Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010 | 3:45 p.m.
Josh Koscheck either loves the fact his Dec. 11 welterweight title fight against Georges St. Pierre is going to be held in Montreal, or he hates it.
The true answer depends on who you believe.
During a conference call featuring both fighters Tuesday, Koscheck said he's excited to return to the Bell Centre, the Canadian venue where fans threw beer at him after his win over Paul Daley at UFC 113.
Moments later, St. Pierre gave his side of the story.
"To tell you the truth, he's already said two lies in this interview," St. Pierre said. "The first was that he's happy the fight is in Montreal. That's not true. He's not happy at all."
It was just one of a few topics the two opposing coaches on this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" didn't agree on during the call. The new season premieres Wednesday on Spike TV.
In addition to Koscheck's feelings on the venue, the two had differing opinions on St. Pierre's fighting style and how "real" the other one is in public.
Koscheck has been fairly open on his claim that St. Pierre has become a boring fighter ever since he suffered a TKO loss to Matt Serra in 2007.
He singled out St. Pierre's recent work with famed boxing coach Freddie Roach, stating his opponent shouldn't practice skills he never intends to use.
"Ever since GSP got knocked out by little Matt Serra he's become a guy who's afraid to go out there and fight," Koscheck said.
"He hired Freddie Roach as a boxing coach. To be honest with you Georges, I think you're wasting your money because you know you're not going to come out and stand with me. The minute I tag you, you're going to shoot."
Koscheck also accused the defending champion of putting out a "good guy" image for cameras instead of being himself.
Although St. Pierre dismissed the comments as typical pre-fight hype, he admitted that Koscheck had gotten to him during the six weeks filming the show, and St. Pierre did seem more agitated than usual.
"He's gotten in my head, but that's a good thing," St. Pierre said. "It gives me more motivation to train hard.
"You're going to see on TUF 12, I never derail from the person I am or what I stand for. The third lie in this interview he said is that he wants to keep the fight standing up. I'm sure he's going to try and put me down."
Whether he's lying about looking forward to the venue, Koscheck will be up against arguably the most hostile crowd in UFC title history.
Already well established as a "villain" in mixed martial arts, Koscheck took it to a new level in Montreal when he grabbed the microphone that night and guaranteed his hometown Pittsburgh Penguins would knock off the Canadiens in the NHL playoffs.
When asked why he chose to call out the crowd like that, Koscheck laughed and said he's never been one to back down from a confrontation.
"Whenever you have 22,000 people saying 'Eff you, Koscheck,' you obviously have to have something to come back with," Koscheck said. "I said what I said, and I don't regret it.
"I don't hold anything against Montreal fans. I feel like they need a guy like me, who will put on a good show."
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
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