Johny Hendricks (James Law/HeavyMMA)
Welterweights scrap May 5 in New Jersey
A welterweight bout between a pair of contenders with strong wrestling pedigrees has been added to the UFC’s third Fox-televised card.
Former title challenger Josh Koscheck will meet Johny Hendricks at UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller on May 5. UFC president Dana White recently announced the bout, which will take place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The bout will be a part of the main card, which will be televised nationally on the Fox network.
UFC on Fox 3 features a main event lightweight contenders fight between TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz and Jim Miller, plus a heavyweight bout between Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson. White recently said he expects the third Fox broadcast to feature four televised bouts, unlike last month’s UFC on Fox card in Chicago, which featured three fights on the main card.
Koscheck (17-5, 15-5 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over Mike Pierce at UFC 143 earlier this month in Las Vegas. Koscheck said after the fight that he had not taken the bout that seriously, and White said after the post-fight news conference he thought the TUF 1 veteran looked “flat” in the win.
In September, Koscheck returned after nine months on the sideline recovering from a broken orbital suffered in his title fight loss to Georges St-Pierre. He knocked out Hall of Famer Matt Hughes in the first round to get back in the win column after his loss to St-Pierre.
Hendricks (12-1, 7-1 UFC) is coming off the most impressive win of his career – a 12-second one-punch knockout of former top contender Jon Fitch, who was widely considered the No. 2 welterweight in the world behind St-Pierre. After the Knockout of the Night win at UFC 141 in December, Hendricks vaulted up the rankings, and a win over Koscheck could have him on the door of a title shot, possibly against new interim titleholder Carlos Condit.
Hendricks’ only career loss came at the TUF 12 Finale, a decision setback against Rick Story. His current three-fight winning streak also includes a split decision win over Pierce, plus a Knockout of the Night win over TJ Waldburger.
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