Josh Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA.
Prior to his MMA career, Koscheck was an accomplished wrestler at Waynesburg Central High School, graduating in 1997.
He attended Edinboro University, where he won the 174-pound national championship in 2001 as a senior, and was a four-time NCAA Division 1 All-American collegiate wrestler.
Koscheck had his first official UFC fight on April 9, 2005, at The Ultimate Finale, where he defeated Chris Sanford with a first-round KO.
Since then, Koscheck has amassed an additional three victories after experiencing his first career loss to Drew Fickett due to a rear naked choke.
Koscheck then defeated Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 6 by submission due to strikes.
The first fight – which did not count towards Koscheck's official record due to the bout being considered an exhibition match for The Ultimate Fighter television taping – resulted in a split decision win for Sanchez.
During his post-fight interview, Koscheck repeatedly exclaimed, "Nineteen-and-one," in reference to Sanchez' first mixed martial arts defeat (including the two fights from The Ultimate Fighter show).
[3] Josh made his return at UFC 82, defeating Dustin Hazelett by TKO due to strikes at 1:24 of the 2nd round.
[4] Koscheck then agreed to step in and fight Thiago Alves at UFC 90 on just 2 weeks notice due to an injury suffered by Diego Sanchez.
The Japanese fighter remained on the canvas, while being tended to by commission doctors and was removed from the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure.
Koscheck was to fight Chris Wilson at UFC 98 but was forced to withdraw after suffering a foot injury in training.
Koscheck went to the ground holding his face, prompting the referee to step in and deduct a point from Johnson.
Koscheck was scheduled to rematch Paulo Thiago at UFC 109, but was forced off the card with an injury and was replaced by AKA teammate Mike Swick.
The season 12 finale aired on December 4, 2010 with the main event consisting of two fighters (Michael Johnson and Jonathan Brookins) from team Georges St-Pierre.
St Pierre utilized his left jab effectively in the bout, winning all rounds to defeat Koscheck 50-45 by unanimous decision.
[13] Koscheck suffered a broken orbital bone on the right side of his face during the fight with St-Pierre.
[28] Just 21 days after his loss to Ellenberger, Koscheck replaced an injured Ben Saunders to face Erick Silva on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62.