UFC 95 thoughts

OK! Excellent event. I was trying to figure out my KO of the night, and initially I thought it was Nate Marquardt's KO of Wilson Gouveia, but on further reflection I have to give it to Hardy. He was in my book a dog to Markham, and did a number on an excellent fighter. Paulo Thiago is a close third place, with an out-of-nowhere KO of Koscheck. Koscheck loses massive points for being a classless jackoff and whining about the stoppage. Pure assclownery. "Paulo Thiago has some fundamental problems with his striking..." Thanks Joe. I just watched it for a third time, and it was still a correct stoppage. Referees don't judge stoppages based on what WILL happen in 3/8ths of a second. They base them on what just happened. So if Kos didn't want to get stopped, he shouldn't have gotten knocked out. End. Of. Story.
Gouveia-Marquardt strikes me as the most meaningful win of the night. Diego beating Joe Daddy, handing him is third straight loss, doesn't mean as much to me. Let's see Diego face a contender next. Gray Maynard? Clay Guida? Marquardt, however, beat a very tough opponent in devastating fashion, breaking him down over the course of the fight. It was more akin to two top-level boxers going at each other than what we've sometimes seen in MMA. My friend Zac noticed that Marquardt was hesitant to use his left hand. I didn't listen to the commentary for the most part, did anyone else see that? Whatever else is the case, Marquardt has earned himself a #1 contender fight, in my book. His prison-rape of Martin Kampmann, sending him right out of the division, and this clinical, skillful dispatch of a very tough opponent...give him a #1 fight, or give him a rematch with Anderson.
Per Eklund should go the way of Jorge Gurgel. Terry Etim looks like a real prospect. Junior Dos Santos...lord forbid we see more that a few minutes of the guy...who does he see next? Someone needs to give the guy a challenge.
Did anyone else see Ciesnolevicz ankle-locking Grove out as a replay, on an uglier scale, or Mir kneebarring Lesnar in their first match? Grove at 38 doesn't have a lot of leeway here...we'll see how long he lasts with the UFC's bigs. Another comparison is Cheik Kongo losing to Carmelo Marrero a while back...a big monster HW with zero ground game losing to a LHW taking the fight for a check and an opportunity. We'll see what happens I guess.
Demian Maia just straight up clowned on Chael Sonnen, who seemed to have forgotten that he's a Greco-Roman wrestler and got dumped on his stupid trash-talking ass before getting triangle-choked to oblivion. Maia is a legit contender. Maia-Marquardt? Right now I'd take Nate, even with Demian's super slick jits.
I'm guessing we'll next see Dan Hardy headlining the TUF Finale for the US vs. England show. I'm not convinced he's a real threat in the UFC, but he could sell some ad space for the English shows.
Overall I enjoyed this show greatly.