UFC 143: Josh Koscheck rooting for Nick Diaz to best Georges St. Pierre, eyes future title fight with Diaz

There's no Josh Koscheck vs. Georges St. Pierre trilogy in the former's immediate plans.

That's because the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product wants Nick Diaz to pull out the victory over UFC welterweight champion when they meet at UFC 143 on Feb. 4, 2012, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in order to set up a big fight between the two.

Koscheck, who has already been defeated twice by the Canadian superstar -- first at UFC 74 back on Aug. 25, 2007, and most recently on Dec. 11, 2010, at UFC 124 -- doesn't seem too keen on facing St. Pierre a third time.

Instead, he wants to set up a fight against Diaz, a title fight he believes would do very well given the fact that both athletes have a knack for talking up quite a storm leading up to showtime.

Speaking at a recent UFC Fight Club Q&A, Koscheck tells fans he actually likes Diaz because he sees a lot of himself in the bad boy from Stockton:

"To be honest with you, I like the Diaz kid. I think that he brings something similar to what I bring to the table: he's not afraid to say what's on his mind. Realistically, I think GSP is a strategist and GSP is probably gonna come in with a good game plan, that's where he can play it safe and get the victory. But, I'd love to see Diaz win because when I beat Carlos Condit February 4, then that means me and Diaz for a title shot, and then that means it's a big fight because he talks really good, and I believe I can talk up a fight really good."

Koscheck is coming off of a first round shellacking of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 135 on Sept. 24, 2011.

The victory earned him a number one contender's fight against Carlos Condit, who was left without an opponent after he was pulled from his title fight against St. Pierre in favor of Diaz after Diaz' post fight speech following his victory over B.J. Penn at UFC 137 back on October 29, claiming the UFC welterweight champ was not really hurt, but simply avoiding a fight against him.

Koscheck is set to face "The Natural Born Killer" in the co-main event to Nick Diaz vs. Georges St. Pierre‘s title fight on Super Bowl weekend.

Should "Kos" gets past Condit, Diaz still has to defeat "Rush" in order to set up the "big" Koscheck vs. Diaz title fight.

What do you say, Maniacs? If Josh Koscheck gets his wish and all the stars align perfectly, who takes the battle of the welterweights in both the mixed martial arts and trash talk department?