• UFC 113

Koscheck win 'would be an upset' claims Winner

ESPN staff
May 4, 2010
Andre Winner hopes Paul Daley 'smacks Koscheck's head off'

Andre Winner will corner Paul Daley in the biggest fight of the Brit's life on May 8, and he claimed it would be an 'upset' if Josh Koscheck ruined Daley's night.

Daley and Koscheck are the co-main event at UFC 113, a classic stylistic match-up between a one-hit knockout specialist in Daley, up against the overwhelming wrestling capabilities of Koscheck.

Winner is a Team Rough House colleague of Daley, and he has already seen the Nottingham-born fighter floor Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett in his short UFC career. Koscheck is undoubtedly a step up in class though, but that does not stop Winner predicting a Daley triumph.

"Of course Paul's gonna win. I've got very high hopes for him," he told ESPN.co.uk

"I do expect him to win, but MMA is MMA and there have been bigger upsets. Josh Koscheck is a good fighter, he Paul's not looking past him or anything like that.

"Koscheck is the better-known fighter, Paul's only just burst onto the UFC scene, so there are a lot of people who think Koscheck will win. But at the same time, you cannot underestimate Paul's knockout power. So you either support the wrestler and go with Koscheck, or you say Pauly's gonna knock him out.

"For me, it would be a slight upset if Koscheck beat him.

"Koscheck's an excellent wrestler and looks like he's got a good right hand on him, but at the same time I expect Paul to go out there and smack his face off!"

Winner has experience of two victories in the UFC himself, having beaten Rolando Delgado and Rafaello Oliveira, so he will know what Daley is going through when he corners him in Montreal. The one thing Winner does not know, however, is how he will go about helping his friend come fight night.

"Paul asked me to go out there and be his cornerman, and I'm only too happy to do that.

"Hopefully I'll be a good one! I'll say whatever in order to make sure Paul wins. That's my number one goal. If I have to be quiet for him to win, I'll be quiet, if I have to shout my lungs off, I'll shout my lungs off."

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