Koscheck Campaigns for St. Pierre

If Josh Koscheck has his way, he’ll be back in the Octagon in January.

The gung-ho welterweight pleaded his case for a speedy turnaround following his second-round submission victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 106 Saturday in Las Vegas.

“I love to fight and I’m healthy and Dana (White) and Joe (Silva) know that I’m ready to fight again,” said an unmarked Koscheck at the post-fight press conference. “So, hopefully in 2010, if I’m not fighting St. Pierre next, I’ll fight every month. ... What’s next for me? Hopefully, I’ll be fighting in January.”

UFC President Dana White, standing at the podium to the fighter’s left, had another suggestion though.

“How about Fitch?” White asked, referring to Koscheck’s longtime American Kickboxing Academy teammate. Koscheck laughed off the slightly tongue-in-cheek proposal.

Koscheck, who has a reputation for stepping up for the promotion last-minute when fighter dropouts have left it in a pinch, voiced disdain during his post-fight speech that he wouldn’t be considered the next contender for champion St. Pierre.

That honor will go to Brit Dan Hardy, who out-hustled Mike Swick to a unanimous decision at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 in Manchester, England. The pair is expected to meet in March, as St. Pierre has been recovering from a groin injury sustained in his convincing decision victory over Thiago Alves at UFC 100 last July.

Koscheck lost a unanimous decision to St. Pierre at UFC 74 in August 2007, but has won five of his seven bouts since then.

As for Saturday’s bout with Johnson -- in which both welterweights exchanged eye pokes in the first five minutes -- Koscheck revealed that his game plan had been to “weather the storm” in the first round, then utilize his wrestling in the second round to ground his heavy-handed opponent.

“(Johnson) did crack me with a couple of good shots and I just had to keep composed and I went in for the kill after I got him down. After I took him down the second time, I knew he was going to give up,” said Koscheck.

White not only awarded the 31-year-old Koscheck with the “Fight of the Night” and “Submission” bonuses totaling an extra $140,000, the UFC president also doled out ample praise for the four-time All-American wrestler.

“Koscheck and I will say publicly that we’ve butted heads a lot behind the scenes, and I got to tell you (that) tonight I was blown away with his performance,” said White. “I have to publicly say that this kid always steps up, always wants to fight, will fight the best in the world, and -- wow, I’m blown away with his performance tonight.”