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HOUSTON — Bad news for Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez.

Not only was the Albuquerque martial arts fighter and his opponent booed Saturday night in Houston's Toyota Center, but Sanchez suffered the first loss of his pro career.

And then, Sanchez was a no-show at the post-fight news conference.

Sanchez dropped to 19-1 after losing all three rounds to Josh Koscheck in the co-main event on the Ultimate Fighting Championship card. Koscheck, 10-1, evened the score in the rematch against Sanchez with scores of 30-27 on all three judges' cards.

"The big key was to stay relaxed, blow off emotions and stay relaxed," Koscheck said at the news conference.

Sanchez, visibly disappointed, did not talk to the media and immediately left the arena after the fight.

Koscheck did talk.

"The plan was to outbox Sanchez and stay on my feet the whole time," he said. "He played into it perfectly.

"I just wanted to get the win. That was the important thing. I came forward, controlled the whole fight and threw good punches."

Each round saw the same thing: Koscheck stood his ground and scored with left hands and straight rights while Sanchez waited too long to launch himself at his arch-rival.

When he did attack, Sanchez was hit repeatedly. The only change in tempo was at the end of the first when Koscheck scored a takedown. Sanchez appeared to be taking control when the bell rang.

The remainder of the bout had both fighters on their feet while the fans booed the two fighters for their inactivity.

"Sometimes fights don't live up to expectations," UFC president Dana White said.

"To be honest, I was disappointed. They stood and stared, didn't let their hands go. In the end, (Koscheck) put together a good game plan and outworked him."

Koscheck said he'd been begging White two years for a rematch with Sanchez.

"Maybe someday we'll bury the hatchet," Koscheck said of his rival. "But I don't think so."

New Mexico trainers Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson did not have a good night in Houston. They were in three losing corners including a major upset in the main event where UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (13-2) was beaten by Matt Serra (9-4) by TKO at 3:25 of the first round.

If Sanchez had won, he was expected to fight the St. Pierre/Serra winner. Serra will now face former champ Matt Hughes later this year.

On the undercard, Leonard Garcia (9-2) of Lubbock, Tex., who trains in Albuquerque, lost by unanimous decision to Roger Huerta (17-1-1) of Austin, Texas. Scores were 30-27 on all three cards.