UFC 124 post-fight Quotes: Josh Koscheck's coach Javier Mendez, Jon Fitch and Firas Zahabi
Posted on December 14, 2010, 07:32 AM by Anton GurevichLast weekend, UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre defended his title for the fifth consecutive time at UFC 124, with a dominant victory over the fellow TUF 12 coach Josh "Kos" Koscheck. And just like any other GSP's fight, the victory sparked new arguments about who should be next in light for the UFC Welterweight Title shot, St. Pierre's legitimacy as the P4P king, and so on. Looking back at UFC 124, here's what some of the top men behind the scenes had to say about the fight and its consequences.
We'll start with Josh Koscheck. American Kickboxing Academy owner Javier Mendez looked back at his product's performance, declaring that Koscheck "fought crappy". Mendez, who has years of Kickboxing achievements behind him, revealed that Josh Koscheck simply refused to follow the orders given by his coaches during the fight:
"Josh fought crappy. He knows it. If we told him he fought great, we'd be lying. He didn't do anything what he was supposed to do, and at the same time, Georges did. Josh is similar to what I was like. I never did what my coaches wanted to do; I did what I wanted to do. Some people like to guide themselves, and others like people guiding them. Let's not discount the fact that GSP is a great fighter." - MMA Junkie
On the other end of the cage, St. Pierre's Tri-Star Gym coach Firas Zehabi shared his thoughts on who should be next in line for the UFC Welterweight title shot. Zehabi stated he considers Jake Shields "more deserving" as an opponent for GSP, reflecting on the famous victory over Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: Nashville this year. The fight is currently rumored to be "in works" for UFC's Toronto event, which is already booked for April 30th:
“I think Jake Shields is more than deserving. He beat Dan Henderson in a heavier weight class. The guy’s record is impeccable. His skill is impeccable. His jiu-jitsu is unbelievable. I’m very excited for that fight. I think that’s going to be an incredible match-up.
I think he should fight Jake Shields, because Jake Shields definitely has his right. He’s earned his spot as number one contender, whoever goes on to be champion in the welterweight division, it will always leave a gap there. It will always leave something undone. If Georges were to move up, it would be better for him to finish his business in the welterweight division, either clean the division out or have a loss.” - FightersOnlyMagazine.co.uk
Finally, former UFC Welterweight title challenger and Koscheck's American Kickboxing Academy teammate Jon Fitch vocalized his thoughts about Jake Shields. Fitch is currently on a five-fight winning streak after losing against St. Pierre at UFC 87, defeating some of the top fighters in the UFC Welterweight division. Fitch will square off against BJ Penn at the UFC 127 headliner, for a possible shot #1 contender slot:
"I think I’m better than Jake (Shields), I think I should be fighting for the title, but I’ve been given a huge opportunity here to fight B.J. Penn and that’s a big fight, belt or no belt. We’re in a sport of selling fights right now, and the sport’s growing, we’re trying to get international, trying to get into every country, every household, and part of that is ticket sales is the idea that Jake Shields is coming over from Strikeforce with two belts. I understand that, it’s a business decision." - MMAWeekly.com
So what do you think LowKick'ers, who should be next in line for Georges St. Pierre? Is it the winner of Fitch-Penn or Jake Shields? Don't be shy to share your thoughts.
Photos: UFC.com
- 1. Jake Shields
- 2. Fitch-Penn Winner
- 3. Anderson Silva at 185
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FANS POSTS
Comments
I would be happier if it was Fitch vs Sheilds for contender. BJ is just getting a boost outta this especially if he wins. I see BJ winning possibly by KO or else he loses decision. He will have to catch Fitch which is possible.
I would like to see Silva vs GSP but honestly that fight will not happen ever or atleast for a few years so as for now I would like to see GSP vs Shields, ppl r counting him out because of his performance against Kampmann but the guy is on a 15 fight win streak beating MW's n WW's, finishing most of his opponents so he would give GSP a fight but I think GSP would still win but it wont be easy
yes that is what it should be..
Yeah, Shields has beaten Sakurai, Yushin Okami, Robbie Lawler , Hendo, etc, etc. IMHO he has the best chance of anyone at WW to beat GSP. Anyone who thinks this is an easy win for Georges is either ignorant of who Shields is or deluded.
I agree I want to see GSP fight shields and people aren't counting them out because of his performance against Kampman, people are counting him out because he has no striking and likely won't be able to take St. Pierre down to use his jiu jitsu. I want to see this as the main even in Toronto and after GSP tko's shields he will move up to MW and challenge Anderson Silva for his next fight. The SIlva fight has about two years two materialize - Anderson is 35 and his performances could very well start to decline sooner than we'd all like just because of his age.
lets not forget he subbed Paul "BigMouth" Daley in 20 seconds
Hype, I wasn't aware of that fight and so I went to watch it on YouTube. He subbed him by armbar with 1:15 left in the second round. Was there another fight?
Michael
Shields didn't even beat Kampmann by any sensible judging. Give me a break. he has an excellent record, there's no denying it. but no1 contender? Fitch is far more deserving. kampmann should have been awarded the victory as he landed lots of punches, kicks, elbows and submission attempts compared with shields hugging, takedowns and a few very weak punches in one of the rounds. he does not belong anywhere near GSP.
I voted for AS because I want to see that fight before AS is 37-40. AS may already be coming out of his prime so the longer this takes the better it is for GSP which in my opinion is the plan since GSP will represent longer it makes business sense for him to win. That in my opinion is why the challenge for GSP's belt by AS was ignored because AS ruined his fan base and they did not want GSP to lose to him at 170 and then move back to 185.
I'm not sure Dana will EVER let GSP fight Anderson Silva, therefore the answer is Jake Shields
DW told Shields if he wins his first match he get a shot at the belt .. but that's the thing who's left no ONE... St. Pierre beat everyone Fitch n Shields should fight so that there wont be no Controversy for number 1 contender
It should be Jake Shields, that's the whole reason Dana snatched him from SF. After that i wish GSP would move up & challenge Anderson. No point in him fighting the winner of Penn/Fitch as he's defeated both men already.
Fitch has earned another shot though as apart from GSP he is the next most dominant WW out there. It aint like he is just winning, he is beating top fighters in the UFC. Fitch should have been in line before Shields.
I think GSP should clean the division before he moves up. BJ doesn't deserve another shot at him. So after Jake Shields he should fight Fitch one more time (only if Fitch wins and GSP defeats Shields) and then move up. If Fitch loses then he should move up if he beats Shields.
And i don't know why are ppl so sure that Anderson will beat Vitor. It will be a tough fight.
I'm a huge AS fan but out of anyone he's fought as of late, Belfort's the only one I think that has a chance of beating him (Don't say Sonnen).
If AS loses, do you think GSP will fight Belfort or still Silva? I can't see there being as big a hype for the GSP-Belfort fight, plus I'd still rather see AS-GSP.
I don't understand why he's going right to AS though, sure he's cleaned out his divison with the exception of Shields, but jumping a weight class and going right for the belt seems a little odd to me.
Interesting point. If GSP moves up he should tune up to the division with a few contender fights. Good idea.
I think he should finish the division with Shields and then move up.
The thing that bugs me that we all know how gsp will beat jake.
He will just stand up with em and he will not be taken down by shields.
Shield has terrible stand up so that wont be a hard fight.
Jake Shields is the only person at WW I can see beating GSP. No one else has anything to offer him. So clearly my vote is Shields. If Georges beats him he should move up to MW and WORK his way to a title shot. There are a lot of tough fights for GSP at MW. If on the other hand Shields wins I wouldn't mind seeing GSP fight another top contender for a shot at the #1 slot and a rematch.
The only way Shields could beat GSP is if he somehow eeked out a decision by taking him down more times than GSP took him down while not getting beat up by him standing up, OR if GSP makes a mistake and he manages to catch him in a submission.
But side by side George has more tools. His wrestling is better and his stand up is leagues better. Jake Shield's stand-up is about like Royce Gracie's in UFC 1, which may be an exaggeration because Royce had a better kick then.
I agree that GSP is more well rounded but I think you have to consider other factors. There is a very good argument for saying that Shields is the tougher fighter. The guy suffered a flash KO against Hendo and then came back to dominate him. When have we seen that kind of toughness from GSP? The other thing to consider is the ground credentials. Shields has out wrestled both Dan Henderson and Yushin Okami. He owned Fitch in a grappling contest. I think that on the ground Shields is the better fighter and I will be surprised if GSP can stop his take downs with any consistency. I think GSP either wins this on the feat or gets dominated on the ground.
No offense, your argument is flawed. First of all, how does the fact that Shields almost lost the fight off the bat in the first round? He was lucky that he was able to regain his composure and take the fight where he wanted it to go by endlessly taking him down but not doing much of anything else.
I agree Shields is more decorated on the ground and that is his (only) speciality. But as they say, this is MMA not grappling. I don't believe Shields to be better at take-downs or wrestling. He may have slightly bettter submissions, but this is an area underrated in Georges game. Why? Because he is so good elsewhere and doesnt have to rely on them solely.
If you really knew George as a fighter you wouldn't be saying that George will get dominated on the ground or that Shields is a tougher fighter. It's perhaps more just wishful thinking.
A typo...I meant:
How does the fact that Shields almost lost the fight off the bat in the first round make him the tougher fighter?
Not interested in another Fitch fight. Every fight goes to decision. Not knocking his toughness but his ability to finish fights is worse than GSP. His last 7 wins went the distance & he won by unanimous decision. No thanks!!!
Shields all the way to shut everyone up & then the ultimate P4P fight with Silva @ 185! If he beats Silva he should retire as he'll have nothing left to prove. Well that's if Silva still has the belt :D
winning NOT finishing is what matters. GSp has won his last few fights by decision, but look how dominant they were. Fitch has also been dominating top fighters and is as worthy as any WW for a shot. Carlos Condit could be a fight or 2 away from a shot also.
I've voted for Anderson Silva simply because I like to dream on :p
Anderson beats Vitor in February. GSP beats Shields in April. Anderson beats Okami in June.
Anderson vs GSP in November!!
i don't think dana white wants this fight to happen :S either of them losing will make them lose their aura and idolistic status. i'd like to see it just cus it'd finally solve the pound for pound debaccle.
I think George should fight Shields and Anderson should fight Vitor. If both of them win they should make GSP vs. Anderson in late 2011.
I'd like the fight to happen sooner but it will take George several months to properly add the weight required to hang at 185.
#1p4p vs #2p4p would be a lot more entertaining than GSP vs Jake Sheilds
winner of fitch/penn is without a doubt the most deserving of a title shot.
shields just came off an unimpressive decision off hendo, and "dunno how he wont that fight" decision off kampmann
yes, fitch has come off 5 decisions but at least they were all clear cut.
silva vs gsp would be the craziest fight in the history of mma, but silva is just too big for gsp, the fight shouldnt ever happen
shields vs gsp = koscheck vs gsp
i think im the only person that actually wants to see gsp vs fitch 2 :(
Fitch has earned the shot again. I would have hoped that if he beats Penn it would be DW saying the guy has won enough for another shot. No offense to Jake but how about a couple of more victories before putting him up against GSP. I'd like to see Fitch fight him agian too.
If Fitch beats Penn and then loses to GSP Dana should make him WW Assistant Champ.
it would be nice if he did a catch weight with As because hes so much smaller than As
I say give it to Shields.
the only businese for gsp left in ww is shields once he beats him he shud move to mw to face the loser of vitor-silva for the belt and let bj shields and jake fight it out,jake will have no chance against the canadian because of his lack of stand up stricking skills and gsps take down defence plus shields cuts too much wieght
Did none of you watch Shields - Kampmann? Or are you blind? or stupid? Shields didn't even win!!!!! Kampmann deserved a shot more than Shields FFS fans get to school.
IMO GSP has deff got to fight Shields and the winner of Fitch Vs Penn to so called "clear the division". Sheilds got a great record and like it our not he won the Kampmann fight. As for Fitch if he beats Penn you got to finally give the guy a second chance his record in the UFC is so good you cant ignore it and beating Penn and Alves alone since he lost to GSP in 2008 is worthy enough to me. As for Penn a lot of people will say that GSP has beaten him twice so a third time shouldn't happen but if Penn beats Fitch especially if he finishes him I dont see why you couldn't say Penn doesn't get one more shot at GSP. With that being said though I dont think any of the 3 stand much of a chance against George nothing against the 3 fighters just George is on a different level right now. Tho anything can happen.
gsp says he wont fight Anderson silva unless he can put the weight on properly which would take him a while maybe a year so this wouldnt happen for a long time unless Anderson wants a catch weight bout
please give him Shields so that we can finish this S.H.I.T. (Shields Hype I - don't know what to put in the place of the T whatever).
Shields was good in strikeforce where.. well the level of competition is just not the same as UFC.
Can you imagine Shields (that fought Kampmann) vs. GSP? LOL!
Anyways, give him shields, let him dominate him and we can get over that. After Shields give him Fitch to shut his mouth a second time then let's go after Silva and exploit his wrestling hole.
Its kinda obvious that everybody wants to see em fight Silva but to be realistic its not gonna happen for a while, maybe even never so Im gonna have to go with Shields to be his next opponent.