Daley presses Koscheck’s buttons
If Josh Koscheck had been paying attention, he would have heard references to his “messed-up” eye, resemblance to a Fraggle, overrated wrestling abilities, weak chin and even an allusion to homosexual activity.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran insists he has not heard much of the ramped-up rhetoric coming from Englishman Paul Daley in the buildup to their UFC 113 bout tonight in Montreal.
“I don’t really get on the Internet. I don’t get on any (mixed martial arts) forums. I don’t read the paper,” he said. “I don’t do any of that stuff, so to be honest with you, I don’t really know too much about it.”
Koscheck says he has instead focused all of his energy on preparing for the fight, which will determine the next challenger to Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight title.
“I’ve been in this situation before,” Koscheck said. “A lot of guys talk a lot of trash. I’ve talked a lot of trash. Saturday night, we’ve got to get in there and fight. At the end of the day, that’s what we do.”
While that is true, the talk seems to have gone a bit far even by MMA standards.
Daley’s frequent references to Koscheck’s resemblance to the characters on Jim Henson’s 1980s show “Fraggle Rock” were funny, but one comment on a media conference call might have crossed the line.
Daley was responding to Koscheck’s claims that Daley is the type of one-dimensional fighter that could have been successful in the sport’s early days, but not in the present-day UFC.
“Josh is always saying who have I fought. But Josh has to remember that while Josh was still on a campus somewhere in some corner (performing homosexual acts), I was actually fighting Dave Strasser at Cage Rage, the UFC veteran who at the time had over 38 fights. So who’s a newbie here? Who’s a UFC fighter this generation?”
It’s entirely possible all the talk is part of Daley’s strategy. The 27-year-old from Nottingham, England, is a feared striker and stands a much better chance of winning if he can get Koscheck, a former national champion wrestler, angry enough to stand with him.
Koscheck isn’t willing to tip his hand in that regard.
“I just want to say I definitely have a great game plan for this fight and I don’t see this fight going past the second round,” he said. “The fight starts standing and we’ll go from there. That’s all I can say.”
Daley is far less vague about his plans.
“I’m going to knock Koscheck out,” he said. “That’s it. It’s plain and simple.”
Daley, who has won his two UFC fights by first-round knockout, says he doesn’t personally hate his opponent.
“I don’t dislike Josh Koscheck,” Daley said. “Other people think he’s a (expletive), but I have no opinion of him, really.”
The stakes for the fight were raised even more Friday when UFC president Dana White announced that not only will the winner get a title shot but will coach against St. Pierre on Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
The main event fighters on the card also have a difference of opinion, but Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida have been much more civil.
Their dispute centers on the decision of the judges after their first fight in October. Rua, along with most fans of the sport, felt he did enough to take Machida’s belt. He didn’t get the decision, but will get another chance to do so tonight.
A heavyweight matchup between Kimbo Slice and Matt Mitrione is also on the card.
The matchup between former castmates on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” doesn’t figure to hold much mystery.
Mitrione is a former NFL player with a 1-0 professional record, while Slice rose to fame as a street fighter with an Internet following. Both appear to have little interest in taking the fight to the ground.
Also, Sam Stout and Jeremy Stephens meet in a lightweight bout and Patrick Cote returns from an 18-month layoff due to knee surgery to fight middleweight Alan Belcher.
The pay-per-view event airs live at 7 p.m.
Contact reporter Adam Hill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.