When it comes to trash talking, Josh Koscheck isn’t exactly politically correct. And neither is UFC president Dana White.
When organizers played clips from the main event fighters on the big screen prior to the two hitting the scales Friday at the UFC 124 weigh-ins in Montreal, possibly the biggest boos came when they heard these taped words from Koscheck:
“I don’t like losing to anybody, especially a French guy.”
Sounded like Matt Serra all over again. The free-talking New Yorker drew the ire of Quebec fans and St-Pierre himself when he referred to him as “Frenchy” a couple years ago.
Koscheck’s attempts at riling the champion, which were emphasized during this season of The Ulimate Fighter, was naturally a hot topic at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference. And White was not exactly rushing to the defence of his fellow American.
“A lot of people call Koscheck a bad guy, but he’s not a bad guy,” White said. “The guy’s a dick. He’s not bad guy, he’s just a dick and there’s a big difference.”
Koscheck jumped in to correct White. “I would just like to say I’m a prick, not a dick.”
Like Serra, Koscheck can expect to get a very hostile reception Saturday. And fans shouldn’t hold their breaths expecting an apology.
Pierson feels at home
Toronto’s Sean Pierson, who has fought many times in Montreal and calls it his fighting “home,” said after arriving this week he wasn’t sensing any major nerves for his first UFC experience.
“It doesn’t feel much different than any other card,” Pierson said. “I just have to go out and perform and show everyone what I can do.”
While he received a nice crowd reaction at Friday’s weigh-ins and expects more of the same Saturday night, that’s not what he’s eyeing the most.
“I’m looking forward to the reaction after I win!”
While not looking past his opponent Matthew Riddle, Pierson would love the chance to fight again in Canada next, at the just-announced-but-not-yet-official UFC 131 at the Rogers Centre in his home town.
“I’d be honoured if … I could fight in front of everybody in Toronto. Hopefully I can get this fight over with in a hurry and maybe the UFC is looking for me in the April card and I’ll be ecstatic.”
WSOP champ a GSP fan
Newly-crowned World Series of Poker main event winner Jonathan Duhamel was in attendance at the weigh-ins Friday. The Boucherville, Que., native, who became the first ever Canadian to capture the prestigious poker tournament this year — and its US$8.9-million top purse — says he’s become a big fan of mixed martial arts and his fellow Quebecer who is currently at the top of his discipline.
“I’ve been a big fan of the sport for two or three years and I love Georges St-Pierre. He’s done so much for the sport,” Duhamel said.
The humble 23-year-old outlasted more than 7,300 participants who paid $10,000 to compete in the event in Las Vegas this summer, and then emerged among nine at the final table last month while famously being cheered on by his horde of fans in Montreal Canadiens jerseys.
GSP had a similar, though much larger, throng of supporters at the Bell Centre, an indication of his contribution to the growth in popularity in the sport the past few years. Duhamel hopes to follow in the same footsteps for his “sport.”
“I would love to do for poker what he has done for the UFC,” Duhamel said. “That would make me very happy.”
