Welterweight UFC fighter Josh Koscheck is one of the promotion’s top athletes and, in many people’s eyes, a glimpse at the future composition of an elite MMA warrior. Koscheck began his mixed martial arts career as a virtually one-dimensional fighter, possessing an extraordinary pedigree in collegiate wrestling – Koscheck was a four time NCAA All-American – and next to no additional martial arts knowledge. From that starting point, Koscheck worked tirelessly at San Jose, California’s American Kickboxing Academy to transform himself into a complete martial artist with a highly combustible striking game and a set of submission skills sufficient to choke out Pete Spratt, Ansar Chalangov and, most notably, the fast-rising Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. As a result of hard work, self-discipline and extraordinary athleticism, the “mere” wrestler now boasts some of the UFC’s most replayed knockouts, including a Tekken-like finish on Japan’s Yoshiyuki Yoshida, who was too stunned to cover up as Koscheck delivered a final overhand right with all his might.

Koschek’s first serious disappointment inside the cage came in his August 2007 bout against welterweight kingpin Georges “Rush” St-Pierre at UFC 74, in a fight in which St-Pierre first displayed the extraordinary wrestling that has since come to define him. Koscheck was neutralized and unprepared for adapting to a superior display of wrestling from another fighter, a feat many thought impossible. Koscheck had conceded on more than one occasion that he was rarely training his wrestling in an all-out effort to raise his striking, and the mistake cost him.

As Koscheck’s skillset has improved he has assembled an impressive winning streak in the Octagon. There is no question he is among the division’s most capable combatants and with a long enough career the young lion could still become an all-time legend.