During a conference call to promote UFC 90, Josh Koscheck confirmed that he plans to fight twice in the next sixty days. First, Koscheck takes on Thiago Alves in the co-main event on October 25th. Then, If Koscheck comes out unscathed, he will have a six week turnaround to prepare for Yoshiyuki Yoshida on December 10.
There are some very interesting sub-plots going on though. One of the main reasons Koscheck took the short-notice fight with Alves is that Koscheck believes the winner will be the number one contender for welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. However, Koscheck will be fighting Yoshida in the interim. Should Koscheck lose to Yoshida, it would seem highly unlikely that he would still receive the title shot.
Next, Alves is a very good fighter who has already had a huge 2008 that included victories over both Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan. The odds of Koscheck coming out of the fight without injury in order to make such a quick turn-around would seem unlikely. That brings the next question as to who would the UFC replace him with in a TV main event match? Former Ultimate Fighter alums Diego Sanchez and Mike Swick are out due to injury. Typically, Spike likes to feature former TUF competitors on their shows, but that doesn’t seem possible in this case. That would leave Parisyan as a possibility since he and Yoshida have been rumored as opponents in the past. However, it’s hard to believe a Parisyan - Yoshida bout would be of that much interest to Spike, but Spike hopes that is not an issue. They want Koscheck. If Koscheck makes both fights, it will be a very impressive feat.
Koscheck has the chance to really change what the fans think of him. Typically, Koscheck has been heavily booed in his matches. Fighting Alves (who severely missed weight against Hughes) will make him the crowd favorite by default. Plus, stepping up on short notice to replace Sanchez to save a show that is a pretty weak card in terms of star power should endear him to the Chicago fans. Then, he will be coming back in six weeks to take on a Japanese fighter at a U.S. military base. Certainly, the crowd will be 100% behind him.
Koscheck has always been polarizing figure for the UFC. Some people like him and most people hate him. But it is this showing of guts and fortitude that could quickly make him one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.
I was absolutly gutted when I found out Diego was injured. Diego vs Alves was just such a great matchup, I have'nt been that excited for a fight simply because of the fighters styles for a while. Although i'm dissappointed Koscheck is a good replacement.
Only problem I really see here is GSP beat Koscheck not that long ago, Diego or Alves would have been a much better fight than GSP Koscheck 2. They should have waited at least another year before there were talks of Kos vs GSP again. IMO kos is a future champ but he needs more time to evolve, if he beats Alves and then gets beaten again by GSP he'll find himself in a Rich Franklin situation. Beaten by the top guy twice and no one wants to see a third fight but to dangerous to put against other top contenders as if he beats them it puts them out of the title picture.
KOSCHECK SHOULD NOT BE FIGHTING ALVES, THE MATCH SHOULD BE DELAYED UNTIL DIEGO IS HEALTHY!!!!!!
Give Alves someone like Marcus Davis (I know he's fighting Paul Kelly just can't think of someone else), they'll put on an exciting fight but Alves will come out on top and can fight Diego for number 1 contender when they are both healthy and ready.
Sweet, I plan on attending the UFN and it made me mad when i heard he was taking diego's place. But I think Alves is going to put koscheck on a 6 month medical suspension.
Well, the couple times I watched the Karo/alves fight. It looked like Karo was winning all the way until he got caught, and it was a early stoppage, imo. Doesnt take anything away from alves, but Koshcheck has the skills to easily win, by take down and ground and pound.
Even though I dont really like Koscheck I see him winning both fights if he is able to make them. That is a pretty lofty goal to take on two dangerous opponents with such a short turnaround though!
Damn, its getting really hard to hate Kos and that sucks he is one of those fighters that I enjoy hating much like Tito, Alves on the other hand is just a guy I hate, I cant believe Koscheck is gonna be fighting and Im gonna be rooting for him and not against.
When you "Catch" every great fighter you fight that is "impressive".
taking the fight with Alves is seriously dangerous.
Koscheck is good enough that I would never in any situation count him out but Alves takes this one 2/3 times and it's very possible that he does it in devastating fashion.
Alves may have been able to catch an aged Matt Hughes. I think Kos is quick enough to shoot on him. Also his striking has improved some.
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