Tag: Diego Sanchez

Koscheck Asked For Silva, Franklin or Leben for Return Bout, Got Hughes Instead


(…and THAT’S what the Kos has cookin’.”

When Josh Koscheck mentioned back in July that he was interested in taking at least one fight at 185, speculation ran rampant about who the American Kickboxing Academy fighter wanted to face. We reported that there were early discussions with the UFC and Chris Leben’s camp for the two The Ultimate Fighter nemeses to square off at UFC 138 in San Jose, but the fight never materialized for various reasons and now Koscheck is slated to face former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes at UFC 135 on September 24 as a last-minute replacement for Diego Sanchez.

According to Kos, he asked for either Leben, Rich Franklin or Wanderlei Silva for his first bout back since losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124. A broken orbital bone he suffered in the opening minutes of the bout required surgery and left him sidelined for the better part of the past year. The reason for the jump back up to middleweight — the class he competed in on The Ultimate Fighter — he says was because anyone of relevance in his own weight class was already tied up.


(…and THAT’S what the Kos has cookin’.”

When Josh Koscheck mentioned back in July that he was interested in taking at least one fight at 185, speculation ran rampant about who the American Kickboxing Academy fighter wanted to face. We reported that there were early discussions with the UFC and Chris Leben’s camp for the two The Ultimate Fighter nemeses to square off at UFC 138 in San Jose, but the fight never materialized for various reasons and now Koscheck is slated to face former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes at UFC 135 on September 24 as a last-minute replacement for Diego Sanchez.

According to Kos, he asked for either Leben, Rich Franklin or Wanderlei Silva for his first bout back since losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124. A broken orbital bone he suffered in the opening minutes of the bout required surgery and left him sidelined for the better part of the past year. The reason for the jump back up to middleweight — the class he competed in on The Ultimate Fighter — he says was because anyone of relevance in his own weight class was already tied up.

“You probably saw that I was considering going to middleweight, and the reason I wanted to fight at middleweight was everyone at 170 pounds who meant anything was already locked up with a fight.To be honest, and mentioning no names, the people the UFC wanted me to fight just didn’t interest me at all. The names they offered me were just “paydays” — fights to get on a card and have a fight, take a shower get a payday and go home and I don’t want to fight those guys,” Koscheck explained on his first TUF 14 blog for Sportsnet.ca. “After the GSP fight, I needed to come back and remind everyone what I am all about and if I couldn’t do that at 170 pounds I figured maybe as a one-off just to have a major fight to come back with, I’d take a fight at 185 pounds. Realistically, I asked to fight Wanderlei Silva, Chris Leben and even Rich Franklin at 185.”

As far as Hughes, whose relevance in the welterweight division is questionable, Koscheck says he wanted to fight him for a while, but “Country Breakfast” has been ducking him for a while.

“But then last week I got word Matt Hughes, who has avoided me for years, needed an opponent for UFC 135 in Denver on Sept. 24. I’ve called out Hughes for so long but he’s always avoided me. When he was on top and one of the top in the division, he used his position to avoid fighting me and all the AKA guys,” Koscheck explained. “But when Diego Sanchez pulled out hurt with three weeks to go, I knew the UFC would have no choice but to try to talk Hughes into fighting me. Like I knew he would, he tried to suggest fighting Jon Fitch instead, knowing full well Fitch is still recovering from shoulder surgery. I tweeted that I’d accepted the fight and was ready, just to put pressure on Hughes to quit bitching and take the fight. I wanted to make it so that if he did turn the fight down, all the fans would know that he bitched out. He had nowhere else to go and I’ve finally got my fight with Matt Hughes.”

Hughes Agrees to Face Either Koscheck Or Fitch at UFC 135 September 24

According to former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes he has accepted the challenge of Josh Koscheck to face him in the place of his original UFC 135 opponent Diego Sanchez, who pulled out of the bout due to a broken hand. The only problem is, the UFC brass haven’t decided whether they want to see “Country Breakfast” possibly have his lights and his career turned out by Kos or have Bob Arum telling Dana, “I told you so!” until the day he dies (some time soon by the looks of it) thanks to a potential 15-minute wrestlefuck session with Jon Fitch.

Either way, Hughes is fighting on September 24, so at least there’s that.

According to former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes he has accepted the challenge of Josh Koscheck to face him in the place of his original UFC 135 opponent Diego Sanchez, who pulled out of the bout due to a broken hand. The only problem is, the UFC brass haven’t decided whether they want to see “Country Breakfast” possibly have his lights and his career turned out by Kos or have Bob Arum telling Dana, “I told you so!” until the day he dies (some time soon by the looks of it) thanks to a potential 15-minute wrestlefuck session with Jon Fitch.

Either way, Hughes is fighting on September 24, so at least there’s that.

Here’s the card as we know it:

UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage
September 24, 2011
Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado

MAIN CARD (PPV)

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones (c) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

Matt Hughes vs. *Josh Koscheck or Jon Fitch
Travis Browne vs. Rob Broughton
Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi
Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

Tony Ferguson vs. Aaron Riley
Nick Ring vs. Tim Boetsch

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

James Te-Huna vs. Ricardo Romero
Cole Escovedo vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Eddie Yagin vs. Junior Assuncao

Matt Hughes Accepts Fight With Replacement Josh Koscheck at UFC 135

Filed under: UFC, NewsAfter 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 …

Filed under: ,

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.

 

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Diego Sanchez Out of UFC 135 Co-Main Event Against Matt Hughes; Josh Koscheck Verbally Agrees to Replace Him

(Listen to the first thing that Diego says in this video. Is it just me, or is the dude starting to sound like Kevin from ‘The Office’?)

Less than three weeks before his scheduled meeting with Matt Hughes at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage (September 24th, Denver), Diego Sanchez was pulled from the event yesterday due to a broken hand suffered in training. Coming off back-to-back decision victories over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann — both of which netted him Fight of the Night awards — Sanchez released a statement explaining just how bummed he is:

“I am heartbroken that I have to inform MMA fans that I cannot fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135 later this month. I have never physically felt more prepared to compete than I felt for this fight, which makes this even more painful for me. While I do not know right now when I will return, I want to assure all of the fans out there that I will be back in the Octagon as soon as I am 100-percent healthy.”

But in the distance, a savior appears…

(Listen to the first thing that Diego says in this video. Is it just me, or is the dude starting to sound like Kevin from ‘The Office’?)

Less than three weeks before his scheduled meeting with Matt Hughes at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage (September 24th, Denver), Diego Sanchez was pulled from the event yesterday due to a broken hand suffered in training. Coming off back-to-back decision victories over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann — both of which netted him Fight of the Night awards — Sanchez released a statement explaining just how bummed he is:

“I am heartbroken that I have to inform MMA fans that I cannot fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135 later this month. I have never physically felt more prepared to compete than I felt for this fight, which makes this even more painful for me. While I do not know right now when I will return, I want to assure all of the fans out there that I will be back in the Octagon as soon as I am 100-percent healthy.”

But in the distance, a savior appears…

Shortly after Sanchez’s pull-out was announced, fellow welterweight contender Josh Koscheck confirmed that he had accepted an offer to replace “The Dream” against Hughes. Koscheck, who hasn’t competed since his crushing loss to Georges St. Pierre last December, was previously rumored to return in November as a middleweight. But it looks like his timetable just got a lot shorter — that is, if Hughes is willing to accept the fight, which he hasn’t yet. As Koscheck told USA Today:

It’s a fight that I’ve been wanting for a long time. Now we’ve just got to wait and see if Matt Hughes will accept the fight. So we’re waiting on him…

I’m healthy. I have no reason not to accept this fight if Matt Hughes wants it. It’s like Dana White always says: Your job is to fight no matter what. I’m a fighter, and whether I’ve got to fight on a week’s notice or six months’, doesn’t matter. My job is to go out there and fight and win…

I’m just looking for this opportunity, and hopefully Matt Hughes will step up and take the fight for the fans and the UFC…

I’m a big-name fighter, so he can take that and run with it. I put it out there. I told UFC I’d do it, and if Matt Hughes is man enough, he’ll step up and do it…

He wants big-name fighters. He’s getting near the end of his career. I think he’ll take the fight because it’s good for the sport and good for the UFC.

We’ll update you when the fight is a done deal. So what do you think? Is Koscheck vs. Hughes a satisfying replacement for Sanchez vs. Hughes?

UFC 135: Diego Sanchez Out, Replacement Underway for Matt Hughes

UFC President Dana White is particularly reliant these days on the Internet sensation that’s sweeping the nation, the beloved Twitter.He’s broken undisclosed bouts, events and even the occasional, and otherwise unfortunate, news that would di…

UFC President Dana White is particularly reliant these days on the Internet sensation that’s sweeping the nation, the beloved Twitter.

He’s broken undisclosed bouts, events and even the occasional, and otherwise unfortunate, news that would displease most fans.

This happens to be one of those occasions.

The Ultimate Fighter season one winner Diego Sanchez, who has been riding high on the strength of two back-to-back “Fight of the Night” victories over the likes of Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, finally got the step-up in competition that he’s due.

The Greg Jackson product was originally scheduled to face UFC Hall of Famer and two-time welterweight champion Matt Hughes, however that’s not going to be the case. The UFC head honcho recently took to twitter to reveal the bad news. 

@danawhite: Diego Sanchez broke his hand. Looking for a replacement for Hughes

Both Matt and Sanchez were penciled in as the co-main event for UFC 135, a pay-per-view event taking place in Denver, Colorado, headlined by a highly anticipated championship bout pitting the always colorful Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against titleholder Jon Jones. 

The event takes place on September 24, so the promotion will have to do some quick work in finding a suitable replacement for the MMA icon.

UPDATE: Former title challenger Josh Koscheck recently took to twitter himself, indicating that he could very well be the next man in line to take on Hughes, though no formal announcement has been made as of yet.

@JoshKoscheck 🙂 got a fight in 21 days (expletive)……..

Oh ya 19 days then or something like that!!!! Either way it looks like I am in to fight matt Hugh if he takes it???? [sic] 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Broken Hand Forces Diego Sanchez Out of UFC 135 Fight With Matt Hughes

Filed under: UFC, NewsUFC 135 has lost its co-main event.

Welterweight Diego Sanchez has broken his hand, forcing him out of a scheduled bout with former champion Matt Hughes, UFC president Dana White confirmed in a Monday Twitter posting.

White said…

Filed under: ,

UFC 135 has lost its co-main event.

Welterweight Diego Sanchez has broken his hand, forcing him out of a scheduled bout with former champion Matt Hughes, UFC president Dana White confirmed in a Monday Twitter posting.

White said that a search was underway for a replacement, though time is running short to find a suitable opponent for Hughes. Less than three weeks remains until the Sept. 24 event in Denver.

Sanchez (23-4) was coming into the fight on the strength of a two-fight win streak after consecutive decision wins over Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago. Those victories put aside the memories of a two-fight losing skid.

There is currently no timetable for Sanchez’s return.

Hughes hasn’t fought since last November, when he faced BJ Penn at UFC 123, losing by first-round knockout. That loss snapped a three-fight win streak and dropped Hughes’ record to 45-8 all-time.

UFC 135 still boasts a main event pitting newly crowned light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones against former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

 

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