After a few years of campaigning for a fight against Matt Hughes, an American Kickboxing Academy welterweight finally gets their chance.
Josh Koscheck will get the opportunity, after Hughes accepted Koscheck as a replacement for the injured Diego Sanchez at UFC 135.
According to Sanchez’s management team, the 29-year-old welterweight broke his right hand in training, forcing him out of the bout.
On Monday, Koscheck said he’d accepted a spot to replace Hughes but was simply waiting on Hughes’ approval of the fight and on Tuesday, he got it. It’s a risky move for Koscheck, who hasn’t fought since last December’s title fight loss to Georges St-Pierre, but the California-based fighter is well known for being in fighting shape at all times.
Koscheck (15-5) has less than three weeks to prepare for the September 24 bout.
Hughes (45-8) has had an even longer layoff than Koscheck. He hasn’t fought since last November, when he was knocked out by BJ Penn. However, while he’s been in training for Sanchez for well over a month now, Koscheck had entertained the notion of moving up to middleweight before taking this short-notice bout.
Koscheck and AKA teammate Jon Fitch had lobbied unsuccessfully in the past for the chance to face Hughes.