Josh Koscheck Youtube Videos
Josh Koscheck Bio
Josh D. Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, a former collegiate wrestling champion and is currently fighting at welterweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He made his debut with the organization on the first season of the reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter. Koscheck has fought for the company a record 19 times since 2005. Koscheck is often ranked among the top ten welterweights in the world by leading mixed martial arts publications. Sherdog currently ranks Koscheck at No. 7.
Early life
Josh 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 addition to being a four-time NCAA Division I All-American (placing 4th, 2nd, 1st and 3rd 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 a few months coaching at Erie Cathedral Prep and one and a half years as the assistant head wrestling coach at the University at Buffalo.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Koscheck appeared on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter as a middleweight fighter. He defeated Chris Leben via unanimous decision to advance to the semifinals, where he was defeated by Diego Sanchez via split decision. Koscheck had his first official UFC fight on April 9, 2005, at The Ultimate Finale, where he defeated Chris Sanford with a first round KO. Koscheck followed this victory with another win at Ultimate Fight Night over UFC veteran Pete Spratt in Koscheck's 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.
Since 2006, Koscheck has been training at the American Kickboxing Academy(AKA) 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 where he won by unanimous decision.
Koscheck was then scheduled to fight Diego Sanchez on April 7, 2007 at UFC 69. 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. In their fight, Koscheck defeated Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Koscheck outstruck Sanchez throughout all three rounds and only shot in for a takedown once. During his 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 show). 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 a serious staph infection.
On August 25, 2007, Koscheck was defeated by Georges St-Pierre at UFC 74 via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28). St-Pierre's wrestling skills were displayed during the match by outwrestling Koscheck, scoring takedowns, stuffing 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, defeating Dustin Hazelett by TKO due to strikes at 1:24 of the 2nd round.
He won his next fight, against Chris Lytle at UFC 86, winning by unanimous decision after repeatedly taking Lytle down and cutting him badly with "ground and pound" elbows.
Koscheck then agreed to step in and fight Thiago Alves at UFC 90 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 10, 2008, Koscheck fought Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the main event at 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 $60,000 bonus from the UFC for Knockout of the Night.
Koscheck fought promotional newcomer Paulo Thiago at UFC 95. Koscheck was defeated by the debuting Brazilian via first round KO. Thiago hit Koscheck squarely with a right uppercut and landed a left hook as Koscheck fell to the canvas in a stupor. After the bout was halted, Koscheck got up and argued that he was still alert and able to defend himself. Shortly after the stoppage, Koscheck was seen calmly offering his opinion of the stoppage to the referee: "Too early - just a little bit too early."
Koscheck was to fight Chris Wilson at UFC 98 but was forced to withdraw after suffering a foot injury in training. He returned at UFC 103 and defeated returning veteran Frank Trigg via TKO (punches) in the 1st round.
Koscheck was expected to face Mike Pierce on January 11, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 20, but instead went on to face Anthony Johnson on November 21, 2009, at UFC 106.
On November 21, 2009, Koscheck defeated Anthony Johnson by rear naked choke at 4:47 in the 2nd round. In the first round, Koscheck blocked a knee aimed at his head while he had two knees on the ground. Koscheck went to the ground holding his face, prompting the ref to step in and deduct a point from Johnson. Commentators accused Koscheck of faking the impact of the knee, which seemed to miss Koscheck's face on the replays. Koscheck has said in multiple interviews that he was reacting to an eye poke, not the knee. In round two, Koscheck poked Johnson in the eye twice leading to Johnson being given time to recover. Because of this, many fans think due to the controversy in both rounds between the fighters, it should've been declared a No Contest. In his post fight interview, he called out Dan Hardy, the #1 contender in the Welterweight Division.
Koscheck was scheduled to rematch Paulo Thiago at UFC 109, but was forced off the card with an injury and was replaced by AKA teammate Mike Swick.
Welterweight contendership
Koscheck then signed to fight Paul Daley at UFC 113 in Montreal. Koscheck used his wrestling to earn a unanimous decision victory. After the final bell and the fighters had been separated by the referee, Daley threw a punch at Koscheck, hitting him in the face. In an interview at the conclusion of the event, Dana White announced that Daley would never fight in the UFC again. White was quoted as saying, "He will never come back, I do not care if he's the best 170-pounder in the world. He's never coming back here. There's no excuse for that. You never hit a guy like that after the bell." Via Twitter, Koscheck expressed a desire to face Tito Ortiz at a catchweight after his fight with Daley, in large part because Ortiz poked fun at Mark Coleman after he was defeated at UFC 109.
In 2010, Koscheck was a coach on The Ultimate Fighter season 12. The season 12 finale aired on December 4, 2010 with the main event consisting of two fighters Michael Johnson and Jonathan Brookins from team Georges St-Pierre.
Koscheck faced Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124 for the UFC Welterweight Championship. UFC 124 was heavily hyped due to Josh's well known animosity towards St-Pierre, stemming from his loss by decision in their fight at UFC 74. St Pierre utilized his left jab effectively in the bout, winning all rounds to defeat Koscheck 50-45 by unanimous decision.
Koscheck suffered a broken orbital bone on the right side of his face during the fight with St-Pierre. Unable to fly because of air pockets that formed around Koscheck's right eye, the UFC arranged for him and his trainer to drive to Boston where Koscheck received the corrective surgery.
Post-title shot
Koscheck defeated former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135 via KO in the first round, replacing an injured Diego Sanchez.
Koscheck was expected to face Carlos Condit on February 4, 2012 at UFC 143. However, on December 7, 2011, it was revealed Georges St-Pierre had sustained ACL injury to his left knee and the injury would sideline him for around ten months, forcing him out of his scheduled bout with Nick Diaz. Condit and Diaz faced each other at the event with the winner crowned interim UFC Welterweight Champion, while Koscheck faced Mike Pierce at the event. He won the fight via split decision.
Koscheck then faced Johny Hendricks on May 5, 2012 at UFC on Fox 3. He lost the fight via split decision.
Controversy
Koscheck has been cited poking the eyes of his opponents in nearly every one of his fights. Although it is not known if his actions are intentional, they have been consistently increasing. Eye gouging can cause serious permanent damage to an opponents eyes and is considered illegal in MMA.
Championships and awards
Collegiate wrestling
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- NCAA Division I All-American out of Edinboro University (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
- NCAA Division I 174 1b - 4th place out of Edinboro University (1999)
- NCAA Division I 174 1b - Runner-up out of Edinboro University (2000)
- NCAA Division I 174 1b - Champion out of Edinboro University (2001)
- NCAA Division I 174 1b - 3rd place out of Edinboro University (2002)
- As a senior at Waynesburg Central High School, Koscheck finished second in the 1997 Pennsylvania State Wrestling Championships.In 2001, he went 42-0 and was the NCAA Division I National Champion in the 174-pound weight class. Koscheck was also a four-time Division I All-American (4th, 2nd, 1st, and 3rd) and the 11th four-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champion. He was honored as the PSAC Wrestler of the Year three times and was twice named the Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year.
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Knockout of the Night (Two times)
- Submission of the Night (One time)
- Fight of the Night (Two times)
Mixed martial arts record
External links
- Official UFC Profile
- Professional MMA record for Josh Koscheck from Sherdog
- Koscheck's profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
MMA Shirts
