Well, that didn’t take too long. An hour after UFC president Dana White reported a broken hand would force Diego Sanchez out of his UFC 135 scrap against Matt Hughes, welterweight Josh Koscheck announced he will serve as a last-minute substitute in the September 24th show – pending Hughes’ approval.
” 🙂 got a fight in 21 days [expletive],” Koscheck tweeted. “Oh ya 19 days then or something like that!!!! Either way it looks like I am in to fight matt Hugh if he takes it????”
Koscheck holds a 15-5 professional record, but hasn’t been seen since dropping a unanimous decision loss to champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124 last December. Kos suffered a broken right orbital bone in the title affair and has been on the mend ever since.
Hughes owns an extensive 45-8 resume, with 35 of his victories coming via finish. The 37-year-old was quickly put down by BJ Penn at UFC 123 this past November.
The 170-pound bout will serve as the night’s co-featured attraction.
“UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage” takes place inside the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. A light heavyweight title tilt between champ Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will headline the pay-per-view broadcast.
Here is the card’s revised roster, assuming Hughes accepts:
Preliminary Bouts:
Eddie Yagin vs. Junior Assuncao
Cole Escovedo vs. Takeya Mizugaki
James Te Huna vs. Ricardo Romero
(Spike TV 8PM ET/5PM PT)
Nick Ring vs. Tim Boetsch
Tony Ferguson vs. Aaron Riley
Main Bouts:
(Pay-Per-View 9PM ET/6PM PT)
Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt
Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi
Travis Browne vs. Rob Broughton
Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Jon Jones (UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)