clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Video: UFC's Josh Koscheck Says He'll Fight Anybody For The Right Amount Of Money

New, 6 comments

Josh Koscheck finally got to fight UFC legend Matt Hughes at UFC 135. Find out what he had to say about the fight as well as his future in the UFC.

MONTREAL- MAY 8: Josh Koscheck (L) holds on to Paul Daley in their welter weight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
MONTREAL- MAY 8: Josh Koscheck (L) holds on to Paul Daley in their welter weight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Josh Koshcheck is coming off a major victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 135. MMA Nation caught up with Koscheck at the UFC 136 Fan expo to get his thoughts on the fight with Hughes as well as what he sees in his MMA career going forward. Koscheck is extremely candid about his placement in the division as well as his motivation to keep fighting. 

For those that are unaware, the American Kickboxing Academy welterweights have been calling Matt Hughes out for years, hoping that if they prodded enough, the former UFC champion would take the fight. At UFC 135 in Denver, it was Josh Koscheck who got the opportunity when Diego Sanchez dropped out of the fight due to injury. Koscheck took the fight on extremely short notice and defeated Matt Hughes in the first round. When reflecting back on not just the fight but also the storyline leading up to it, Koscheck was unsure it would ever happen.

"I didn't think it would to be honest with you. With the fight with Matt Hughes because the fact that he's getting up there in age and I was calling him out for a while. It was an opportunity I had to jump on because of the nature of the story line and the history between me and Matt Hughes." He added,"Obviously, I don't want to disrespect Matt Hughes. He's a great fighter and he's done a lot of great things for the sport. He's been a legend and he will be a legend forever in this sport as a pioneer. I think it was a good opportunity for me and I seized that opportunity."

With the division now wide open due to the Jake Shields loss at the hands of the Jake Ellenberger, Koscheck's opinion on his standing in the division as well as fight he wants to take is pretty straight forward and honest. As he explained, "Listen, I'll fight any of those guys. I want to fight the guys at the top. That's where I want to be and the guys at the bottom want to fight the guys at the top. I'll fight anybody. Realistically, I want a big fight. I want my next fight to be a big fight. Who could be it be? Nick Diaz, BJ Penn, Condit, maybe someone at 185. There are a lot of really good guys at 185. I want big names and big fights. I'll fight anybody for the right amount of money." 

Koscheck has also been extremely honest about his motivation for fighting. He is a prize fighter and has always been up front that he chases the money the sport offers. Knowing that he's far from a title shot, he's willing to adopt his teammate Mo Lawall's philosophy of fighting at money weight, as he'll fight anyone as long as the price is right. In his words, "I'm not gonna get a title shot anytime soon unless GSP loses so we gotta be real on that. Now it's time to get paid. It's time to fight as much as I can and hopefully get back to the title shot some day but if I don't then I'll just make money. That's what it's about."