It is never easy to suggest that a fighter stops fighting.
With five losses in a row, however, and after 25 UFC fights over a 10-year career, it is looking more likely that Josh Koscheck has fought his last bout for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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?[Josh] Koscheck doesn?t want to retire,? said UFC president Dana White on Saturday after Koscheck?s first-round submission loss to Erick Silva, ?but I?m going to try and push him in that direction.?
Prior to Saturday?s loss to Silva, Koscheck was last seen three weeks prior at UFC 184, where he was submitted in devastating fashion by Jake Ellenberger. Fans were left with a visual of a gurgling, foaming-at-the-mouth Koscheck, fading out of consciousness as he attempted to tap out.
That was his third stoppage loss in a row. Saturday?s loss to Silva marked his fourth. Despite the overwhelming case for the former Division I National Champion out of Edinboro University to hang it up, he isn?t ready to commit to such talk yet.
?Nah, I can?t comment on that right now,? said Koscheck in his post-fight interview with Fox Sports. ?I need to go home. I need to reevaluate life, reevaluate my career ... kind of take some time away. I told Dana, ?I?ll call you in a couple weeks and we?ll figure something out.?
Debuting in 2005 with only two professional fights to his credit, Koscheck fought a who?s who list of former champions, up and comers and contenders while showing fans what a next-generation talent could accomplish, essentially from scratch.
Armed with a looping right hook and a power-double-leg takedown, Koscheck has amassed over four hours of total Octagon time against names like Tyron Woodley, Johny Hendricks, Georges St-Pierre, Diego Sanchez, Robbie Lawler and Matt Hughes.
And now, on the brink of coerced retirement, Koscheck, ever the fighter, is taking the loss to Silva as a building block rather than a brick wall.
?It was fun tonight,? he said. ?Even though I didn?t get the win, I went out there and I fought hard. I see the way I fought this last fight, and the one before it, and I see it as an improvement.?
Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves Edwards Justin Eilers
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