Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson Added to UFC 106
With the removal of the UFC heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, UFC 106 was (and still is) in desperate need of some “star power” on the fight card.
The light heavyweight fight between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin was bumped to “main event” status, and now a welterweight contenders clash between Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson has been added as a co-main event.
Johnson is fresh of a quick KO victory against Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104 and will be looking for some personal redemption after failing to make weight for the fight. The weigh-in failure cost Johnson some personal pride and a $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus by the UFC.
Much discussion was made about Johnson moving up to the middleweight division as he normally cuts down to 170 lbs. from as much as 220 pounds before a fight. While this was the first time Johnson has missed weight, it was widely assumed he would pursue a career at 185 lbs.
The UFC is giving Johnson another chance to prove himself at welterweight and he is finally getting a top contender to test his skills against.
Josh Koscheck was scheduled to take on Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 20 this January, but will now get a much more high profile fight against Johnson.
Koscheck last fought at UFC 103 where he easily defeated Frank Trigg, spoiling the MMA veteran’s return to the Octagon.