Top welterweight contender Josh Koscheck could possibly meet up with Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fights for the Troops” during the three-hour Spike TV special that will take place from Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., on December 10.
MMAmania.com has heard whispers about the solid 170-pound match up from several independent sources over the course of the last few days.
Koscheck has won nine of 11 bouts inside the Octagon since his stint on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) back in early 2005, transforming from a world class wrestler into a dangerous well-rounded fighter in less than three years.
He has faced top competition in the loaded division in his last five appearances, including a showdown with current welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (he was not champion at the time). He lost that bout via three-round decision but won over a legion of new fans with the performance for being able to hang with the uber talented Canadian.
Koscheck has since defeated rising star Dustin Hazelett with a second round technical knockout at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March and grizzled veteran Chris Lytle via bloodbath, er, unanimous decision at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” this past July.
With another win, the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) standout will be knocking on the door for a title shot along with the winner of the bout between Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” next month.
However, it will not be easy … “Zenko” is quite the exotic import.
Yoshida — the former Cage Force and Shooto star — was successful in his UFC debut at UFC 84: “Ill Will” when he submitted TUF alum Jon Koppenhaver via anaconda choke. The Judoka is the winner of nine straight fights and was looking to make it 10 against Karo Parisyan at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” earlier this month before “The Heat” inexplicably withdrew from the bout just 24 hours before the bout with an injury.
If the bout is signed by both fighters it will likely serve as the main event — or at the very least — the co main event of the evening.
UFC Fight Night 16: “Fights for the Troops” will pay tribute to the United States servicemen and women serving in the armed forces. The Spike TV broadcast will coincide with a telethon during which viewers will be encouraged to call in and donate money to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates and rumors regarding UFC Fight Night 16: “Fights for the Troops.”
Note that MMAmania.com has also learned that Mike Swick will also likely compete on this card against Jonathan Goulet — not on TUF 8 fight card as previously reported today.
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- UFC announces “UFC Fights for the Troops” event for Dec. 10 in Fort Bragg, N.C. :Five Ounces of Pain
- UFC confirms December 10 show at Fort Bragg, Koscheck vs Yoshida, Corey Hill vs Dale Hart, Clementi | urdirt.com
- Josh Koscheck vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida to headline ‘Fight for the Troops’ Dec. 10 at UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets — MMAmania.com
Now That’s what im talking bout——- so does that leave silva open if he wins against cote and Koscheck wins or does that mean kos gets the next fight and is kos at 185 now exclusivly
what the hell are u talking about?
Sorry just saw the 170
sorry I just saw the appology
lol at both of you guys
Koscheck is going to beat him down like a man, and slap him around like a baby. War Koscheck!!!!!!!!
war koscheck!!
opps lol
Hell Yeah Tuffguy hah Koscheck is working his way back up to fight the beast GSP. But it might be Penn. who knows? War Koscheck and Penn!!!!!!!!!
Koscheck is bein fed canz!!
Negation, how is someone that is on a 9 fight winning streak a can? all becuase you don’t know someone doesn’t mean they’re a can.
Koschek is getting Judo thrown all over the cage. I cant wait to bet on a super upset by YOshida
Chaser: u can like Kos all you want but can you shut up about your pipe dreams of him fighting/beating fighting GSP again and winning. He isnt even on GSP’s radar
Yoshida is going to throw him on his head!
Kos isnt better at any aspects of mma than GSP. GSP is even the better wrestler, so 0enough with this stupid match up already!
U have said, everything you could possibly say about Kos, put it to rest, he isn’t even that good
REAL TALK!
kos sucks!
yoshida is no pushover negation, and definietely not a can
Well for me, most Jap fighters are cans, hehe!
i am a huge kos fan as he is probably my favorite fighter but this is a risky fight for im to take he has established himself as a top contender and now he is fighting a guy few people have heard of in yoshida, i have only seen yoshida fight once against war machine but he looked very impressive i think kos should try to keep the fight standing until he starts losing that battle then put yoshida on his back.
koscheck will cry like a little baby girl when he gets submitted in the first round! Watch it happen children!!!!!
Good fight. Yoshida is a tough dude, but I think Kos will prove to be too much for him
kos is the franklin of 170
You mean a former champ who can destroy anyone in the weight class except for the current champ? I think not, sir.
you mean the pet detective?
Sorry, I can only see kos taking this one out by TKO first round.
This is a good matchup. I would have liked to see Yoshida get another fight before thrown to the 170 elite. I liked the matchup with Karo, but that match fell though.
I gotta say Kos takes this but not as easily as many people think
I’m the biggest Koscheck fan, and I don’t think it will be easy, I think koscheck will win a UD.
whats new?
Not the callus on Koscheck’s taint that he’s gotten from all those years of dry humping.
Really the biggest huh???
Yoshida via submission. I don’t want to see Koscheck drag out another decision by laying on top of his opponent and hoping some blood flows into an eye socket like he did against Lytle (boring-ass fight). I dislike Koscheck, not because he looks like a paedophile-clown, but because he’s a fairly boring fighter (aka an ex-collegiate fighter getting work in the UFC, like there’s no place else?). I was taking Yoshida over Karo, my brain is telling me take Yoshida over Koscheck, but gut feeling tells me Koscheck will lay-and-pray to a victory.
I never knew there were actual fans of that mug-shot clown.
Hater.
I haven’t been the biggest Kos fan, but he hasn’t had a boring fight since the Diego fight. He was dishing out some good gnp in the Lytle fight.
some of the best ground and pound ever, lytle looked like a faucet of blood in that fight and i think it should have been stopped.
I know Koscheck will win this one easily but I’m still rooting for the Japanese punching bag, hehe!!
This is a really good match up. Kos has it though. He looks sharper and sharper every time he goes out. I’m really starting to look forward to this card. They are going to put on great show for the troops.
I think Kos takes this easily. Nothing against Yoshida who is a hell of a fighter, but I think Kos is number 2 in the division at this point.
I was really hoping that Koscheck was being held off to fight the winner of Sanchez/Alves… I can still see that happeining further down the line if he can get past Zenko though…
Winner[Koscheck/Zenko] vs Winner [Sanchez/Alves] for the title shot
i think alves will beat sanchez with ease, if matt hughes couldnt take alves down i dont diego being able to do it and we all have seen what happens to people when they stand with thiago
I really do think that Alves should have been matched up with Koscheck after they defeated Hughes and Lytle…
They are clearly the most likely candidates for a title shot at this stage. Sanchez was unfortunate to lose 2 in a row and should have been matched up with Yoshida or a rematch with Karo (when he was healthy)
I agree. Give Koscheck the winner of the Alves vs. Diego fight. Then again, we’ll see if Alves can make 170, he’s over 200 right now (last I heard). If Alves doesn’t make 170, I say give him an instant title shot vs. Anderson Silva and have Spider punish him for bullying the WW division.
kos/alves and diego/yoshida would be some good fights, but they’re set up pretty good now too.
Kos vs Alves would be great.
Kos would spank Alves’ silly a** around the Octagon the whole time!! Kos is gonna win this Yoshida fight, easily..He’s gonnna be the next 170 lb champ. He’s alluded to cutting down to 155, not moving up to 185. I think he would be an absolute monster at 155.
kos is pretty ripped at 170 i dont know if he could make 155 i know in the past he said he would do whatever it took to make that cut if he were offered a title fight down their but i dont see him being able to make that cut healthfully and being able to retain his strength and endurance
KOSCHECK BY KO!!!!!
W A R K O S C H E C K ! !