Derrick Kosinski Reveals 1 Thing He Would've Done Differently onThe Challenge 40: 'Really Unnecessary' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

When the elimination betweenDerrick KosinskiandCory Whartonended on the Oct. 9 episode ofThe Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, nobody knew who won.

“When I looked him in the eyes and we had that emotional moment, which brought tears to my eyes after I rewatched it, because I really appreciated that. He said, ‘I only wish to bring the heart you bring toThe Challengesomeday.' I also felt like in that moment, maybe he thought that he had lost,” Kosinski, 41, tells PEOPLE. “It was one of those moments where the boxers both raised their hands up after the fight’s over, and as a viewer you’re like, ‘Oh man, that person won. That person won.’"

Kosinski and Wharton, 33, both nailed all of each other’s targets, so it came down to who did it in the shortest time.

“When I put my fist to my eyes, I was getting ready to put my hands up," Kosinski says. “It was like TJ had taken that final sword fromGladiator IIand just shoved it right through my body. I felt like I almost did the impossible, and I didn’t. It was emotional.”

Kosinski went into the elimination with a torn ACL and meniscus and a slight tear in his LCL after jumping into a shallow mud pit during the Cloud Catcher daily challenge in the Sept. 25 episode.

“When I jumped in the mud pit and I hurt my leg, I hit rock bottom. I didn’t know how long I could last,” Kosinski says. “I’ve been an athlete my entire life. I was as curious to see how far you can push the body and what the body will respond to something like that. I just want to thank theChallengegods for not letting me die on my own sword.”

The three-time Challenge champ felt like he had to go into elimination after sparring with Wharton during theGladiator II-inspired daily challenge in the Oct. 9 episode. “You have Cory saying, ‘You wanted this,’ and you’re damn right I did. I wanted all the smoke, and I got it,” Kosinski admits. “And I came damn close to winning this thing hopping around on one leg. I almost f—ng had it.”

From Kosinski’s perspective, the issue with Wharton “started when I decided to vocally endorseTheo [Campbell]and the pink team while they were up there battling each other.”

“I think this is where Cory realizes that Derek is now rooting against him, which in my book is okay because I cut a deal with the pink team that no one really needs to know about,” Kosinski explains. “But it’s now being known, he’s chirping at me while he’s playing the game and I’m just taking it. Once the game is done, he’s getting in my face multiple times and then the final time I’m like, ‘Dude, if you really want to do this, then let’s f—ing do it.’ I take my life jacket off — not planned — toss it in his direction, accidentally hits him in the neck. If it was a joke, it would be funny, but obviously it’s not a joke. He doesn’t think it’s funny.”

From there, Kosinski admits he would’ve fought Wharton.

“I’m a Chicago kid, I’ve gotten into fistfights for much less growing up, and now I’m 40, apparently it still lives in me,” Kosinski says. “I was like, ‘Look at big bad Cory up there putting his Gladiator shield down, pounding on his chest,’ and then he’s over here whining about a life jacket tapping him in the back. For all the super tough guys out there to me, I was a little taken back. But luckily, we have two giant security guards that were already there.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Kosinski also believed he had limited time left in the game due to his injury. “I knew that I was literally on my last leg,” he says. “I didn’t know how much time I had left. Win or lose this elimination, I was going to go home the next day.”

Kosinski doesn’t regret forming an alliance with Campbell, 33, in Era 4 or coming after Wharton. But “I just wouldn’t have jumped in that mud pit,” Kosinski says. “I would’ve just walked through because it was really unnecessary to jump through.”

The father of two ultimately saw his elimination as “God’s way of saying, ‘Dude, you got to go take care of your family,’” because his wife was nine months pregnant when he returned home.

Kosinski waited until six weeks after his wife Nicolegave birth to their son Maverickin May before having surgery on his leg.

“I had to wait six weeks until she was medically cleared and then I had my surgery,” he says. “Then it’s the whole struggle of standing up and sitting down on one leg while you’re going through the first few weeks of having a newborn child. I’m now three months post-op. It’s going to take another at least nine months to get back into possibly thinking about doing anotherChallenge.”

TheRoad Rulesalum says he hasn’t spoken to Wharton since filmingBattle of the Erasand expects he won’t until the season 40 reunion.

“But that whole episode, from how it started to how it ended, I don’t feel like I’ve ever experienced anything quite like that before onThe Challenge,” Kosinski says. “Like I said, win or lose, I was going to have to go get an MRI. It’s been 20 years since I didRoad Rulesand the fact that I’m still able to compete in a sport like this, it’s just a blessing. Hopefully, theChallengeGods want me back.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

source: people.com