THE CANADIAN PRESS
Expect Josh Koscheck to be on his worst behaviour during Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter." And don’t expect rival coach Georges St-Pierre to be happy about it.
The new season of the mixed martial arts reality TV show kicks off Wednesday (Rogers Sportsnet, 10 p.m. ET) with 28 lightweights vying for a contract to fight in the UFC.
The show will also serve as an extended buildup to Dec. 11 when St-Pierre defends his UFC welterweight title against Koscheck in the champion’s native Montreal.
The two men are oil and water.
St-Pierre may be the most popular fighter in MMA as well as the best pound-for-pound. He is the cage-fighter you’d bring home to meet mother.
Koscheck, meanwhile, loves to play the villain.
He wore the black hat on Season 1 of the series. And while he has progressed from accomplished collegiate wrestler to elite MMA fighter, outside the cage he still loves to stir the pot.
Asked by a Canadian reporter what he learned from six weeks of filming with GSP, Koscheck replied: "Well, I didn’t think Georges was as boring as he was.
"I first thought Georges would be pretty cool, have a good personality, and be outgoing … That was not the case. I think Georges is boring, I think Georges doesn’t have a personality. And I think that Georges has got all you guys fooled up there.
"He comes off not the same guy as you portray him. And obviously I come off different as well. Me in the public eye, they hate me — obviously that’s the image I portray, I guess. But when you meet me in person, it’s a lot different. I think that’s similar to Georges. He comes off as this squeaky-clean guy but when you meet him in person, you’re like ‘God, this guy’s a douche bag."’
Koscheck (17-4) pauses at that point.
"Maybe not a douche bag, but boring as shit. How’s that?"
St-Pierre (20-2) isn’t much of a fan of Koscheck, either.
He says filming the show was "fun" but also "hard because I was with Koscheck all the time, closer to him.
"But I went through it and now I’m happy it’s over."
Asked how he views Koscheck after that experience, St-Pierre said: "He’s arrogant. Of course, maybe I dislike him even more. But it was necessary. I didn’t have much of a choice of doing the show.
"To tell you the truth, it’s good for me, because in battle, you need to know yourself and know your enemy, know who you are going against. And those six weeks allowed me to know Josh Koscheck even more. To know him more deep down inside how he is as a human being. And I’m going to be able to use that in a fight, to manipulate him like I want."
Koscheck says expect fireworks on the TV show.
"Any time I’m involved, you’ve got to know that I always do my part," he said gleefully. "I’m here to make money, I’m here to entertain, I’m here to get ratings and I’m here to build a long career.
"And I’m going to do what I’ve got to do. But there’s definitely fireworks throughout this season, not only from myself but from some of the members of the show, some of the cast members."
The 29-year-old St-Pierre refuses to trash-talk, saying repeatedly he does his talking in the cage. His English, while excellent, may not be up to the cut and thrust of such banter, he adds.
Still, he says Koscheck shows his true colours on the show.
"I believe you can see a person, if he’s good or not, when he’s in a position of power. Because you see the true nature of a person when he’s in a position of power.
"Now he’s in a position of power — he’s the No. 1 contender, he wants to be champion, he’s in the spotlight."
Away from the spotlight, the 32-year-old Koscheck isn’t pulling the wings off flies or elbowing seniors aside.
He loves to go fly-fishing. He has his own clothing company, Mar Clothing. And he is a keen user of Twitter, often ending the night with a positive statement to his followers.
"U must travel the deepest valleys 2 appreciate the highest mts. If u have never been in a valley. U wouldn’t k’no the feeling of the mt top," read one recent tweet.
Koscheck’s message to fans in Montreal come December won’t be quite as inspirational.
"I’ve already thought about what I’m going to say and I’ve already thought about the outfit that I’m going to wear out (to the cage). Boy, it is going to be pretty priceless."
Koscheck, a Pennsylvania native who now lives in California, riled up Montreal fans at UFC 113 in May during the hockey playoffs by telling the Bell Centre crowd in his post-fight interview that the Pittsburgh Penguins were "going to kick your ass next week."
"And then I’m going to beat St-Pierre, so you guys are going to lose twice. How about that? Yeah, that’s right Montreal."
St.-Pierre won a decision over Koscheck when they first met at UFC 74 in August 2007.
The Canadian had just lost his title to Matt Serra at the time, winning it back two fights after the Koscheck bout.
