For ten years Josh Koscheck was a big part of the UFC family. He was involved in the first season of TUF, which has become MMA folklore as one of the main reasons the UFC has survived. He ended up fighting for the UFC title in 2010 and it seemed he was a true company man having fought an incredible 25 times for the promotion.
It shocked many people when it was revealed that Kosheck had signed with UFC rivals Bellator, and for good reason. Firstly, Koscheck has looked a shadow of himself in recently losing his past five fights, so it is a bit of a shock that he is continuing on fighting. Secondly, it is strange, albeit slightly understandable, that he has essentially jumped ship to the enemy. The guy has a mountain of fights for a promotion that seemingly always supported him and he is part of their foundations to where they are at now.
In a recent Bleacher Report interview Koscheck showed his cards and gave an insight into why he left the UFC, why he rushed his last fight and his less than flattering opinion on former boss Dana White.
Koscheck on fight Erick Silva three weeks after losing to Jake Ellenberger:
“I was in shape. I was like, okay, I’m out. This is my last fight. Let’s just go out there and see what happens.”
Koscheck on leaving the UFC and joining up with Scott Coker/Bellator:
“I knew that Coker was going to get back in the game at some point, and he was going to make it right for every fighter. I knew that was my plan for quite some time: to get rid of my UFC contract,” he says. “Even if I never fought again, I wanted out of my UFC contract. Even if I never stepped in the cage again, I wanted to fight out my contract and be done with them.”
And finally, Koscheck on Dana White:
“How can you respect a guy that runs a company and goes on Twitter rants, who calls people all the names that he calls people? I think it’s childish.
“He’s supposed to be the president of a major company, a billion dollar company, and that’s how he acts? You don’t see Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner) doing things like that.
“And you won’t see Scott Coker going on Twitter and telling people they look goofy or fat. Or, ‘we got that many years out of you, thanks for your money.’ Come on. It’s embarrassing. I don’t want to work for a guy like that.”
“I think Dana is just the front boy for the Fertittas. He’s their little errand bitch. They’re losing fans every day because of the things he does.”
It is worth giving the full Bleacher Report piece a read as it gives a better understanding to Koscheck’s point of view and thoughts towards his life with the UFC.