Ah, Twitter — the source for news of fighters’ injuries … and their replacements.
UFC boss Dana White tweeted this afternoon that Diego Sanchez was out of his UFC 135 co-main event against Matt Hughes with a broken hand.
Within an hour, his probable replacement, Josh Koscheck, made his status known.
“:) got a fight in 21 days bitches……..,” Koscheck tweeted.
He followed that with:
“Oh ya 19 days then or something like that!!!! Either way it looks like I am in to fight matt Hugh if he takes it????”
So, it sounds like the punctuation-loving Koscheck and “Hugh” will take to the ring before Jon Jones defends his light-heavyweight title against Rampage Jackson in Denver.
It’s an interesting bout, not least because both were embarrassed their last time out. Koscheck suffered a broken orbital bone via Georges St. Pierre’s jab at UFC 124, and Hughes lasted all of 21 seconds against the resurgent B.J. Penn at UFC 123.
Given even training camps, the edge would certainly go to Koscheck. He has heavy hands, and Hughes has been knocked out twice in his last five outings. But the location could be an equalizing factor: Fighting at altitude with only a few weeks to prepare is not exactly optimal. Hughes, surely, has been getting ready for the Mile-High City. Unless Koscheck owns a hypobaric chamber, his cardio could very well suffer.
Of course, if he lands a big shot early, cardio won’t matter much.
