Josh Koscheck Recalls Dana White Phone Call On Reebok ‘Flop’ Day
Love him or hate him, Josh Koscheck is an integral stitch in the fabric of the UFC’s timeline. An original Ultimate Fighter cast member, a veteran with 27 fights through ten years under the Zuffa banner, and one of the original heels in mixed martial arts. It came as no surprise that Koscheck was unhappy with his employers when they wouldn’t match Bellator MMA’s contract offer on him and, leaving behind a long serving post for the UFC, ‘Kos’ left for Scott Coker‘s BMMA on bad terms with his now-ex bosses.
Slamming the UFC and president Dana White in recent interviews, Koscheck has made his voice heard at every opportunity. A recent sit down with our good friends over at Submission Radio continued the trend, as he details the day he announced his departure from the UFC to Bellator, and his interactions with White:
“It was none of (Dana’s) business what I did with my career, he didn’t have the courage to pick up the phone until his flop Reebok deal came out, and that was the Josh Koscheck media day. My media day was bigger than his flop Reebok deal so they should be giving me a pat on the back for that. The day Reebok launched, it was a nightmare, and I was all over the news signing for Bellator. I did get the phone call from him that day and, needless to say, it wasn’t the politest conversation between us.”
White’s mood, amidst the huge criticism of the Reebok deal and their hilariously poor release of the kit, was possibly as bad as it could get. If his recent social media activity is anything to go by, there was likely a fair few ‘F-Bombs’ between White and Koscheck. ‘Kos’ wasn’t on the hottest run of form before leaving for Bellator, but he feels a little better treatment by his former employers would have led to a different outcome:
“You put 27 fights in, you give them 10 years of your life, you would think that they would step up to the game or step up to the plate and put a job offer in front of me. Maybe something to keep me involved with the UFC or with the sport. After my last contract with them, I just wanted my fights to be done so I could leave, even if it meant never fighting again. I think I’ve done more for the UFC than (Rodrigo) Nogueira, without a doubt, and he gets a job.“
Whatever the case, whether it’s favoritism or that there’s more to the story we don’t know, Josh Koscheck has found a home with Bellator. Who knows, perhaps he can capture that elusive title before calling it a day on a lengthy career.
Do you think ‘Kos’ has what it takes to join the ranks of the resurgent old school that we’ve witnessed lately, or is the run of losses going to get bigger even though the talent pool has got smaller?
