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Former UFC welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (15-5) is reportedly set to replace the injured Diego Sanchez at UFC 135, after ‘The Dream’ was forced to withdraw due to a broken hand. Sanchez was scheduled to face former UFC champ Matt Hughes (45-8) at the Denver event.
Koscheck posted the message via Twitter (@JoshKoscheck) on Monday night, noting that the bout was dependent on Hughes accepting the fight.
– Oh ya 19 days then or something like that!!!! Either way it looks like I am in to fight matt Hugh if he takes it????
UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage is set for September 24, giving Koscheck just 19 days to prepare for the Hall of Famer. UFC 135 is scheduled to take place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. No official word has surfaced from the UFC at time of writing.
If Koscheck does end up replacing Sanchez, it will mark his first fight in the cage in ten months since he suffered a unanimous decision loss to UFC champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124. In that fight, Koscheck suffered a broken right orbital bone, something that prevented him from flying home after the match and which has kept him from doing any training for much of the year.
Before the UFC 124 loss, Koscheck had won three straight including victories over Paul Daley at UFC 113, Anthony Johnson at UFC 106, and against Frank Trigg at UFC 103.
Hughes suffered a 21-second knockout loss to B.J. Penn in their third professional meeting last November at UFC 123. The defeat ended a three fight win streak which saw Hughes beat Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117, Renzo Gracie at UFC 112, and Matt Serra at UFC 98.