MANILA, Philippines – For challenger Josh Koscheck, fighting in George St.-Pierre’s hometown of Montreal, Canada is not a disadvantage in his quest to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title.
Koscheck actually considers it an advantage.
“Georges is fighting in his home town, his home fans… the pressure's on him [to win]. I have no pressure. I'm coming out and gonna have some fun,” said the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from California during UFC 124’s fight press conference in Canada last Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
The press conference was streamed live by UFC through UFC.com and abs-cbnNEWS.com/ufc.
“I think that Georges has a lot of pressure coming into this fight. He doesn’t want to lose to a guy who trash talks, a guy that isn't very well liked around here,” said Koscheck.
Koscheck will be shooting to wrest the UFC welterweight crown from defending champion St.-Pierre, also known for his nicknames "GSP" and "Rush."
He certainly hopes St.-Pierre will indeed be “reckless” when they tangle in the Octagon at the Bell Centre. This, he said, will be his key to winning against the Canadian.
“I know that he says that he really believes that he's gonna knock me out. I hope that's the case. I hope that he tries to do that,” he said.
The fight is actually a rematch. The first time the two fought was in UFC 74 in 2007. St.-Pierre prevailed via a unanimous victory.
St.-Pierre earlier said that he has no doubts about winning his second fight against Koscheck because of his advantage in experience and athleticism.
"I've got more experience than he has. I think I'm a better athlete than he. I'm more well-rounded and skilled than he is. That's all on my side," St.-Pierre said in a pre-fight interview on UFC.com
"I think I'm an overall better fighter than Koscheck. I think I'm better than he is. Even in a wrestling match, I would not be scared to wrestle him. I think I'm a better wrestler than he is," he added.
St.-Pierre particularly labeled himself an expert against the likes of Koscheck.
"I'm a specialist to fight guys who trash-talk, I'm a specialist of rematch and I'm a specialist to fight wrestlers. Koscheck got the three things," he said.
