- UFC
Daley would do better against GSP than Hardy - Osipczak
Team Rough House fighter Nick Osipczak has backed Paul Daley to give Georges St-Pierre a much harder time than Dan Hardy managed, if Daley books a UFC welterweight title shot by beating Josh Koscheck.
Daley and Koscheck are set for a collision on May 8 in the UFC 113 co-main event, which has already been fuelled with hoardes of inflammatory trash talk. Koscheck has accused the Briton of using his mouth rather than his fists to climb the welterweight ladder, and Osipczak admits he would love nothing more than to see the American eat his words.
"I always struggle to predict how fights go and I actually lose a lot of money but, I'd love Paul to knock Josh out - more than his previous two fights," he told ESPN.co.uk.
"I really want Paul to knock him out, and a lot of people think the same way."
Osipczak is a straight-talker when it comes to his team-mates, and he isn't disillusioned enough to think all the odds are in Daley's favour - particularly if Koscheck plays to his NCAA division one wrestling strengths.
"If Koscheck decides to stand with Paul, he's getting knocked out. If he doesn't stand, Daley's got a big challenge ahead of him."
Such an analysis begs the question: If Daley would struggle with the wrestling of Koscheck, what would he do against St-Pierre? Osipczak understands the concern, having seen Hardy spend nearly 25 minutes on his back against the GSP, but he predicts Daley would ask far more questions of the champion.
"I think Paul would do a lot better than Dan to be honest. I think Dan could and should have done a lot better than he did - even if he did go five rounds with GSP. Dan would tell you that himself.
"Paul would stop at least one takedown, I guarantee it. And he would not hesitate to let his hands go."
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