Paulo Thiago’s sensational knockout over American Kickboxing Academy’s Josh Koscheck at UFC 95 was certainly an unexpected result for anyone watching. However, the knockout was commonly believed to be a fluke.
Well, Thiago certainly silenced his critics with a beautiful submission victory Sat. night at UFC 109: “Relentless” against Mike “Quick” Swick.
Swick, Koscheck’s teammate, accepted the bout on short notice after Koscheck was unable to take on the rematch due to injury. However, “Quick” followed in his teammate’s footsteps after getting blasted on the feet in the second round.
Swick had landed several nice shots that seemed to have Thiago in a bit of a bind. However, a counter sent Swick to the floor, where Thiago was quite prepared to finish the fight. A tight darce choke put Swick to sleep in the second round after he elected not to tap to the intricate submission.
The victory has to have silenced Thiago’s critics and doubters. The fight, his second victory since his poor effort against Jon Fitch at UFC 100, surely has people paying attention to the Brazilian welterweight.
Thiago also won Submission of the Night honors, worth a cool $60,000. Not a bad deal.
