Before Matt Hughes Accepted, Josh Koscheck Eyed Chris Leben, Silva

News

Before he came in to rescue a co-man event after Diego Sanchez pulled out of a scheduled fight Matt Hughes due to a broken hand, Josh Koscheck was aiming for a proven name at Middlweight instead of Welterweight. Why?

Because he wanted more than a payday per A Sportsnet Canada Blog written by the former TUF competitor and welterweight contender.

“You probably saw that I was considering going to middleweight, and the reason I wanted to fight at middleweight was everyone at 170 pounds who meant anything was already locked up with a fight.To be honest, and mentioning no names, the people the UFC wanted me to fight just didn’t interest me at all. The names they offered me were just “paydays” — fights to get on a card and have a fight, take a shower get a payday and go home and I don’t want to fight those guys,” Koscheck explained.

“After the GSP fight, I needed to come back and remind everyone what I am all about and if I couldn’t do that at 170 pounds I figured maybe as a one-off just to have a major fight to come back with, I’d take a fight at 185 pounds. Realistically, I asked to fight Wanderlei Silva, Chris Leben and even Rich Franklin at 185.”

Hughes is more of a fight he wants because Koscheck’s perceives the former champion to be “ducking” him.

“But then last week I got word Matt Hughes, who has avoided me for years, needed an opponent for UFC 135 in Denver on Sept. 24. I’ve called out Hughes for so long but he’s always avoided me. When he was on top and one of the top in the division, he used his position to avoid fighting me and all the AKA guys,” Koscheck wrote.

“But when Diego Sanchez pulled out hurt with three weeks to go, I knew the UFC would have no choice but to try to talk Hughes into fighting me. Like I knew he would, he tried to suggest fighting Jon Fitch instead, knowing full well Fitch is still recovering from shoulder surgery. I tweeted that I’d accepted the fight and was ready, just to put pressure on Hughes to quit bitching and take the fight. I wanted to make it so that if he did turn the fight down, all the fans would know that he bitched out. He had nowhere else to go and I’ve finally got my fight with Matt Hughes.”