Koscheck will come into this bout riding a two fight win streak since his failed attempt to capture the gold from reigning division champion Georges St. Pierre. Those two wins include a Rnd1 KO over former division champion Matt Hughes at UFC 135: Jones vs Rampage that earned KO of the Night honors, and a controversial Split Decision win over another power hitting wrestler in Mike Pierce at UFC 143: Diaz vs Condit. Since going 0-2 against champion St. Pierre, returning to the #1 contender's position is highly unlikely for Koscheck a long as St. Pierre reigns atop the division, and has lead to him to state that he would like to be matched up with opponents that garner the recognition of a super-fight, or possibly look to move back to competing in the next weight class above as a Middleweight.
Hendricks will come into this bout riding a three fight win streak of his own since receiving the first professional loss in his career. Those wins include a quick Rnd1 TKO over T.J. Waldburger at UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs Davis that earned KO of the Night honors, a Split Decision win over Mike Pierce at UFC 133: Evans vs Ortiz II, and a stunning upset with a Rnd1 KO over perennial contender Jon Fitch, a now former teammate of Koscheck's, in just 0:12 seconds at UFC 141: Lesnar vs Overeem that earned KO of the Night honors. Though a Unanimous Decision loss at the hands of potential contender Rick Story marked the first professional loss of his career, Hendricks has proven he knows how to bounce back from adversity with three straight victories to put that loss behind him, and has opened the eyes of potential opponents who may have been looking past him.
What makes this match up so interesting to begin with, is the fact that both competitors will come into the cage recognized for the same things: being heavy hitting strikers with elite collegiate wrestling backgrounds.
- Coming into the beginning of his MMA career, as seen during his time as a participant on the first season of TUF coming in with a record of 2-0, Koscheck came into the sport with nothing more than a credentialed wrestling background that included being a 4x NCAA1 All-American collegiate wrestler out of Edinboro University four years straight. Though starting out his career with nothing more than a wrestling background and minimal striking technique, Koscheck has become one of the most powerful strikers in the Welterweight division, having trained for much of his career at the American Kickboxing Academy until cutting ties with the gym just recently. Having gained an incredible degree of technique in kickboxing, Koscheck has the power to knockout opponents with an arsenal of strikes.
- Similarly, Hendricks came into his MMA career with nothing more than a credentialed wrestling background of his own that included being a 4x NCAA1 All-American collegiate wrestler out of Oklahoma State University four years straight, and also a Big 12 Conference champion out of OSU for three years straight. Though only competing professionally in MMA for four years, compared to Koscheck's eight years of competing in the sport, Hendricks still has a wealth of experience to gain, as has been seen in his lack of striking technique, though he has been able to take advantage of his natural power alone so far. Seeing his impressive performances in wins over Amir Sadollah, Charlie Brenneman, T.J. Waldburger, and Jon Fitch, Hendricks has amazing one-punch knockout power in his left hand alone as a southpaw. With an amazing pedigree of wrestling and natural knockout power that can put away opponents with a single punch, Hendricks has become one rising contender that all potential opponents should not take lightly.
No comments:
Post a Comment