Koscheck: the fighter you love to hate

UFC 143 is LIVE on PPV Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET

Story by Anthony Springer Jr.

It’s hard to hate an honest fighter. Unless that fighter’s name is Josh Koscheck. Since his appearance on the original Ultimate Fighter, the wrestler turned knockout artist has been anything but a fan favorite. Despite taking fights on short notice and consistently cranking out good performances, fans have not taken to Kos. Maybe it’s the blonde hair? Not that Koscheck cares.

His comments at yesterday’s UFC 143 open workout will hardly do anything to alter that perception.

Koscheck (16-5) faces Mike Pierce (13-4) Saturday on the evening’s main card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Originally slated to face Carlos Condit, the self-professed “gold digger” doesn’t mind the opponent switch since the number of figures on his check remain the same.

“I get paid the same whether I am fighting Mike Pierce or Carlos Condit, so I don’t care who I fight,” he said. “I am a gold digger, I fight for money. You’d be a dumb SOB to fight for free but I do enjoy my job and I fight my ass off. I have a big mouth and I don’t want to lose and I want to look good out there.”

Like Koscheck, Pierce is a former Ultimate Fighter cast member and former college wrestler. The style matchup makes things interesting for Kos, who may find himself in a standup war with Pierce, also known for having a heavy set of hands. Which may suit Koscheck just fine since he went on record and guaranteed some fireworks.
“I know he called me out, so he must think he can win… but they all think that until I punch them in the face.”

Despite facing Kos’ teammate and training partner Jon Fitch, the blonde bomber claims not to know much about Pierce, a statement Pierce thinks works in his favor.

“Josh Koscheck knows who I am,” Pierce stated. “He’s pretending he doesn’t because he is Josh Koscheck and that’s what he does: he acts like this all the time. He’s a bit of a jerk and that’s his personality and that’s just who he is and what gets him noticed.”

Koscheck knows better than to overlook an opponent. Additionally, the venue hasn’t been so kind to the American Kickboxing Academy fighter. It was at the Mandalay Bay Events Center several years ago where Koscheck’s career took a sharp left turn. He was out wrestled by current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in a contender’s bout. Facing another wrestler in Pierce, Koscheck remains well aware of his history.

“He was a good wrestler in college, like me, but this is MMA. I was in this very at UFC 74, August 24, 2007, and I got out wrestled by GSP, who had never wrestled much at school. Wrestling is a different sport, wrestling in MMA is different.”

Coming off a knockout win over another wrestler in Matt Hughes, a betting man might be willing to wager that Kos is more confident in the power of his hands than he was in 2007. We’ll find out Saturday.

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For more info on the UFC or UFC 143, visit www.UFC.com

February 2nd, 2012

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