• UFC 135

Disrespectful Hughes will pay - Koscheck

Josh Koscheck has warned Matt Hughes he will pay for disrespecting him at UFC 135, revealing he has never been so excited about a fight.

Koscheck steps in as a late replacement for Diego Sanchez in Saturday's co-main event, forming a battle between two of the biggest welterweight names on the UFC roster. Hughes is arguably the most celebrated 170lb champion in the sport's history, while Koscheck has been a perennial contender for several years.

Both men are coming off losses, Hughes to BJ Penn and Koscheck to Georges St-Pierre, and there are certainly signs in Hughes that his best years have left him. The 37-year-old had strung three straight wins together prior to the Penn loss, but those victories were not against fighters in their prime.

Koscheck, at the age of 33, looks far more athletic than Hughes, but he lacks the wisdom of a man who has worn the belt for many years. Hughes recently called his opponent a "kid", something to which Koscheck fiercely objects.

"Matt Hughes definitely disrespected me when he called me a kid. I'm a lot younger than him, I'm a lot faster and a lot stronger, I'm a better fighter than him," said Koscheck.

"The new kid on the block is going to come up and take out the old man."

Both men are world class wrestlers, so the fight may be decided in the stand-up, where Koscheck has far quicker and more powerful hands on paper. The youngster is desperate to end his nine-month absence from the Octagon, and he cannot wait to deliver a potentially retirement-inducing defeat to Hughes.

"I've never been this excited about an opportunity to fight in all my life," said the AKA man. "I want fights that people are going to tune in and watch. This is a fight that everybody's going to want to see."

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