Josh Koscheck On Collision Course for Georges St. Pierre at UFC 124

Josh Koscheck was an unknown fighter just five years ago and this weekend he will fight Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 124.

Koscheck was a cast member of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter where he beat Chris Leben to make it to the semifinals where he lost to Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez. At the finale of the show Josh Koscheck fought on the undercard where he knocked out Chris Sanford in the first round. Since landing in the UFC in 2005 via The Ultimate Fighter Koscheck has fought 15 different times in UFC sanctioned bouts which is a record for any fighter in that period of time.

Koscheck started off with a flurry of wins on various free TV UFC shows which led him to a rematch with Diego Sanchez at the pay per view UFC 69. In his previous match with Sanchez he lost a close split decision. There would be no repeat of that this time as he out struck Sanchez en route to a unanimous decision. His next fight would be against Georges St. Pierre who out wrestled him and beat him in a unanimous decision.

From there Koscheck and St. Pierre set out on a course of destruction in the UFC welterweight division. Koscheck got wins against Frank Trigg, Paulo Thiago, Anthony Johnson, Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Paul Daley. Meanwhile Georges St. Pierre became the UFC Welterweight Champion and defended the title against Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy and a B.J. Penn in a controversial bout. Between the two of them they ran through most of the top contenders in the division which put them on a collision course. Koscheck and St. Pierre were tapped as coaches for the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter where it was made very clear that they are two very different people and that Koscheck really doesn’t like St. Pierre. St. Pierre got the best of Koscheck in the TUF coaching with two of his fighters making the finals, but that doesn’t seem to have dimmed Koscheck’s confidence.

This Saturday Koscheck finally gets his chance to face St. Pierre again. He can get revenge for his previous loss to him and win the title he so covets. It won’t be easy. Not only is St. Pierre one hell of a fighter, but they are fighting in St. Pierre’s home town of Montreal. If he can win the title, he may hold it a while because he has already shown he is capable beating just about anyone in the division. Koscheck has the tools to win. He is a better wrestler and has a better ground game than when he last faced St. Pierre and has clearly worked hard on his striking. It should be a hell of a fight that could be full of fireworks.