Issue 077

July 2011

Time spent away from MMA, healing from his injuries, has given the often outspoken Josh Koscheck a fresh outlook on life and his career.

NEED TO KNOW

Name: Josh Koscheck

Age: 33

Started: 1995 

Team: AKA

Division: Welterweight

Style: Wrestling, kickboxing

Record: 15-5

Surprisingly, the gruesome eye injury Josh Koscheck sustained in his fight against UFC welterweight champion Georges St Pierre at UFC 124 has not narrowed his path of vision. If anything, it has allowed him to step back, take a closer look at his life and career and put things into better perspective.

Unable to work out or train until the broken orbital bone and facial nerve damage he incurred in the December 11th bout are fully mended, the normally outspoken UFC welterweight seems to be more contemplative and reflective these days. Perhaps it’s because he is recharged, rejuvenated and regaining his focus due to his time away from the sport. It could be the loss to GSP humbled him in some way or, just maybe, when the cameras are off, facets of the personality of the real Josh Koscheck show through the expertly crafted persona UFC fans have helped perpetuate.

He’s had five months to reflect on the fight, but he hasn’t dwelled too much on what he could have done differently in the bout, since it really wasn’t his performance that was the main factor in the loss. The inauspicious injury that made his eye swell shut almost immediately and took away his peripheral vision and depth perception Koscheck says, occurred in the opening minute of the five-round, 25 minute bout. That he was able to soldier on and continue to fight the remainder of the bout under such adverse conditions against an opponent of GSP’s caliber, though it didn’t win him the fight, earned him something perhaps harder to come by for the confident bleached-blond antagonist. It earned him the respect of not only St Pierre’s hometown partisan crowd in Montreal, it also turned a few haters into fans.

A recurring sentiment that has been expressed on online MMA media forums, through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and in person when Josh has made appearances since the fight is just how tough and resilient he proved himself to be for fighting through adversity like he did in December.

“I think that the people who criticized me for not being tough, I proved them wrong,” he says. “One of the first two punches of the fight broke my orbital bone. I really noticed a difference when it happened and I had to fight 23 or 24 minutes like that, with a broken eye. I never questioned the toughness of myself when I step into the Octagon, especially fighting a guy the caliber of Georges St Pierre.

“That’s the only chance you have of beating him, just being tougher than him. I don’t really care what people think about me, obviously. It’s beneficial for them to have an opinion about me whether it’s good or bad and whether they love me or hate me. For me it’s all about the business and I want them to have the opportunity to tune in to watch me and watch Josh Koscheck perform.”

Both his supporters and detractors alike will have to wait to see Kos’ “perform” again as he continues to slowly but surely rehab his injuries. Although he admits the fire to get back to fighting is starting to smolder again, he acknowledges that he has enjoyed his time away from the sport and is “in a good place” right now both mentally and therapeutically. 

“I’m doing a lot of appearances and I’ve had the opportunity to travel a lot. For the first time since I started my career I’m getting to spend some well-deserved time at home,” explains Koscheck. “My eye’s healing up real good. But I’ve still got a lot of numbness. It’s pretty much what I’ve got to deal with to get back into the Octagon, so I’m just taking it one day at a time. I ran a couple days last week for the first time. I don’t want to overdo it, but I’m getting excited to get the opportunity to train again, that’s for sure.”

Doctors haven’t given him a projected date for his return to the gym or the Octagon and Koscheck says his main concern at the moment is that he allows his injury enough time to heal to ensure that there are no further complications. 

The litmus test will be if he can go a few days in a row without experiencing the “pins and needles” sensation in his face that is plaguing him at the moment. That will signal to him and his surgeon that his body, in conjunction with his medication and therapy, has done all it can do to heal. “I think we’ll just see how it goes by the numbness,” he explains. “If that stays away and goes away and I keep taking the medication to help regenerate the nerves that were damaged, hopefully it’ll heal up properly.”

Since going under the knife on December 20th, Kos’ revealed he has only set foot inside American Kickboxing Academy once for the grand opening of the gym’s new location in San Jose and that he has kind of distanced himself from the sport these past few months, which is something he began doing to varying degrees a couple years ago.

“I’ve been away from everything – away from the sport and focusing on me as a person and on a lot of areas that I felt I needed to improve in. I bet I haven’t been on an MMA website in probably two years. I don’t get on those things, so I don’t know who’s fighting who in the next couple months. I don’t even know when the UFC events are unless one of my teammates is fighting,” he admits. “That’s how far removed I am from the sport. 

“When I’m training, it’s the same thing. I’m focused on me and focused on what I have to do. I don’t really get involved in that whole aspect of the sport. I’ve got better things to do with my time. Fighting is just a small part of my life. It’s an important part, but it’s a small part.”

As you strip away at the complex layers, Koscheck reveals more and more about himself than he packages up and presents for the cameras with a neat little bow on top. One thing, he’s loyal to his friends and family and enjoys nothing more than spending a day with them on a calm lake: relaxing, fishing and shooting the breeze. Or a weekend in the bush tracking a variety of wild game.

“I love to fish and hunt. People will probably look at me and say, ‘What, you fish and hunt?’ But yeah, I do a lot of that stuff. Me and my manager, Dewayne Zinkin, go out fishing quite often together,” he says. “He lives on the lake right next to me so I’ll take my boat over to his house and we’ll get in it and go fishing. That’s our get-away time where we talk about life and get away from everything.”

With the wide variety of outside-the-Octagon brashness and bravado that comes part and parcel with Koscheck’s performances inside of it, the one constant has been that from the time he first strutted onto the set of The Ultimate Fighter when the series began filming in 2004, the 33-year-old has fought anyone and everyone put in front of him regardless of experience level. He believes his confidence stems from the personal knowledge that he has the skills to beat anyone. That’s part of what makes a good fighter great he says.

“I still have all the tools to compete at the highest level and I believe I have the toughness necessary to be successful and to become champion one day. I want the toughest fights. I’ll fight anybody, any time, any place,” he asserts. “Anybody who wants to fight me I’ll take on. Whether it’s Bisping at 185, Tito Ortiz at 205 – bring it on. I’m a money fighter. Show me the money and I’ll fight.” 

In spite of his “moneyweight” aspirations, when he returns, as always, Kos’ number-one goal is to work back into title contention so he can prove that he has what it takes to beat St Pierre – something he failed to do the last time around due by and large to the handicap he sported for the majority of their last tilt. 

“I’d fight GSP every week if they’d let me. He’s one… Nick Diaz, Jake Shields… I’d like to get Thiago Alves again. There are a lot of good fights… Diego [Sanchez]… there are a ton of good fights out there for me still,” Koscheck says. “I’d love to fight any one of those guys once I get healthy. I’ll get back into the Octagon and I’ll take on anybody… Carlos Condit… Whoever is the number-one contender when I come back, that’s who I want to fight.” 

He may not yet be fighting fit, but Josh Koscheck is healthier than ever.

TRASH TALKER

“I always use this analogy because I respect Dennis Rodman and what he did. He was one of the best rebounders in the NBA, but he didn’t really get noticed until he started acting like a crazy man. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do things for myself and my business to make money so I don’t have to work. It’s not like we’re getting paid $50 million a fight like (Floyd) Mayweather.” Josh Koscheck