Michael Bisping shown in the crowd, and they’re showing a highlight video. Bisping was smart to move down to 185 but the fact that he clearly spent a lot of time in the boxing gym could have been equally as important. He’s a tall, rangy fighter with heavy hands but in the past was often wild and out of control. Now he’s able to work a jab, set up combinations and move while he punches. Now we’re seeing Rampage and Forrest Griffin enter the arena before they run a plug for the Affliction counter programming on 7/19. You people know that you’re to watch the Affliction show live and Tivo the UFC..

Josh Koscheck looked unbeatable until he ran into a French Canadian buzzsaw named Georges St. Pierre. GSP dominated Koscheck in a downright sick performance where he outwrestled the four time All American wrestler. It’s not supposed to work that way, but GSP demonstrated it wasn’t a fluke as he also took down Matt Hughes at will. Lytle coming to the ring first–hard to get used to all of the Tapout garb. It looks like Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran has blown up to the point that he can delegate his cutman work–he’s obviously amused by something as a couple of his supplicants apply petroleum jelly to Lytle’s face. Here comes Koscheck now looking very focused and slightly pissed wearing a ‘Cage Fighter’ t-shirt. He’s getting a ton of boos–not sure why he’s getting a ‘heel reaction’. He’s kind of got an arrogant vibe, but most top notch fighters do. Duran working on Koscheck’s face himself. Koscheck looks tough as always with that “Sideshow Bob” looking blonde haircut of his….B. Bruce Buffer does the formalities and we’re ready to rumb…er…its time…to fight.

ROUND ONE:

Koscheck really hears it from the crowd which, again, makes little sense. They show Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz in the audience, which shows they’re scraping the bottom of the celebrity barrel. The guy from Godsmack–an excellent band–gets ignored and Goldberg gives Wentz props? Something not right there…but the fight’s underway and both fighters testing each other in the standup. Lytle backs up Koscheck with a punch/kick combo. Koscheck obviously doesn’t want to keep this standing but for now he seems content to trade punches. Lytle nominally getting the best of the exchanges but doing no real damage. Koscheck slips on a high kick and falls hard but he bounces right back up with the only injury to his pride. Koscheck tries for a takedown and kind of gets it but lands right in a guillotine which Lytle can’t finish. Rogan points out that Lytle has professional boxing experience, which makes it even sillier for the world class wrestler Koscheck to trade punches with him. Koscheck now controlling on the ground and getting in a few punches. A buck thirty left in the round with Koscheck in half guard and Lytle defending nicely. A few bloodthirsty meth addicts boo since no one is being dismembered at the moment. Koscheck landing some punches from the top but Lytle getting in to slobberknockers (with apologies to Jim Ross) from the bottom. Koscheck is such a monster on the ground–he’s controlling Lytle with ease but its too late in the round to do any real damage. Big hammerfist by Koscheck as the round ends. Tough round to score with Lytle’s striking carrying the early part and Koscheck’s wrestling the later part. Could go either way but we’ll give it to Koscheck 10-9, as he did more damage.

ROUND TWO:

They show a couple of the UFC ring girl hotties between rounds but for some reason Pete Wentz doesn’t seem interested. Wonder why??? Anyway, round two begins much as round one started with Koscheck trading punches until the shoots end for the takedown. His takedowns aren’t quite as impossible to defend as Brock Lesnar’s but they’re still pretty nasty. Koscheck gets another takedown but finds his head in the guillotine position when its done but Lytle can’t cinch in the choke. Koscheck doing a nice job mauling Lytle on the ground with elbows before he gets a mount against the cage and starts to land some punches. Lytle doing a good job keeping Koscheck from passing–Lytle now has a *nasty* cut, apparently from a Koscheck elbow. It looks like he bladed and with 2:00 left he’s in bad shape. He better do something or its going to get stopped as Lytle’s blood splatters the camera lens in a pretty nasty image. Lytle is tough as they come but he’s in an almost impossible position against the cage with a world class wrestler on top of him. Lytle doing a decent job covering up but Lavigne looks like he’s going to jump in any moment. Lytle as bloody as anyone I’ve ever seen in MMA. Surprised that Lavigne doesn’t stop it as from the blood on the mat it looks like Lytle got shot. Lytle is as tough as they come as he hasn’t thought of quitting but he’s a bloody mess and its doubtful that even “Stitch” Duran could fix that one up. Hard to see where the cut is exactly–its above his right eye and it looks like he was sliced open with an Xacto Knife. 10-9 Koscheck, could have been 10-8. 20-18 he leads.

ROUND THREE:

Koscheck looks surprised that Lytle answered the bell for round three. Blood in Koscheck’s hair making him look like Dusty Rhodes in an early 1980’s Florida bloodbath. Koscheck trying for another takedown, with Lytle trying for a kimura. Lytle had a nasty guillotine for a moment and now Lytle locks in a front facelock type choke. Koscheck slides his head out with 3 minutes left and we’re back in roughly the same position as in round two with Lytle against the cage and Koscheck throwing elbows from top. Lytle is a seriously tough dude but Koscheck teeing off on the cut and he’s bleeding like a stuck pig. Lavigne still not stopping it and even Joe Rogan saying that he should be jumping in to stop it. 1:45 left and if Lytle goes the distance he’s the toughest dude on the planet. Finally–actually, Lavigne just stands them up. Thought he was going to stop it. Lytle is a tough dude as he’s looking to throw punches despite the fact it looks like he’s had a cheese grater run across it. Lytle unloads with some wild punches but nothing doing. Lavigne moves them back to the middle as Koscheck just stands there–Lytle lands a couple of nasty punches but he’s lost a couple of quarts of blood and there’s no time left. Dominant performance by Koscheck–he gets the round on the SAVSCI card 10-9, the fight 30-27–but there’s no shame in Lytle’s performance as he keeps fighting despite suffering one of the nastiest cuts you’ll ever see in MMA.

30-26, 29-27, 30-28 Koscheck wins by unanimous decision which the crowd boos mercilessly though its hard to argue with.

JOSH KOSCHECK WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION

Rogan interviews Koscheck now and seems amused by the boos. Koscheck giving props to Lytle sounding as modest as its possible for him to sound. Koscheck claiming he wanted to stand. Koscheck puts over his new clothing company MarClothing.com. He’s got the logo spray painted on the back of his StandUp Fighter t-shirt which ain’t exactly going to top Affliction in the graphic design department. Wilmer Valderamma shown in the crowd. He follows the UFC around like a burnt out former Deadhead follows Widespread Panic…