Edmonton — After nearly four years out of action, Steven Koslow returned to the octagon at UFC Edmonton this past Saturday, submitting Chad Anheliger, who was also making his own return from an extended layoff.
It had been “three years, ten months since I’ve been in the cage, the UFC octagon,” Koslow noted following the fight, after which he admitted he still had a lot to work on.
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at Rogers Place, Koslow (7-1) stated that in his time away, he’d become a father, a husband, and found his faith. “I wouldn’t take none of it back, man. It felt good to be in there. That’s probably why it took me so long to commit to the finish.”
He also recalled bumping into Anheliger, himself out of action the last two years, during Fight Week at a local eatery, Joey’s.
“We sat down to order appetizers, I went to the bathroom, I heard some people talking about Chad.” Koslow assumed they knew Anheliger, but “I went to sit back down, he was at the table right next to us. We might as well have been having dinner together. When I got up to go leave, I went behind him, I said ‘hey man, enjoy the night, enjoy your family, you’ve got a beautiful family. Let’s have fun tomorrow.’ He turned around with a big old smile, he said ‘thank you brother, let’s have fun man.’”
Koslow dealt with a multitude of injuries during his time off, and even tore his meniscus during his Edmonton fight camp. Already dealing with turf toe, he tore his meniscus “right when I got the call. It healed up good. Probably like a couple weeks before, I tore my meniscus.”
“It ain’t the first time. It’s like my fourth meniscus tear,” Koslow added before correcting himself. “Oh, no, I tore my meniscus on my left knee like a dozen times, literally. I would just heal it, re-tear it, heal it, re-tear it. That was years and years ago. I’m not a stranger to knee injuries.”
Watch the full UFC Edmonton post-fight press conference with Steven Koslow above.