Koscheck: I thought about hitting Ellenberger in the nuts
Josh Koscheck: “I like to compete and I like to fight. I think as far as my skills, my boxing and everything, I’m at the best I’ve ever been. I’ve just got to go out there and let it go.”
Josh Koscheck has been fighting in the Octagon for a decade, but now having lost four fights in a row, it’s possible he is nearing the end of his UFC career. Although Koscheck has his back against the wall, he is more than excited about the opportunity to fight Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 62 and believes he still has what it takes to compete with the best.
Koscheck today spoke to MMAJunkie Radio to talk about his next fight and what went wrong in last fight, and how he thought about committing a foul to get out of the submission that cost him the fight:
Not taking anything from (Jake Ellenberger), but I fight nine out of 10 times, I smash him. But that’s part of the game. He caught me, and I just think he was the better night because I made a mistake.
Koscheck said he contemplated fouling Ellenberger to get out of the choke that eventually forced him to tap, but thought he would be able to escape. Replays of the sequence showed him dropping to the mat before hurling his body from side to side as Ellenberger adjusted his hold. The pressure was so intense Koscheck’s mouth began to foam before he submitted.
I relaxed in that second period, and against the cage, I was in control of the fight, just trying to relax; just make Jake work out of there, out of the position we were in, Koscheck remembers. And he slapped on that choke, and it was tight as sh-t. At one point, I was like, man, do I hit him in the nuts to get out of this thing?
I was thinking, ‘I could just crack him in the balls right now.’ And then I was like, ‘I’ll just keep fighting it.’ I made a mistake and it cost me the fight. You can’t let your guard down, and I let my guard down for a minute.