Koscheck Looks Sturdy In Loss To Hendricks

Bad boy Josh Koscheck took on rising welterweight Johny Hendricks in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 3 this past Saturday, May 5, 2012 in East Rutherford, NJ at the IZOD Center.

Like any Koscheck fight, he wasn't the fan favorite as his trash talking and assertions of victory have no bounds. Koscheck has been known to back it up on several occasions, which keeps him ranked in the top 10 of most MMA publications. His major gripe with Hendricks? Well Hendricks knocked out Koscheck's pal Jon Fitch 12 seconds into the first round of their fight at UFC 141. Koscheck did not take too kindly to that.

The first round started off with them feeling one another out and then the action picked up. Koscheck seemed to land the more telling blows in the first round. The second round was much more of a toss up to who should have won. Koscheck definitely edged the clinches and what little ground work occurred, but Hendricks landed quite a few solid blows. Those blows were the reason Koscheck's face was a bit swelled and cut on both sides. The third round followed the same pace as the second round. Hendricks was still able to land some solid blows, while Koscheck seemed to control most of the round on ground and against the cage.

So when the split decision was rendered, Koscheck shook his head no as Hendrick's hand was raised. Ring and Cage scored the fight 29-28 in Koscheck's favor, but it was quite easy to see why Hendricks got the nod.

In his title shot against UFC welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre, Koscheck was largely controlled by GSP's jab. He kept it in Koscheck's face the entire night and Koscheck really had no answer for it. Koscheck tried to work around GSP's striking but every takedown he attempted was stuffed. The same sort of happened Saturday against Hendricks. Hendricks didn't quite pump the jab, but his winging hooks and crosses were able to land often and flush against Koscheck's face.

Had Koscheck made it a ground war, he would have been able to submit, or at the very least, control the pace of the fight on the mat. Both Hendricks and Koscheck are former NCAA Division 1 national wrestling champions, but Koscheck appeared to have the better wrestling that night. Had Koscheck employed more takedown attempts or kept the action against the cage and on the ground, he would have taken less punishment in the standup, and those toss up rounds would have been his, maybe.

Either way, Josh is still in the game and Hendricks is headed up the ladder screaming "title shot." Hendricks fared well against Koscheck and edged him for a decision, but he'll have to sharpen his ground game a little more for the likes of GSP and Carlos Condit, interim welterweight champion. He too took some damage on the standup, but he's a game competitor ready to mix it up with anyone. For Koscheck, I can see him rising to the top again for another title shot, but he may need to add a little more head movement and improve his striking defense so those decisions don't go against him. That minor weakness came to be the deciding factor in this fight.

Until next write...

Comment and check out my debut novel, The Virgin Surgeon