Top 5 Reasons Josh Koscheck Could Beat Georges St. Pierre at UFC 124: "St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2"

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the start of a special day of articles I’ve decided to call my “Top Four Top Five”. In honor of the upcoming UFC 124: “St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2” event, I’ve put together four Top 5 lists focused on the two great fighters fighting in the main event and how I think the MMA world at large would be changed depending on who won. My first list will probably be the most controversial: here are my top 5 reasons why Josh Koscheck could beat Georges St. Pierre.

5. Because there’s a lot of pressure on him to win this fight, and normally Josh Koscheck thrives under pressure.

Koscheck is not the type of fighter that wilts under pressure. If he had any quit in him, it got beaten out of him a while ago. If anything, Koscheck’s major weakness seems to be that he’s caught by surprise in bouts he doesn’t take seriously: Paulo Thiago comes quickly to mind. When the pressure is on, as in his recent fights with Anthony Johnson and Paul Daley, Koscheck has showed up in great shape, stuck to a good gameplan, and gotten some convincing wins.

4. Because he’s a very different fighter compared to when GSP first beat him.

It’s been over three years since Georges St. Pierre fought and beat Josh Koscheck at UFC 74. In that time, Koscheck has dedicated himself to improving all of his abilities, especially his stand-up. Koscheck’s wrestling is the best it’s ever been, but his stand-up has also seen some big improvements in recent years. I don’t think anyone likes to admit it because they’d much rather paint Koscheck as a one-dimensional wrestler in order to further vilify him, but I think Koscheck could actually hold his own against GSP standing, and perhaps even KO him. GSP may have Freddie Roach…but so did Andrei Arlovski. And we all know how that turned out.

3. Because he trains at one of the best camps.

Georges St. Pierre has Greg Jackson’s, but Josh Koscheck has the American Kickboxing Academy. Both camps come easily to mind when I think of the premiere MMA camps in the entire world. GSP has a lot of talent in his corner and a lot of championship-level fighters to train with, but so does Josh Koscheck. At any given day of the week Koscheck trains with the likes of Mike Swick, Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson, Jon Fitch, and current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez. Everyone loves to point out how GSP trains with the best and brings in the best trainers, but they seem to forget that Koscheck hangs his hat at one of MMA’s best camps as well.

2. Because he’s actually managed to get inside George St. Pierre’s head.

Can anyone honestly deny this? At a recent pre-fight press conference, GSP said something along the lines of “If I beat Josh Koscheck, I never want to talk about him again”. When was the last time Georges St. Pierre said something like that? GSP has become the squeakiest kind of squeaky-clean do-gooder, and yet it’s become apparent that Josh Koscheck’s extended verbal warfare has finally begun to bear fruit. GSP has always been an emotional fighter once he steps into the Octagon… and those emotions may finally betray him and cause GSP to make mistakes and leave himself open for counters if he’s too focused on shutting Koscheck up.

1. Because no one expects him to.

Sometimes you just have to root for the underdog. A lot of people are quick to point out how unlikely it is that Josh Koscheck will beat Georges St. Pierre, few are willing to admit that it’s far from impossible. When you’re as dominant a champion as Georges St. Pierre, every new challenger quickly takes the role of the underdog… until that challengers wins. And 2010 has seen a huge number of underdogs toughing it out and pulling off the upset. Koscheck being the last one of the year, as crazy as this year has been, wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

So there you have it, fans and friends. What about you? What will Josh Koscheck have to do to beat Georges St. Pierre?