With Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz all set to put on a show in Las Vegas this weekend, the rest of the card seems dull in comparison.
Sure, there’s an awesome bantamweight fight between Scott Jorgenson and Renan Barao set on the main card, and Fabricio Werdum is returning to the UFC for the first time since a loss at UFC 90, but to be honest, the card is seriously lacking in star power.
With the UFC forced to rely on the enigma that is Nick Diaz to sell pay-per-views, it’s been interesting that one of the best talkers in the business, Josh Koscheck, has been relatively quiet.
Koscheck is coming off a strong performance against UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, where he flattened the former welterweight champion in less than a round, and with his perennial rival and Achilles heel Georges St-Pierre now sidelined for the better part of the year, it’s curious as to why Koscheck hasn’t been promoting his fight.
With GSP out, the welterweight division is now pretty flimsy at the top, with only Condit, Diaz and possibly Jake Ellenberger anywhere near title contention, and a win for Koscheck over a tough fighter in Mike Pierce this weekend could push him into the mix.
Yet, Kos remains quiet.
It could be because Pierce is a relatively unknown opponent, one that even if Koscheck defeats soundly will look like nothing more than a resume builder.
Perhaps, Koscheck realizes this and has decided not to waste his time promoting a fight that the general population just doesn’t seem interested.
Or, he may be keeping quiet because a win is going to do nothing for him in the welterweight division.
Koscheck has spoken numerous times about moving up in weight and competing in the UFC’s middleweight division, and as recently as last September, he began asking for fights at 185 lbs.
Now even with GSP out of the picture for the time being, Koscheck is still on the outside looking in as far as title contention goes, and by the time he gets back into the mix, St-Pierre will likely be waiting for him once again.
Honestly, the problem isn’t even that Koscheck can’t beat GSP. He has a decent skill set to do it, and if he had not had his orbital bone explode in the opening moments of their bout at UFC 124, who knows what would have happened.
The problem is the UFC isn’t likely going to give a title shot to someone who has already failed to beat the champion on two separate occasions.
Sure, Koscheck can stick around at welterweight and pray that he keeps winning and Diaz, Condit or some other unforeseen knight in shining armor takes out St-Pierre, but it isn’t a risk he should be willing to take.
This leaves Koscheck stuck in limbo. He can either move up in weight and give up size to bigger men, or he can stay at welterweight and hope that eventually he does enough that the UFC has no choice but to offer him another chance at “Rush.”
If Kos is able to earn a victory over Mike Pierce this weekend, he should take his momentum and head north to 185.
It may be his only chance to become a champion.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com