Never at a loss for words, UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck talked with Ariel Helwani for a few moments to discuss his next fight against Johny Hendricks and, more importantly, his split from American Kickboxing Academy.
Koscheck had begun to give subtle hints about leaving AKA prior to his UFC 143 bout with Mike Pierce. He dropped a bombshell and made it official in the post-fight press conference.
The video with Helwani can be found here via MMAFighting.com.
For those too lazy to click, or simply want to get the highlights of the interview, here are some interesting quotes from Kosheck:
– Javier Mendez isn’t a real coach.
-“For the record he [Mendez] was never my coach, he tagged along here and there.”
– Koscheck had nothing but kind words for AKA coach Bob Cook. He mentioned Cook trains with him sometimes in Fresno.
– “It’s good to be around real coaches that care and put time in to make you the best.”
– When asked whether Mendez worked with him, he responded by saying, “Of course, he worked with me, you know. But did I learn anything? Eh.”
– Kos said this is the “first time in three years he’s had someone holding mitts for him.”
– He “really, truly believes” the real reason for AKA’s success is the training partners.
– Koscheck believes if AKA had real coaching, they would’ve seen more champions like Cain.
– He believes we will see big improvements in his game in his next bout at UFC on Fox 3 against Hendricks.
– Helwani asked if any of the fighters at AKA come to train at Koscheck’s gym. He replied, “If they’re smart they’ll come and get real coaching…they should. So that’s up to them. The door’s always open to those guys. I prefer never to set foot in the city of San Jose ever again.”
– Koscheck made sure to let everyone know it’s not simply him “doing his own thing” and that it’s very structured.
– He said he was shocked at how Hendricks won against former AKA teammate Jon Fitch, but said he won’t make the same mistake as Fitch.
– He also let it be known that he has five fights left on his new contract.
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