Josh Koscheck vs Matt Hughes odds for UFC 135 fight on Sept. 24

by Jesse Holland on Sep 20, 2011 9:37 AM EDT in UFC Odds

For a man who is billed as "the most dominant welterweight of all time," Matt Hughes is getting no respect from the oddsmakers in his upcoming fight against Josh Koscheck.

The battle of old school vs. new takes place at the UFC 135: "Jones vs. Rampage" pay-per-view event this Saturday night (Sept. 24) from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.

Is this fight closer than the bookies would have you believe?

Koscheck is a whopping -500 favorite against Hughes, who limps in as the +400 dawg.

After Thiago Alves booted him from the 170-pound title hunt back in 2008, the fist-fighting farmer managed to string together three consecutive wins before B.J. Penn pasted him at the 21-second mark of their rubber match at the UFC 123: "Rampage vs. Machida" event last November.

Hughes, who turns 38 in October, has been enjoying some downtime after a busy 2010 fight campaign that saw the flinty farmboy compile a 2-1 record with wins over Renzo Gracie (UFC 112) and Ricardo Almeida (UFC 117) before the aforementioned drubbing in his Hawaiian trilogy.

Can a bout against Koscheck push him back over the hump? Or just over the hill?

"Kos" hasn't been seen since an absolute drubbing he suffered at the hands of welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre back in Dec. 2010.

The standout wrestler-turned-striker got jabbed to death and left Canada with a broken orbital that required surgery and months of long and hard rehabilitation. But he's back now and he's finally got that match-up against Hughes, one he's been wanting since 2009. Time to put up or shut up.

Anyone plunking down some coin on this welterweight wrestle-fest?

For more UFC 135 odds and betting lines check out Odds Shark by clicking here.

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Comments

Hope

matt chokes douhecheck out

by LoBoTrOn on Sep 20, 2011 9:50 AM EDT reply actions

they both got great wrestling

And if it stays up Matts chances are pretty slim, the only way I see him winning is if he catches kos with a sub. Odds makers know this..most likely kos via tko.

by Antdogg1110 on Sep 20, 2011 9:53 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

agreed

by kidNoboru on Sep 20, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

hopefully matt pulls a tito vs. bader here, il be cheering for him

by Antdogg1110 on Sep 20, 2011 9:55 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

It's possible.

Matt’s striking is horrible but he seems to pack a little power and we all know Kos’ doesn’t have a Hendo level chin.

More likely is Kos dominates the aged Hughes in wrestling and striking and ko’s him sometime in the late first round.

by RayRayJr on Sep 20, 2011 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Honestly, with the way Hughes is being overlooked

Kos better win this fight convincingly. But I’ll be rooting for the ol man.

Roger Mayweather is the best corner man in combat sports! "Keep backing that bitch up. When we get down the stretch we'll really tap that ass!" Haha words of inspiration right there...

You call it a sucker punch. I call it catching the young buck slipping. But he was very gracious in defeat. What Floyd did was definitely not good for the game, I'll be the first to admit that. That fight had the potential to be great. Ortiz was definitely game, even though he was getting lit up. To say Floyd is ducking anyone is silly. When they fight, and they will (brilliant fight hype going on for the last couple years) I will video bet anyone that truly stands behind their words.

by Starr788 on Sep 20, 2011 11:50 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

wow thank you odds makers for your stupidity. I made a killing when tito beat bader, when nog beat schuab, and i cant wait til hughes kills this douche.

by UFC Champ 420 on Sep 20, 2011 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

I don't know 420.......

Kos may be a douche, but I highly doubt he loses this fight. The only way Hughes wins is by catching a lucky submision like Tito did….but Kos has only been submitted once in his life, and it was over 6 years ago. Take your winnings from the Tito/Bader fight, and walk away from the window on this one or you’re just gonna give it all back.

Greatest P4P fighter in the world......Cain Velasquez. Know it, Learn it, Live it.

by kg12 on Sep 20, 2011 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

heres my logic:

all Kos has is a power double leg and a big over hand right.. in my opinion Hughes has waaayyy more tools in his arsenal. I mean, who envisioned him choking out Almeida lol??

by UFC Champ 420 on Sep 20, 2011 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m afraid that Hughes is suffering from that glass crack in his jaw that seems to get wider with each fight (ie. The Iceman, The Axe Murderer, Randy, CroCop). He went down so easily in his fight with Penn, I think that all Kos has to do is clip him and he’ll be done. Think about it…..in desperation mode, Hughes can’t even fall back on his wrestling, because Kos is a much stronger wrestler. Stylistically, this is a horrible matchup for Hughes. He would have had a better chance against Diego…..and I’m not saying Kos is better than Diego…..it’s just a really bad matchup for Hughes.

Greatest P4P fighter in the world......Cain Velasquez. Know it, Learn it, Live it.

by kg12 on Sep 20, 2011 8:53 PM EDT up reply actions