UFC Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Odds: (-265 Koscheck /+205 Pierce )
Betting Pick: Koscheck
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In a featured Welterweight match up, former title challenger Josh “Kos” Koscheck will square off against tough young contender Mike Pierce, who has won four out of his last five. Pierce is a versatile young fighter with heavy hands and a developing skill set, but Koscheck also has a surplus of knock out power to complement his world-class wrestling, so this is going to be the toughest challenge of Pierce’s career so far. On the feet he probably has the tools to hold Koscheck off most of the time and even land some big shots of his own, but for that to happen he is going to have to find a way to stop Koscheck’s driving double leg takedowns, which is a lot easier on paper than it is in the Octagon.
Mike Pierce is a very promising young Welterweight prospect with a rapidly developing game and some dangerous power in his hands. Pierce’s approach is very workman like, and he has the skills to make a fight competitive anywhere it goes, but thus far he lacks that one skill that allows him to impose his will on his opponents and take fights over. He prefers to approach each fight with a dynamic game plan, rolling with the punches wherever the fight plays out and looking for openings to land his big shots or score some points. Against Koscheck it is vitally important that Pierce fights smart and uses range and his jab to set up his big punches, because he has very little chance of surviving underneath Koscheck While forced to work off his back. This is going to be a tough fight for Pierce either way, but if he wants a chance it is going to have to be a standup affair, where his punching power could potentially turn the tide. In a wrestling match, Koscheck’s superior strength and technique will bury him.
Josh “Kos” Koscheck has come a very long way since his de facto role as the villain on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. On the reality show, he earned the acrimony of the fans with his juvenile behavior and with his decidedly unentertaining lay and pray style. Over the intervening years, Koscheck has grown into a very formidable kickboxer in his own right while continuing to possess the dominant takedown game that got him to the show. Opponents had trouble stopping his takedowns when they knew for a fact they were coming, and they have even more trouble stopping them now that they also have to worry about huge knockout punches, kicks, and knees. The only problems Koscheck has ever really displayed in the Octagon are with guys who he can’t out wrestle and who force him to fight defensively. If he can get into his groove and start really working his game plan, he is extremely difficult to stop.
This is just a bad fight for Pierce. His best attribute is his punching power,which Koscheck also has a surplus of. Unfortunately for Pierce, Koscheck probably has better speed and technique on the feet and assuredly has a vastly superior ground game. I don’t see any way for Pierce to win this fight, and I expect Koscheck to take him down at will and dominate him from top position for a lopsided unanimous decision.
Prediction: Josh Koscheck by Unanimous Decision.
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