Josh Koscheck
 |
Name | Josh Koscheck |
| Nickname | Kos | |
| Association | American Kickboxing Academy | |
| Weight Class | Welterweight | |
| Height | 5' 10" (178 cm) | |
| Style | Wrestling, Kickboxing | |
| Birth Date | November 30, 1977 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Fresno, California | |
| Country | USA | |
| Josh Koscheck Pictures | Official Website |
Josh D. "Kos" Koscheck is an American mixed martial artist from Fresno, California, a former collegiate wrestling champion, and is currently fighting at Welterweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He made his debut with the organization on the first season of the reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter 1: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell. Koscheck is well known for competing numerous times in one year.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 17 - 7 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 5 (T)KOs 5 Submissions 7 Decisions |
| Losses | 2 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 4 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Robbie Lawler | TKO (Punches) | UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche | 2/23/2013 | 1 | 3:57 | |
| Loss | Johny Hendricks | Decision (Split) | UFC on FOX 3: Diaz vs. Miller | 5/5/2012 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Mike Pierce | Decision (Split) | UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit | 2/4/2012 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Matt Hughes | KO (Punches) | UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage | 9/24/2011 | 1 | 4:59 | Won Knockout of the Night Honors |
| Loss | Georges St. Pierre | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2 | 12/11/2010 | 5 | 5:00 | For UFC Welterweight Championship; Won Fight of the Night Honors |
| Win | Paul Daley | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 | 5/08/2010 | 3 | 5:00 | To determine #1 contender for UFC Welterweight title shot |
| Win | Anthony Johnson | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II | 11/21/2009 | 2 | 4:47 | Won Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night Honors |
| Win | Frank Trigg | TKO (Punches) | UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort | 9/19/2009 | 1 | 1:25 | |
| Loss | Paulo Thiago | TKO (Punches) | UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson | 2/21/2009 | 1 | 3:29 | |
| Win | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | KO (Punch) | UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fight for the Troops | 12/10/2008 | 1 | 2:15 | Won Knockout of the Night Honors |
| Loss | Thiago Alves | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote | 10/25/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Koscheck replaced an injured Diego Sanchez |
| Win | Chris Lytle | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin | 7/05/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Dustin Hazelett | TKO (Head Kick and Punches) | UFC 82: Pride of a Champion | 3/01/2008 | 2 | 1:24 | |
| Loss | Georges St. Pierre | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 74: Respect | 8/25/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Diego Sanchez | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 69: Shootout | 4/07/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jeff Joslin | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night 7: Sanchez vs. Riggs | 12/13/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jonathan Goulet | Submission (Punches) | UFC Fight Night 6: Sanchez vs. Parisyan | 8/17/2006 | 1 | 4:10 | |
| Win | Dave Menne | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night 5: Leben vs. Silva | 6/28/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ansar Chalangov | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC Fight Night 4: Bonnar vs. Jardine | 4/06/2006 | 1 | 3:29 | |
| Loss | Drew Fickett | Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC Fight Night 2: Ultimate Fight Night 2 | 10/03/2005 | 3 | 4:38 | |
| Win | Pete Spratt | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC Fight Night 1: Ultimate Fight Night | 8/6/2005 | 1 | 1:53 | |
| Win | Chris Sanford | KO (Punch) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | 4/9/2005 | 1 | 4:21 | |
| Win | Luke Cummo | Decision (Unanimous) | ROC 6: Ring of Combat 6 | 4/24/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Cruz Chacon | Submission (Neck Crank) | KOTR: King of the Rockies | 1/03/2004 | 3 | 2:57 | |
Background
Koscheck has a strong, well-documented base in collegiate wrestling, dating back to his years at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where he attended the university on an athletic scholarship. In 2001, during his Junior season, Koscheck won all 42 of his wrestling matches, and went on to become the NCAA Division I Champion in the 174 lb weight class. In the coming years, he would win many championships and receive many honors in his national collegiate wrestling career. In addition to being a four-time NCAA Division I All-American (placing 4th, 3rd, 1st, and 2nd respectively), Koscheck is a three-time recipient of the PSAC Wrestler of the Year award, and earned the Eastern Wrestling League Achievement Award twice.
He earned a Bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University.
He spent one and a half years as the assistant head wrestling coach at the University at Buffalo.
Koscheck appeared in the music video for Chevelle's song "I Get It", playing the man who beats up an employer.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Koscheck began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2004, compiling victories over Cruz Chacon and Luke Cummo.
In 2005, Koscheck appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 1: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell, a reality television show which hosted competitions for light heavyweight and middleweight fighters. Koscheck was selected to compete in the middleweight category, and advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Chris Leben; after the victory, Leben criticized Koscheck's style of fighting, which focused on ground control and positioning rather than strikes. In the semi-finals, Koscheck lost by split-decision to Diego Sanchez. Even though he scored numerous take downs, Diego in his positions managed to control the action by landing more effective strikes which resulted in Josh Koscheck suffering a concussion and requiring emergency medical care.
Although he didn't proceed to the final round, Koscheck was featured on the undercard of the live season finale, The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale, on Spike TV, where he made his official UFC debut by defeating Christopher Sanford by knockout.
UFC Career
Koscheck followed this victory with another win at Ultimate Fight Night over UFC veteran Pete Spratt in Koscheck's UFC debut at welterweight. Since then, Koscheck has amassed an additional three victories after experiencing his first career loss to Drew Fickett due to a rear naked choke. Koscheck then defeated Canadian welterweight standout Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 6 by submission due to strikes.
As of 2006, Koscheck began training at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, to which he accredits his vastly improved kickboxing technique.
Koscheck's fight on December 13, 2006 was against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jeff Joslin at UFC Fight Night 7: Sanchez vs. Riggs where he won by unanimous decision.
Koscheck was then scheduled to fight Diego Sanchez on April 7, 2007 at UFC 69: Shootout. This was the second encounter between the two Welterweight fighters. The first fight – which did not count towards Koscheck's official record due to the bout being considered an exhibition match for The Ultimate Fighter television taping – resulted in a split decision win for Sanchez. At the weigh-ins for the event, Sanchez shoved Koscheck during the traditional post-weigh-in staredown. Although Sanchez continued to shout at Koscheck, no conflict ensued.
At UFC 69: Shootout, Koscheck defeated Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision in an uneventful fight. Koscheck out struck Sanchez through three rounds, and only initiated a wrestling takedown once. During the post-fight interview, Koscheck repeatedly exclaimed, "Nineteen-and-one," in reference to Sanchez' first mixed martial arts defeat (including the two fights from The Ultimate Fighter program). UFC President Dana White announced a few weeks after the fight that Diego Sanchez had an undiagnosed illness before and during the fight which turned out to be serious staph infection. On August 25th, 2007, at UFC 74: Respect Koscheck was defeated by Georges St. Pierre at UFC 74: Respect via unanimous decision. (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). His wrestling skills were displayed during the match by out-wrestling Koscheck, scoring takedowns, stopping Koscheck's takedown attempts and maintaining top position throughout most of the fight. There was speculation before the fight that Koscheck would out-match St.-Pierre on the ground due to his credentials, but St.-Pierre was confident that he was a better wrestler and striker and was more well versed in submissions than Koscheck.
Josh made his return at UFC 82: Pride of a Champion, defeating Dustin Hazelett by TKO due to strikes at 1:24 of the second round.
He won his next fight, against Chris Lytle on March 1, 2008 at UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin, winning by unanimous decision after cutting Lytle badly with "ground and pound" elbows.
Koscheck then agreed to step in and fight Thiago Alves at UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote on just 2 weeks notice due to an injury suffered by Diego Sanchez. Koscheck lost the fight via unanimous decision. Alves landed powerful leg kicks and managed to drop Koscheck more than once during the fight.
On December 10th 2008, Koscheck fought Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the main event at UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fight for the Troops and won by KO in the first round by landing two devastating straight right punches to Yoshida's head. The japanese fighter remained on the canvas, while being tended to by commission doctors, and was removed from the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. He was later treated and released from a local hospital for a concussion. Koscheck received $30,000 bonus from the UFC for Knockout of the Night.
Koscheck then fought UFC-newcomer Paulo Thiago in the O2 Arena in London, England, on February 21, 2009. This bout marked the third fight for Koscheck in four months time. Little was known of Thaigo, but he made a big splash in the UFC's welterweight division by defeating Koscheck in the first round via TKO (Punches).
Koscheck was signed to fight for the fourth time in seven months against Team Quest fighter Chris Wilson at UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, but was forced to pull out due to a foot injury suffered during training.
Koscheck returned to the UFC after his devastating KO loss to Paulo Thiago, against Frank Trigg, who was returning to the promotion, after competing elsewhere for four years. The fight took place at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort on September 19, 2009. Koscheck got back to his winning ways, giving Trigg a depressing welcome back to the UFC; battering Trigg to win a TKO (Punches) victory in the first round.
On November 21, 2009 Koscheck faced up-and-comer Anthony Johnson on the main card of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II. Koscheck defeated Johnson by Rear Naked Choke at 4:27 in the second round. In the first round, Koscheck blocked a knee aimed at his head while he had two knees on the ground. However, Koscheck went down holding his left eye despite there being no contact with that eye. Instead Koscheck suffered an alleged poke to the right eye and was given time to recover. In round two, Koscheck poked Johnson in the eye twice leading to Johnson being given time to recover. The fight would end soon after via submission. In his post fight interview, he called out Dan Hardy who is thought to be the #1 contender in the Welterweight Division, stating that he was actually the real #1 contender. The fight earned Koscheck both the Fight of the Night Honors as well as the Submission of the Night Honors.
- "I know there's somebody here that thinks he's the No. 1 contender," Koscheck said in his post-fight interview. "He thinks he's the No. 1 contender, but he hasn't fought anybody." Koscheck continued, "He ain't fought nobody like me. Guaranteed, I'm the No. 1 freaking contender in the division."
Koscheck's wishes were not granted, as Dan Hardy was still given the title shot.
He was then scheduled for a re-match against Paulo Thiago at a bout that would take place at UFC 109: Relentless. Unfortunately he was forced off the card due to injury and his teammate Mike Swick replaced him.
- "My big problem in this division right now is the two best guys out there are probably Koscheck and Fitch, and trying to get them to fight each other is a nightmare," UFC President Dana White said while talking about the Welterweight title picture. "I'd really like to see that fight, but we can put Daley against one of them and see what happens," referring to British fighter Paul Daley, who after two impressive KO victories had thrown himself into the title picture at 170 lbs.
UFC 113 and Controversy
It was announced mid-January 2010 that Koscheck would in fact face off against Paul Daley as a co-headliner at UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 in May 2010 to not only determine the number one contender to face off against Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title, but to coach opposite of the champion in the next The Ultimate Fighter. Koscheck showed his dominance, though he won little fans in the process, as for three rounds he used his Wrestling to keep Daley on the mat and unable to use his stand-up, which he was known for. In the end Koscheck earned a Decision (Unanimous), but the bout had it's fair share of controversy.
After Koscheck scored a takedown, Daley escaped a Rear Naked Choke attempt and appeared to connect on an illegal knee to the face of his downed opponent. Koscheck crashed to the mat in apparent pain, and referee Dan Miragliotta instantly deducted a point. Replays, though, showed that the blow only grazed Koscheck at best. In fact, an overhead camera appeared to show Daley whiffing completely on the strike, and UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan complimented Koscheck's acting abilities. (After the round, Miragliotta saw the replay and actually alerted cageside officials that the point deduction had been nixed.)
After the fight ended and the competitors returned to their feet, Daley unloaded a cheap shot that struck Koscheck in the face. Miragliotta immediately shoved Daley into the fence and chided the fighter. In fact, the towering ref wouldn't release the fighter until he promised he wouldn't go after Koscheck again. And to assure the fight was a complete debacle in every sense, Koscheck then fired off insults to the Montreal crowd and their local team, the NHL's Canadiens.
- "Don't worry; next week the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to kick your ass," said Koscheck, who was showered with boos from the time he entered the arena. "Then I'm going to beat St-Pierre, and you guys are going to lose twice. ... How do you like that Montreal?"
Ranks and Titles
- 2001 NCAA div. 1 national champion
- 42-0
- 4 X NCAA div. 1 all American
