dlolley@observer-reporter.com

With long curly locks atop his head and a bad-boy persona, Waynesburg native Josh Koscheck is a fighter fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship either love or hate.

There is no middle ground.

The 30-year-old Koscheck wouldn't have it any other way.

"That's a good thing if they love you or even if they hate you," said Koscheck from his home in Fresno, Calif. "The alternative is that they don't (care) about you at all.

"The way I look at it, bad guys make a lot of money, too. Dennis Rodman made a lot of money in the NBA being a bad guy. Tony Stewart is the bad guy in NASCAR. If I've got to be the bad guy, so be it. Somebody's got to do it."

On Saturday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Koscheck and his in-your-face attitude will be on display at "UFC 82: Pride of a Champion," when he takes on Dustin Hazelett in a welterweight bout as part of a card that includes a middleweight championship match between UFC title-holder Anderson Silva and PRIDE champion Dan Henderson. The Silva-Henderson fight is viewed as a unification match between the two rival mixed martial arts organizations.

It will be Koscheck's first fight since he dropped a unanimous decision to Georges St-Pierre in Aug. 2007. St-Pierre then defeated Matt Hughes Dec. 29 on a second-round submission and will fight Matt Serra April 19 for the welterweight championship.

If not for the loss to Silva, Koscheck could be fighting for the championship, something he is well aware of.

Since then, Koscheck, who owns an 11-2 record in the UFC, has been working harder than ever to refine his craft.

"I've pretty much just been in the gym training nonstop, focusing on the mistakes I made in that match," said Koscheck. "I'm in the gym every day. It's the life I lead."

It's not a path many thought he would take when he was at Waynesburg High School.

A standout football player and wrestler at Waynesburg, Koscheck wrestled at Edinboro University, where he won an NCAA championship in the 174-pound weight class in 2001. He was the first four-time All-America wrestler in school history.

After college, Koscheck took a position with Penn State's wrestling team as the program's administrator before accepting an assistant head coaching position at the University of Buffalo.

He continued working out in hopes of earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic wrestling team.

But after a U.S. Open wrestling tournament a few years ago, he met Bob Cook, a former UFC champion; and Dewayne Zinkin, a former NCAA wrestling All-American; and they got him involved with the UFC.

Koscheck began training with Cook and others to learn the boxing and martial arts skills needed to compete in the UFC.

He eventually landed a spot on Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" television series, where he gained a strong fan following by honing his bad-boy image. The reality show featured a number of fighters, with an elimination bout each week.

Though still a novice in the world of mixed martial arts fighting, Koscheck used his extensive wrestling knowledge to advance to the show's finals, where he dropped a decision - and the guaranteed UFC contract that went with it - to Diego Sanchez.

But Koscheck showed enough flair and skill in the octagon to garner a contract in the UFC and has continued to work his way up the ranks - improving his boxing and martial arts skills - to become a budding star in what is becoming one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.

In addition to raking in millions of dollars in pay-per-view revenue on television, the UFC is a huge draw wherever it stops. In fact, a UFC event at Columbus last year drew 19,049, the largest crowd in North America history to witness a mixed martial arts event and most to attend an event at Nationwide Arena.

"I get a lot of people recognizing me," said Koscheck. "It's part of the business. As popular as this sport has become and with the blond hair that stands up, people come up to me and say things like, 'You inspired me to lose weight.' Things like that."

Of course, he also gets the occasional would-be tough guy who thinks he can handle a world-class fighter.

"It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I invite them to the gym," Koscheck said with a laugh. "Once we spar for a round, they realize that they made a big mistake."

That's how many of his opponents felt, including Sanchez in a rematch last spring.

There is no love lost between the two and while Sanchez's status as the champion on "The Ultimate Fighter" gave him instant contender status in the UFC, Koscheck had to earn his spot among the UFC's welterweight contenders.

Koscheck's unanimous decision victory over Sanchez cemented his spot.

"We don't like each other very much," Koscheck admitted. "That showed just how much I have progressed. Now, it's his turn to sit back and wait two years for the rematch like I had to. But that's in the past. I try not to dwell on it."

Koscheck's eyes are on his future in the sport.

"I think I've got a good five to seven more years of fighting," he said. "Who knows? You see guys like Chuck Liddell fighting and kicking (butt) at 38.

"But my focus is on winning a championship. If I have to fight until I'm 40, it will either be because I'm still kicking (butt) and defending my championship or because I haven't won that championship and I want to make one last try at it."

A victory over Hazelett, a Kentucky native who fights out of Cincinnati, would be another step in the right direction.

Koscheck is currently ranked fifth in the welterweight division and though Hazelett isn't considered in that class yet, he brings a 12-3 record into this fight. A victory over Koscheck would certainly open some doors for Hazelett.

"It is a step up from the competition I've been fighting," Hazelett said on the UFC's Web site. "I think (Koscheck) is ranked in the top five or at least the top 10 among the UFC's welterweights, but that's exactly what I've wanted. ... I've really been wanting to challenge myself lately and I think this is the perfect chance to do it. He's a very tough opponent and I think this is gonna be a real good, hard fight."

Koscheck also is expecting a battle, especially considering the fight will be in both men's respective back yards.

"It's definitely a homecoming," said Koscheck, adding that he's purchased 200 tickets for the fight for friends and family.

"We'll both want to put on a good showing. He's from Cincinnati and I'm sure he'll have a lot of people there, too. It will be two guys getting into the octagon and giving their best effort."

As for his future, Koscheck isn't looking past this fight, despite the fact he took St-Pierre to the limit just a year ago.

"He was the better fighter that night," Koscheck said. "I guess it's a positive that I took him to a decision, but I can't look at it that way. I've got bigger goals."

As part of the undercard, Koscheck's fight with Hazelett will only be televised as part of the pay-per-view package if the top three bouts run short.

But Koscheck is OK with that.

"Where you find a true champion is starting over back at the bottom and working your way back up," he said. "Any fight is a fight you have to win to get you back on track. For me, this is a fight I must win."

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