Josh Koscheck is not the No. 1 contender to Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight title – that’s Dan Hardy, and it looks like he’ll get his shot February in Australia – but for my money he’s right now the best challenger in the division, one that GSP has cleaned out the past two years.
Koscheck took his game to new heights by submitting Anthony Johnson at UFC 106 before calling out Hardy and demanding why he is the No. 1 contender. That drew some boos which isn’t surprising. Koscheck is one of the UFC’s polarizing figures you either love or hate. He’s brash and obnoxious with a big mouth, but also entertaining. My brother yesterday came up with a good analogy: Koscheck is the UFC’s Ric Flair. He’s not afraid to call anyone out and boast that he’s the best, and in his last two bouts he’s backed it up.
Hardy defeated Mike Swick to move to 4-0 in the UFC and Dana White honored his promise of granting the winner of that fight a shot at GSP. However, Hardy should have finished Swick long before the bout went to the judges. Three of his four UFC wins have come via decision and he barely squeaked by Marcus Davis at UFC 99. For a hard puncher and a dynamic personality, Hardy’s lack of a killer instinct is troubling. My lasting impression of Swick vs. Hardy was that St. Pierre would tear either of them apart in less than five minutes.
Koscheck fought GSP once before, losing by a unanimous decision at UFC 74, another reason why technically Hardy is next in line. But when reviewing Koscheck’s remarks after he defeated Johnson –“He ain't fought nobody like me," he said. "Guaranteed, I'm the No. 1 freaking contender in the division." – he’s right. He’s much better than when he met St. Pierre in 2007 – and in that fight he became the last fighter to win a round from the welterweight king (at that time not the champion). He’s one of only two to hold a win over Diego Sanchez (fighting B.J. Penn for the lightweight crown next month) and recovered from a first-round KO loss to Paulo Thiago in February (also his third fight in four months) with impressive victories over Frank Trigg and “Rumble” Johnson.
Figure on Koscheck fighting capable competition in early 2010 before getting the winner of St. Pierre vs. Hardy – perhaps at the show that could end up at Fenway Park this summer.
**
I went 4-4 in my UFC 106 predictions, correctly picking Koscheck, Forrest Griffin, Amir Sadollah and Paulo Thiago, but whiffing on Luiz Cane, Marcus Davis, Jake Rosholt and Brock Larson. Sadollah and Ben Saunders gave clinics in Mauy Thai, Kendall Grove and Little Nog looked tremendous and Larson's days as a top welterweight are over after Brian Foster - showing shades of his teacher Matt Hughes - took him apart in two rounds. Larson's a great guy enduring a bad slump. Here's hoping he recovers sometime in 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment