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Around SBN: UFC 146 Results: Junior dos Santos TKO's Frank Mir

Josh Koscheck Makes Epic Heel Turn at UFC 113

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Josh Koscheck hasn't exactly been the fan favorite of the UFC, ever since he was one of the bad boys on season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter.  His instigation of Chris Leben and overall attitude got under the skin of many viewers but what stood out to me were his fighting skills.  He was still very raw, relying almost entirely on his wrestling to blanket his opponents.  That style of fighting has never been fan friendly, but I would say that of all the fighters that have ever appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, Koscheck is one of the most improved.  Koscheck has obviously put a lot of effort into his striking and it has shown with several knockouts.  Josh had gotten back into my good graces after reeling off several impressive victories recently, and then he whipped out one of the most dramatic "heel" post-fight speech at UFC 113.

Star-divide

 

If you don't know what a heel is, it's a professional wrestling term for "the bad guy".  Think of characters in the WWE that insult the crowd, low blow their opponents and cheat.  Josh didn't cheat, but he channeled his inner "Iron Sheik" after his fight with Paul Daley was over and fully embraced the heel persona.

Paul Daley had just sucker punched him after the fight, and when Joe Rogan asked Josh about it, he completely ignored the question and took a huge sucker punch of his own, at the Montreal crowd who had been booing him for much of the fight.

Hey, don't worry! The Pittsburgh Penguins are gonna kick your ass next week. Yeah, and then I'm gonna beat St-Pierre so you guys are gonna lose twice. How 'bout that?  That's right Montreal!

This brought a cascade of boos from the crowd, and I'm sure many fans hated it.  But guess what?  I LOVED IT!!!!  It was hilarious!  Some may say this reminded them of Brock Lesnar's embarrassing post fight taunting speech at UFC 100, but this wasn't vulgar, it was funny.  He hit the Canadian crowd right where it hurts, their hockey and their GSP.  He didn't talk about "laying with his wife", insult his opponent or rip the sponsors, this was pure antagonism at its finest.

I'm not even sure why the crowd was booing Koscheck in the first place.  He was executing an eerily similar gameplan that their beloved Georges St. Pierre displayed in his last 2 title defenses: stay standing long enough to take your opponent down.  Once on the ground, Koscheck tried to end the fight twice with chokes, but Paul Daley persevered.

Maybe the crowd was reacting to Koscheck hamming it up after a failed knee attempt by Daley when Josh was still on the ground.  The replay clearly showed that Daley's knee barely grazed Koscheck's curly hair, but Josh acted like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer.  This was the second time Koscheck has dramatized an illegal strike to gain a couple minutes to recover in his last two fights, and I'm sure that hasn't gone over well with the crowd either.

Regardless, this now sets up a monstrous title fight down the road between Koscheck and St. Pierre as well as two very opposite coaching personalities on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter.  Some may knock Koscheck for having already lost to GSP nearly 3 years ago but you have to remember that Josh is the last person to even win a round against the current welterweight champ.  This matchup forecasts to be ratings gold.  Whether you are tuning in because you love him or you hate him, you will likely be tuning in.  And that's all that matters.

Photo via 6th-round.com

Poll
Did you love or hate Josh Koscheck's post-fight speech at UFC 113?
Loved it!
257 votes
Hated it!
35 votes
Indifferent, GSP is going to cream him
164 votes

456 votes | Poll has closed

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

Comment 52 comments  |  6 recs  | 

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Can’t stand Kos, but that was awesome!

Nothing wrong with playing the heel and it looks like he is embracing it. Love him or hate him, it’s a win. Indifference is the loss.

by BJJDenver on May 13, 2010 11:15 AM EDT reply actions  

Smart Guys play the Heel and get the $$$$

Ask Tito

or Brock

or Aoki (japan heel)

or Diaz Bros

I'm not afraid of dying, I'm a little bit scared of what comes after

by SouthCaliStunNa on May 13, 2010 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions  

I don't think the Diaz boys are playing

but still, point taken.

Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.

by Dave Strummer on May 13, 2010 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

I’m pretty sure making eye contact with the Diaz bros is a great way to get an ass kicking.

by rask4p on May 13, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions  

I’ve heard they are actually really nice guys. Talking shit to the Diaz brothers however…

How did I end up on this bandwagon and why does everything say property of Chael Sonnen?

by Day Man on May 13, 2010 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions  

Agreed

You and I are talking about it right now and Interested makes money.

Also, Great point about the Canadian double-standard. Love GSP w/ his wrestling and boo Kos w/ his. Though the knee might have something to do with the boo’s.

by Austin15 on May 13, 2010 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions  

well KOS will be taking on GSP

hence the boo

I'm not afraid of dying, I'm a little bit scared of what comes after

by SouthCaliStunNa on May 13, 2010 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions  

i can’t help but rec every comment you make. sometimes in agreement, but always because Leeroy Jenkins is a true legend.

LEEEEEEEERRRROOOOYYYYYYY NNNNNNNJJYENKINSSSS$$$$$$$

by Stillberry on May 13, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions  

theyre not boing the wrestling

theyre booing the man

I'm not afraid of dying, I'm a little bit scared of what comes after

by SouthCaliStunNa on May 13, 2010 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions  

LOL, give me a break. The TKO of Penn was as legit as it gets, and is more impressive than anything Koscheck has ever done. I also notice you purposefully omitted Koscheck’s TKO loss in his recent fights, and didn’t mention the competition that hasn’t been on GSP’s level.

The last top level guys Kos faced resulted in a decision win, a TKO loss, and a decision loss. But hey, you’re free to call his losses exciting.

by Hardcharger on May 13, 2010 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

haha

Yeah you might say Kos losing is exciting. I could care less, his heel shtick is unimaginative and is for the simple.
But Leeroy Jenkins’ post is about as flawed as any I ever read. Seriously, who’s he kidding. Like Koscheck is going to get a KO of Fitch and BJ?

But yeah, keep bragging about KO’s of Yoshida and the other fogie that everyone knew had absolutely no business in the UFC, much less a top wrestler like Kos.

by Dooda on May 14, 2010 2:08 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

NO...

Koscheck’s last four wins = Yoshida, Trigg, Johnson, Daley

GSP’s = Fitch, Penn, Alves (who beat Kos) and Hardy

Bit of a difference in competition there don’t you think. And Kos’s win over Daley is just as ‘boring’ if not more so than GSP’s over Alves and Hardy. The thing that made those fights boring the most was their one sided nature.

GSP > Kos

Still love Kos tho and think he has a better chance than anyone in the WW division. Can’t wait.

by Ilias on May 14, 2010 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions  

It was a good attempt at antagonism, but it seemed forced rather than Lesnar’s ability with the mic.

And I’m quite certain Kos’s acting brought about the boo birds, as it should’ve.

FWIW, Kos’s first prediction regarding hockey already blew up in his face.

by Hardcharger on May 13, 2010 11:19 AM EDT reply actions  

well Brock does have considerably more experience talking shit to crowds than Kos does

by BradCr on May 13, 2010 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions  

Agreed with both comments here. I was just commenting on how good Brock is at the art, since the article seemed to put Kos’ trash talk in a higher category, which I can’t agree with. Kos tries, for sure.

by Hardcharger on May 13, 2010 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions  

Brock

was a paid actor for many years, he is the BEST without a doubt

I'm not afraid of dying, I'm a little bit scared of what comes after

by SouthCaliStunNa on May 13, 2010 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions  

You write:

“I’m not even sure why the crowd was booing Koscheck in the first place. He was executing an eerily similar gameplan that their beloved Georges St. Pierre displayed in his last 2 title defenses: stay standing long enough to take your opponent down. Once on the ground, Koscheck tried to end the fight twice with chokes, but Paul Daley persevered.”

My thoughts exactly. I absolutely love GSP, but even I was a bit puzzled by Montreal’s booing someone for executing a GSP special (sans the armbar and kimura submission attempts). I thought Kos looked impressive, perhaps primarily because of how intelligently he fought. He even showed tremendous poise in laughing off a sucker punch. He gets a lot of shit, but there aren’t that many fighters who would have just snickered after getting popped in the eye following the final bell.

Kos wisely, in my opinion, has embraced the heel role,. Nothing is worse than an unpopular fighter that tries hard, yet fails, to garner the crowd’s love (e.g., Jamie Varner). I also agree that love him or hate him (and it’s mostly “hate him” on this site) you’re on margin more likely to tune into what would otherwise be another forgettable series of TUF given his presence.

by The Darkness on May 13, 2010 11:51 AM EDT reply actions   1 recs

thanks

And very good call on Varner. When the fans don’t like you already, why not go for broke like Koscheck? I appreciate the response.

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by Brian Hemminger on May 13, 2010 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions  

Tim Sylvia comes to mind too, in the Varner role.

http://www.twitter.com/TB_Money

by Tim Burke on May 13, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions  

I was thinking the same

after the Nog fight, i recall him saying something to the effect of “it sucks cause everybody was just starting to like me” hahaha

i was there for the Fedor fight, and it was hilarious how every time they showed Tim in the locker room, the whole arena erupted in boos, then they’d pan to fedor and everyone cheered. hahaha

poor Tim…..

by LeeroyJenkin$ on May 13, 2010 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions  

You’re assuming they were booing because of the gameplan, which I don’t believe to be correct. Everyone went apeshit after they saw him faking the injury on the replay.

by Hardcharger on May 13, 2010 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions  

The post fight presser was hilarious with Kos

Dana said something to the effect of “Kos doesn’t have to work very hard on being a dick” hah.

I loved the comments he made (even though Les Habitants kicked Pitt to the curb) I thought it was well played as you said, it wasn’t vulgar or anything but it differently pushed all the right buttons. He said that he had been thinking about what he was going to say if they booed him.

Great write-up, I use to hate the “human blanket” but you’re right he’s done tremendous work on all other aspects of his game and has me as a fan now and I’ll definitely be one tuning in to TUF specifically to watch him.

Check out my pic a day for a year project-
Life Through My Lens

by ChillMike on May 13, 2010 2:08 PM EDT reply actions  

yeah the Habs winning put a damper on his predictions

But it was still awesome in general. Thanks for the kind comments

follow me twitter.com/GotaHemmi

by Brian Hemminger on May 13, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions  

Exactly

He looks more like a damn fool now.

by cyke on May 13, 2010 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions  

I can respect what he's going for

But as far as trash talk goes, it was pretty lame. “You’re gonna lose twice!” is something I might have heard in elementary school.

by woomikee on May 13, 2010 3:22 PM EDT reply actions  

haha yeah

and when he called out hardy, he kinda sounded that way “i’m the number one…… freakin contender here” hahaha
but he’s awesome, gotta love Kos.

by LeeroyJenkin$ on May 13, 2010 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions  

You may not realize

but pissing on the Canadiens is a huge insult to the montreal crowd probably more than anything else he could have done

by Reeferbot on May 13, 2010 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

And he was wrong to boot. :)

"I'd love to be a Cheick Kongo looking brother that could actually move and do a lot of funky stuff - Jiu Jitsu, takedowns, kicks and stuff." - Jon Jones.

by outlander78 on May 13, 2010 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

I did not realize that

But it makes sense. Still, it just wasn’t very…creatively phrased? I don’t know, just came across as the least menacing thing ever.

by woomikee on May 14, 2010 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

Not particulary creative...

But highly effective. Taking a dig at the Montreal Canadiens is taken very personally by the Habs faithful. That combined with the dig at GSP, who is a regional hero, was all that it took for them to hate him eternally.

Way to sell the fight Kos. GSP already has one of the highest buy rates in the UFC. Now people will tune in to see Kos lose.

by funkywanderer on May 14, 2010 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions  

The best part about Kos’ speech is that the Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 7th and final game yesterday.

So he is already half wrong.

But Kos is just making a living and negativity attracts faster, so he is just embracing the opportunity to make money, good for him.

by DirtyML on May 13, 2010 3:35 PM EDT reply actions  

I used to dislike Kos, but I’ve come around. He’s just trying to make a buck.

Pain don't hurt...

by RolloTomasi on May 13, 2010 3:38 PM EDT reply actions  

He was disliked

But with his post-fight speech, he fully embraced the hate and went full on heel. There are plenty of fighters who are disliked (Jamie Varner, Tim Sylvia), but only a few that use it to their advantage (Brock Lesnar, Josh Koscheck now).

follow me twitter.com/GotaHemmi

by Brian Hemminger on May 13, 2010 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions  

I’m pretty ambivalent about the guy. He’s good at being “that guy” but he seems to have some kind of karmic price to pay for it all by losing at exactly the wrong time to get kicked out of the title shot.
Otherwise he’s completely predictable and simple, and the price he pays for being the way he is is that he’ll never be the champ.

But I love how he’s come as a fighter. The guy’s a first rate athlete and has adapted well. I just don’t see him being champ as long as GSP’s the holder. If GSP vacates however, I like his chances.

by Dooda on May 14, 2010 2:15 AM EDT reply actions  

So long as he never fights Fitch. He’s number three in WW, and I expect will remain so for years. He can’t even wait GSP out, as he is older, has been knocked out more etc.

"I'd love to be a Cheick Kongo looking brother that could actually move and do a lot of funky stuff - Jiu Jitsu, takedowns, kicks and stuff." - Jon Jones.

by outlander78 on May 14, 2010 7:16 AM EDT up reply actions  

If Kos is #3, it’s only because he’s better than Fitch, since Alves is better than Kos.

by Hardcharger on May 14, 2010 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions  

I disagree

Koscheck and GSP have both only been knocked out once each, and I’d say Serra’s KO of St. Pierre was more devastating than the 1-2 uppercut hook combo of Paulo Thiago.

follow me twitter.com/GotaHemmi

by Brian Hemminger on May 14, 2010 8:52 AM EDT reply actions  

And why would you split haris on the “more devastating” TKO? Neither guy went to sleep after being hit very hard.

by Hardcharger on May 14, 2010 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions  

Meh

it was meant as a response to outlander’s claim that Kos had been knocked out more. Reply fail on my part.

follow me twitter.com/GotaHemmi

by Brian Hemminger on May 14, 2010 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions  

Got it. I didn’t follow the logic at the time. I don’t think either guy has shown a tendency to get regularly hurt in the standup.

by Hardcharger on May 14, 2010 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions  

loved it

He won me over as a fan when he called out Canada, I thought it was hilarious, and much better than addressing Daley’s idiotic move. It’s a shame Sid the Kid didn’t have Kos’s back…

by loydb on May 14, 2010 12:54 PM EDT reply actions  

He didn’t call out Canada, he made one bold statement that was foolish and look what happened. Let’s see what happens with his other claim…..

by Brennan Linn on May 15, 2010 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions  

I honestly wouldn't describe any of it as "epic"

to use another professional wrestling term, what Koscheck did was known as “cheap heat” when you chose to insult a rather generic subject such as a sports team, national monument, and so on to get a reaction from the local crowd. In all my years of watching the WWF I feel like even I could’ve come up with something better than “you guys are gonna lose, YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!” I don’t mind when certain fighters do try to play up the heel role but it depends on how they do it. I appreciate a guy like Sonnen who seems to dive into it head first rather than guys that either try to be a heel one minute but then a face later when they can’t take the heat (King Mo) or guys that are just too over the top to be taken seriously (Koscheck).

More than anything I was indifferent to the post fight performance and more dissapointed in the fight in general between the phantom knee, lack of action, and sucker punch. It honestly wasn’t anything to get me too hyped up about either guy’s chances against Gorgeous George. Now if Kos had come out, chocked Daley out in the first, and committed to a more than half thought out antagonism to the Montreal crowd then that would’ve been something.

Training BE since January 2010

by Fake Emcee on May 15, 2010 6:51 AM EDT reply actions  

I almost want Kos to beat GSP just to see the egg on everyones face….. almost

Pain don't hurt...

by RolloTomasi on May 15, 2010 3:14 PM EDT reply actions  

He makes an epic heel turn, promises Pittsburgh is gonna beat Montreal and that he is gonna beat GSP…….

Pittsburgh lost to Montreal….
Kos is gonna lose to GSP….
Oh yeah and he is a douche bag, oh I mean a “Heel”…

I guess he got one thing right.

by Brennan Linn on May 15, 2010 6:20 PM EDT reply actions  

Confused...

I don’t get it….

Nothing was epic about it.

He didn’t make a “heel turn” cause the guy has been hated for years now.

Pointless fan post…

by Who is Ryoto on May 16, 2010 7:58 AM EDT reply actions  

I would call it “Koscheck makes us all remember why we dont like him” or “Koscheck reminds us of how much of a douchebag he is”…. Definitely one of those…

I agree, nothing epic about it.

by Brennan Linn on May 16, 2010 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions  

“I liked the comment that he made at the end. It was awesome. He’s a perfect villain. I like him even more cause of this.” – Georges St-Pierre, reacting to Josh Koscheck’s post-fight interview at UFC 113. (MMA Weekly)

Pain don't hurt...

by RolloTomasi on May 16, 2010 6:33 PM EDT reply actions  

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