Thiago Alves vs Josh Koscheck at UFC 90

Diego Sanchez is out, and Josh Koscheck is in.

According to an article published on Sherdog.com (link below), Diego Sanchez has been forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated battle with Thiago Alves at UFC 90 due to a rib injury. This news is disappointing to many fans who were anticipating that the Alves-Sanchez battle would be the fight of the night at UFC 90.

Sherdog revealed earlier today that Koscheck has agreed to fill in for Sanchez and take on Alves. The contract has not officially been inked as of yet, but both sides have reportedly agreed to the deal.

The winner of the Sanchez-Alves fight was originally supposed to get a shot against Georges St. Pierre and his Welterweight title. I can certainly see the UFC giving Alves a shot at the title if he defeats Koscheck at UFC 90 - however, I am not so sure about Koscheck getting a shot at the title if he wins. Georges St. Pierre soundly thrashed Koscheck at UFC 74 - Respect, winning via unanimous decision. I'm not so sure if the UFC wants to schedule a rematch at this point, or if Georges St. Pierre would be terribly eager to accept another fight against Koscheck. An Alves-St. Pierre title fight makes the most sense at this point for the promotion, but that is assuming that Alves defeats Koscheck and St. Pierre defeats B.J. Penn.

Josh Koscheck has won his last two fights after losing to St. Pierre. He defeated Dustin Hazelett at UFC 82 via TKO and Chris Lytle at UFC 86 - Griffin vs Jackson via unanimous decision. He has a lifetime professional MMA record of 11-2-0 with two knockout wins, four submissions and five decision victories.

Thiago "Pitbull" Alves has a career professional MMA record of 15-3-0, with ten of his victories coming via knockout. He has won his last six fights in a row, including impressive victories over Matt Hughes, Karo Parisyan and Chris Lytle. Alves is a beast and will give Koscheck all that he can handle. Alves has a history of having problems making weight, so it will be interesting if he can come in at 170 for this fight.

Sanchez-Alves would have been great, but Koscheck-Alves should be an entertaining fight as well. If Alves wins then you'll definitely see him fighting for the title in early 2009. Koscheck, I'm not so sure.

Source: Sanchez Out; Koscheck to Face Alves