And the phenom train rolls on.
At Ultimate Fight Night 25 in New Orleans, 22-year-old Erik Koch was largely unable to launch his vaunted striking attack against The Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins. But he did enough to carve out a unanimous decision victory in a taxing featherweight battle.
All three rounds unfolded in oddly similar fashion. The action would begin on the feet, where Koch (13-1) held a decided advantage, throwing crisp, if not devastating, kicks and punch combinations. Though Brookins (12-4) showed little in the way of striking offense, his defense—particularly his head movement—seemed improved, and prevented Koch from inflicting major damage.
In each round, following the early standing exchange, Brookins tried and failed to score a takedown. Koch showed impressive takedown defense, but was unable to prevent the bigger, stronger Brookins from pressing and holding him against the cage. Brookins controlled Koch on the fence for much of the fight, but mounted no consistent offense from that position.
Brookins ultimately scored on a takedown more than once, but did so only after expending major energy, which may have negated the pressure he sustained on Koch when Brookins had him pressed against the fence.
The judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27, all in favor of Koch. An argument could have been made that Brookins, by virtue of his extended Octagon control, deserved the victory. But in the end, the judges appeared to conclude that Koch scored enough points through his strikes and his takedown defense to come away with the victory.
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