a combination. One minute remained. Koscheck landed a jab. Alves's eye was swollen bad. He missed a Superman punch. Alves landed another wicked leg kick. Thirty-five. Alves landed another, so quick. Alves landed an uppercut and a left hook. Alves landed another hard leg kick. Alves landed a left hook. Koscheck landed a jab. Ten remained. He came forward with a missed jumping knee. He missed a high side kick. Alves landed a hard Superman punch and they clinched and the third round ended, but Alves got the takedown after and Koscheck shrugged angrily. Alves hadn't heard the bell apparently. He got the unanimous decision however. Alves said he thought he broke his thumb.