Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson To Co-Headline UFC 106

With Brock Lesnar dropping out of UFC 106 due to illness, Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin was elevated to main event status. However, the search was on to find a co-main event to replace that fight. This evening, UFC weltwerweight Josh Koscheck announced via Twitter that he had been signed to fight as a participant in the co-main event against an opponent to be determined:

I got some big fight news for me. I am fighting nov 21 in Vegas. Co main event!!! Haha it’s on baby!!!!

Late this evening, Anthony Johnson was announced as his opponent. Johnson is coming off a quick knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104 last Saturday. He weighed in six pounds overweight for the bout, but since the contest Johnson has stated plans to re-dedicate his training regimen so it doesn’t happen again.

This is a huge step up in competition for Johnson, as Koscheck is regarded as a top 10 welterweight, with many publications placing him in the top five.

Koscheck last fought at UFC 103, knocking out Frank Trigg in the first round. In the post-fight post conference, Koscheck stated his desire to step back in the Octagon as soon as the UFC needed him.

It turns out they need him on short-notice, not that it’s anything new to him. He stepped up on short notice to face Thiago Alves at UFC 90 in Chicago after Diego Sanchez was injured. He took that fight with under two weeks notice, and suffered a unanimous decision loss to the top weltwerweight contender.

UFC 106 takes place November 21 from Las Vegas, Nevada. Also included on the card is a welterweight contest between Dustin Hazelett and Karo Parisyan, as well as a possible bout between light heavyweights Luis Cane and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

From www.mmagroundnpound.com