Carlos Condit vs Josh Koscheck Confirmed For UFC 143Former WEC welterweight champ “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit will return to action against recent UFC title challenger Josh Koscheck at UFC 143 on February 4, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Koscheck announced the planned bout last week and UFC officials confirmed it earlier today.

Condit has won 12 of his past 13 fights and he had expected to challenge for the UFC Welterweight Championship last month before an untimely injury to champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre cancelled the fight. Koscheck stopped Matt Hughes in September in his first fight back since losing to St. Pierre.

Condit (27-5-0) is a proven finisher and has only been to a decision three times as a professional. The well-rounded Jackson’s MMA standout has 13 knockouts and submissions apiece and has never been stopped by strikes; a potentially key factor against the hard-hitting Koscheck. Since joining the ranks of the UFC, Condit has tasted defeat only one time, in the form of a razor-thin Split Decision loss to Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann in his debut. He has since tallied four big victories – three by knockout – and stopped Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim in impressive fashion in July.

Koscheck (16-5-0) was on the sidelines for much of 2011 after suffering a broken orbital bone in his title fight loss to St. Pierre late last year. He started off slow in his return bout with Hughes, but ultimately knocked the UFC Hall of Famer out with punches just before the bell ended round one. Koscheck, a standout wrestler, has won four of his past five fights since a shocking upset loss to Paulo Thiago, but he has recently entertained thoughts of moving to middleweight if he is unable to secure another shot at the 170-pound title in the future.

UFC 143: “GSP vs Diaz” takes place on February 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and former Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)