Josh Koscheck returned to action at UFC 135, stopping Matt Hughes by strikes at 4:59 of the first round.
Following a layoff prompted by an orbital bone smashing by GSP at UFC 124, Koscheck took advantage of a short-notice booking with Hughes (in a co-headliner slot, nonetheless), delivering a powerful, finishing performance of one of the UFC’s beloved Hall-of-Famers.
Koscheck now finds himself in a quagmire.
The welterweight division is seemingly booked for the next 4-6 months with GSP meeting Carlos Condit and BJ Penn facing Nick Diaz at UFC 137, with the winner of the latter either getting a title shot or an eliminator bout with fast-rising Jake Ellenburger.
The division’s other top fighter, Jon Fitch, a teammate of Koscheck’s at American Kickboxing Academy, will fight Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 in late December.
Barring unnecessary rematches with Paulo Thiago or even Anthony Johnson (if Rumble can take out Charlie Brenneman at UFC on Versus 6), Koscheck is left with few viable options at welterweight.
Yes, Kos is a top welterweight and has been for years. He’s garnered many co-headlining slots on pay-per-view cards and fought GSP twice in his career. Which, in the case of marketable or even viable fights, will prevent him from rising to No. 1 contender status in the 170 pound division. Losing twice to the champ, even if only once in a title fight, will do little for a fighter’s chances in that same division.
Also, with Fitch being perennially at the top of the heap, knowing AKA’s stance on teammates fighting each other, Koscheck simply has nowhere to go.
Except up.
Yes, to middleweight and an eventual run-in with Anderson Silva.
Given the state of the 185 pound division, a move to 185 makes perfect sense for a wrestler of Koscheck’s ability.
The division has essentially been cleaned out by the “Spider” and has few rising stars knocking on the door for a title shot. Brian Stann will face Chael Sonnen in Houston at UFC 136, but conventional wisdom says that barring a submission victory by Stann, he has neither the wrestling chops, nor the experience to handle a very game Chael Sonnen.
With a victory, Sonnen will undoubtedly get the rematch he so craves after beating Silva for 4.75 rounds over a year ago only to be caught in an arm triangle in the 5th round,
So where does that leave Kos?
Smack dab in the middle of the 185 pound heap—one or two wins away from a title shot. Given the UFC’s propensity to elevate long-time fighters’ position in new weight classes once a drop or climb is made, Koscheck would not be left fighting a new fighter or a fighter on the lower tier.
Example: Kenny Florian.
Kos would get Belcher, a Leben-Munoz winner, a Stann-Sonnen loser, Bisping or Mayhem.
A win over any of these opponents would give him cause to ask for a title eliminator while the rest of the division shakes out.
He has the chops, the fighting experience and the wrestling to cause all sorts of problems for the striker-heavy division. His only fights where he could not grind out a decision may be with Sonnen or Munoz, and with either fighter he may have the more sound stand-up.
He is completely capable of making a two to three fight run at a middleweight title shot.
Will it happen? It is left to be seen. But the horoscope for Josh Koscheck calls for heavy lifting, a higher walk-around weight, and a whole lot of jawing up controversy with his new division. Fights get made by fans via Dana White, and if Kos can position his jawing and that power-double in the right direction, he’ll find himself across the cage from a legend in no time at all.
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