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May 7, 2010
Georges St-Pierre to Coach TUF 12 Against Koscheck-Daley Winner
As Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley prepared to face each other at UFC 113, speculation swirled that the winner would be next in line for a shot at UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, with the title fight happening sometime around the end of the year.As it turns out, however, whoever wins won't have to wait that long to face off against GSP.
It was announced on Friday, at the weigh-ins for UFC 113, that the winner of the Daley-Koscheck fight will coach against St-Pierre on Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. TUF 12, which will begin taping in June for a September 15 premiere, will feature some of the world's best unsigned fighters in the lightweight division.
It won't be the first go-round on TUF for GSP, who served as a trainer for TUF 4: The Comeback, but it will be his first time coaching a team, as the teams of UFC veterans didn't have coaches. The welterweight champ will certainly be able to draw on great coaching minds for guidance, though, as he trains with both Greg Jackson, the highly respected founder of Jackson's Submission Fighting who assisted protége Rashad Evans on TUF 10, and Firas Zahabi, whose expert training regimen was most recently documented on UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Hardy.
As for his opposing coach, it could very well be a return to TUF for Koscheck, who would be the second member of the original TUF cast to return as a coach (Forrest Griffin being the first). A member of Team Liddell on the first season of the show, the former NCAA Champion wrestler has grown into a complete fighter through his training at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, under the likes of Javier Mendez, Bob Cook and Dave Camarillo. Koscheck's well-developed skills back-up his outsized personality, which was on display during his time on The Ultimate Fighter, as he delivered tough love to teammate Bobby Southworth while cutting weight, then teaming up with Southworth to wreak havoc on Chris Leben after a night of drinking.
Daley, meanwhile, has no previous TUF experience, and will be stepping into the Octagon for just the third time on Saturday night. However, fighting out of Team Rough House in Nottingham, England, "Semtex" has a wealth of TUF experience to draw on, as Rough House fighters Ross Pearson, Andre Winner, Nick Osipczak and Dean Amasinger all competed on TUF 9 as part of Team UK, under the guidance of TUF 3 winner Michael Bisping. Like his Saturday night rival, Daley is known as a big trash-talker, which promises plenty of coaching fireworks on TUF 12, whether it's Daley or Koscheck taking on GSP.
Source: Ultimate Fighter
