Josh Koscheck returns quickly after a defeat at UFC 184 to take on Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 62 on Saturday.
Silva was originally slated to face Ben Saunders, but an injury sidelined the rising welterweight.
Koscheck returned to action to take on Jake Ellenberger after a year-and-a-half away from the cage in late February. After an early takedown, his offense went away. The loss made him eager to accept a fight to get right back to work.
How will his attempt go? Can Silva level Koscheck to regain some of the hype that was surrounding him when he made his UFC debut? This is your head-to-toe breakdown to answer those questions.
Striking
Koscheck was a pure wrestler when he was on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. We have been treated to seeing his evolution into a complete martial artist.
The All-American showed flashes of tremendous improvement, but he ultimately fell in love with his natural power. Instead of using his technical abilities, he would begin to headhunt. He went away from the strides that he made.
On the opposite side of the cage, you have Silva, who is a dynamic and explosive striker. He uses all his tools—hands, knees, legs. If this is a pure striking contest, it will be Silva who wins. He can get wild, but he is simply a better striker than Koscheck. Where Silva got in trouble in his fight against Matt Brown, he will not get in trouble against Koscheck.
Silva has the clear advantage on the feet.
Grappling
This category is almost a push depending on how you look at it. Koscheck is the better wrestler, and Silva is the better jiu-jitsu practitioner.
Koscheck’s submission defeat at UFC 184 marked only the second time he has tapped out in his professional career.
If you are going to give an edge to either fighter, it would have to be Koscheck. Sure, Silva is the better submission fighter in this matchup, but it will be Koscheck who determines where this fight takes place. His takedowns will be difficult for Silva to stop.
Koscheck has always done a tremendous job of driving through his opponents. If Koscheck moves Silva to the fence and then changes levels, Silva has a good chance to defend. However, if Koscheck blasts through on his patented power double, he does not.
Once on the ground, Koscheck is tough to submit while on top. He has a fantastic base and stays active. Saturday should be your standard matchup between a striker and a grappler.
What to Watch
There are two things to keep an eye on in this fight: Koscheck’s timidness and Silva’s cardio.
Koscheck got hit cleanly against Ellenberger and shut down. How much of that was cage rust and Koscheck falling into a shell? How much was that him being concerned about his eye that was injured years ago at the hands of Georges St-Pierre? Did he take this fight so quickly to erase that notion from our minds?
He will get hit by Silva. How he reacts will be paramount to how this fight plays out.
As for Silva, he gasses out quicker than more top-tier welterweights. It is not that he is out of shape but rather how he manages his explosiveness. It takes a substantial amount of energy to fight the way he does, and he rarely manages it well. If he gets tired early, Koscheck will take him down for the remainder of the fight en route to an easy decision.
Prediction
Silva is the smart play here, but I am going with Koscheck.
For him to jump at the chance for another fight so soon after his last outing leads me to believe he will fix the issues from just a couple weeks of ago that have left a bad taste in his mouth.
If Koscheck fights smarter on Saturday, he gets the takedown and grinds on Silva. After a round of high-paced grappling, Silva will ultimately be done. He will be too tired to do anything of note against Koscheck’s relentless pressure.
I think this is a good showing for Koscheck, and it will put him back in the win column after a clear-cut decision.
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