Sunday, February 22, 2009

Koscheck "Upset" and Marquardt Shines

UFC 95 was a night of KO's and a night of upsets as top contender Josh Koscheck was KO'ed in the first round. Koscheck was confident on his feet throwing big overhand rights before he ate a right uppercut and left hook from UFC newcomer Paulo Thiago. In my opinion Koscheck is like a lot of wrestlers who learn striking and seem to forget that their strength is the ground game. These fighters feel the pressure of wanting to be exciting and go for the KO, but this is not always the smart strategy. Thiago is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, but wrestlers like Koscheck have used their outstanding wrestling ability to ground and pound black belts before. Koscheck should use his superior wrestling to soften up his opponents before he starts throwing haymakers looking for the knockout.

Nathan Marquardt looked impressive as he knocked out Wilson Gouveia in the third round. Marquardt looked light on his feet and used a variety of angles and strikes to KO Gouveia. I don't believe he will be able to defeat Anderson Silva using this strategy. He will have to try and get the fight to the ground if he plans on beating Anderson Silva. Something he could'nt do in their first fight.

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