Josh Koscheck‘s upcoming fight Robbie Lawler at UFC 157 hasn’t stopped him from thinking about perennial welterweight bad boy, Nick Diaz.
“Did you say a fan of Nick Diaz? No, I’m not a fan,” Koscheck told MMAHeat’s Karyn Bryant when she asked for his thoughts on the Stockton Brawler.
Why the hate? Part of it relates to Diaz’s well-known habit of marijuana use, a habit that earned Diaz a year-long suspension after his fight with Carlos Condit when he tested positive for marijuana metabolites.
“His values and my values are way different,” Koscheck said. “He does things that I don’t do. The smoking the pot and things like that, I don’t associate with things like that. I’m not saying it’s wrong. That’s just what he does. It’s just not my thing. I’m not a fan of Nick Diaz.”
However, Koscheck’s dislike of the elder Diaz brother owes its existence to more reasons than just pot smoking. Koscheck, a fighter who is almost always “in the mix” at welterweight, has become dejected with the way that title shots are gifted to undeserving fighters. He gave Diaz’s title shot as one such example.
“It seems like now in the UFC, if you can talk a good game, you might be able to get a light heavyweight title shot,” he said in reference to Chael Sonnen being matched up against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“And if you get suspended for a year, and then you come right back after losing a fight, you get to fight [UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre] for the title,” said Koscheck concerning Nick Diaz’s title shot. “Maybe I’ll just take another couple months off and do some things I shouldn’t do and fight for title!”
Furthermore, Koscheck doesn’t respect Diaz’s skills as much as he respects those of other fighters, specifically GSP. According to Koscheck, GSP should run through Diaz at UFC 158 without much trouble.
“It’s just gonna be an easy fight for St-Pierre, I believe. He’ll just take [Diaz] down and wrestle him and just control him like he does anyone else,” he said.
Koscheck is coming off a loss to Johny Hendricks and will be facing former UFC fighter and recent Strikeforce import Robbie Lawler at UFC 157. If Koscheck bests Lawler and Diaz loses to GSP, perhaps a Koscheck-Diaz match would be waiting in the wings?
Both men have a tendency to generate controversy and both men are names in the division. A fight between them only seems natural, given the right circumstances.
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