Childhood & Early Life
Koscheck was born on November 30, 1977, in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He started wrestling at the age of five, but gradually, his focus shifted to other things.
During his high school days at Waynesburg Central High School, Koscheck once again turned his attention towards wrestling. He won his first title in 2001 during his junior wrestling matches.
While representing Edinboro University, he became a ‘NCAA Division One’ champion in the 174 pounds weight class. He is a four time ‘NCAA Division’ winner.
Koscheck attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where he studied Criminal Justice. Interestingly, he got into the university for his athletic abilities.
Before becoming a professional wrestler, Koscheck became a coach at the Cathedral Preparatory School, and also became an assistant head wrestling coach at the University at Buffalo.
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UFC Career
He finally had his first official ‘UFC’ fight against Chris Sanford at the ‘TUF’ finale. He defeated his opponent by knocking him out. He went on to win his next fight against Pete Spratt.
He then faced a few defeats that pushed him back a touch. In 2006, he started training in kickboxing and made a startling comeback with five wins in a row. On April 6, 2006, he defeated Ansar Chalangov via submission at the ‘UFC Fight Night 4’.
On June 28, 2006, he faced and defeated Dave Menne through unanimous decision at ‘UFC Fight Night 5’. On August 17, 2006, he defeated Jonathan Goulet via submission with a score of 7-1 at ‘UFC Fight Night 6’.
At ‘UFC Fight Night: Sanchez vs. Riggs’, he faced Jeff Joslin. He defeated the Brazilian black belt holder via unanimous decision.
At ‘UFC 69’, he defeated Diego Sanchez in a controversial fight. It was the first defeat for Sanchez as an MMA wrestler.
Koscheck faced another defeat at ‘UFC 74’ where he faced Georges St-Pierre. But he won his next two fights at ‘UFC 82’ and ‘UFC 86’.
On December 10, 2008, Koscheck faced Yoshiyuki Yoshida and knocked him out in the first round. Yoshida was knocked out by such a blow that he had to be carried off the ring in a stretcher. Koscheck won the ‘UFC Knockout of the Night’, and received $60,000 bonus.
At ‘UFC 95’, he faced Paulo Thiago, who defeated him in the first round via KTO. He then withdrew from competing in ‘UFC 98’ due to an injury.
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In his comeback match, he defeated veteran fighter Frank Trigg at the ‘UFC 103’. On November 21, 2009, he faced Anthony Johnson at ‘UFC 106’ where he defeated Anthony with a rear naked choke in the second round.
At ‘UFC 106’, Koscheck faced accusations for faking a knee impact while facing his opponent. However, Koscheck later claimed that he was merely pointing towards his eyes being poked.
At ‘UFC 113’, Koscheck won against Paul Daley via unanimous decision. However, after the match, he received an unexpected punch from Paul.
In 2010, Koscheck had the opportunity to serve as a coach at the 12th season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.
At ‘UFC 124’, Koscheck was brutally defeated by Georges St-Pierre while fighting for the UFC Welterweight Championship.
He won his next two fights against Matt Hughes at ‘UFC 135’ and Mike Pierce at ‘UFC 143’. He won the ‘Knockout of the Night’ award for his fight against Matt Hughes.
He then lost all his subsequent fights in ‘UFC’. On May 5, 2012, he was defeated by Johny Hendricks at ‘UFC on Fox 3’. On February 23, 2013, he lost to Robbie Lawler at ‘UFC 157’. On November 16, 2013, at ‘UFC 167’, he once again suffered a loss against Tyron Woodley.
Josh then suffered various injuries, due to which he had to stay out of the game. His last UFC fight took place on March 21, 2015 at ‘UFC Fight Night 62’, where he was defeated by Erick Silva in the first round.
Awards & Achievements
He competed in the 1997 Pennsylvania State Wrestling Championship and stood at the second position. He was still in his high school when he entered the competition.
At college level, Koscheck became a four time winner at ‘National Collegiate Athletic Association’ (NCAA) while representing Edinboro University.
He became the ‘PSAC Wrestler of the Year’ on three different occasions. He is also a two-time ‘Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year’.
While wrestling as a mixed martial artist, he won the ‘Knockout of the Night’ awards against Matt Hughes at ‘UFC 135’ and against Yoshiyuki Yoshida at ‘UFC: Fight for the Troops’.
He won his first ‘Fight of the Night’ at ‘UFC 124’ against Georges St-Pierre. He won the honor despite losing the match. Such was his performance.
He won ‘Submission of the Night’ at ‘UFC 106’ where he faced Anthony Johnson. He also won ‘Fight of the Night’ for the same match.
