Tag: Erik Koch

UFC Live Blog: Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch Updates

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NEW ORLEANS – This is the UFC Fight Night 25 live blog for Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch, a featherweight bout on tonight’s UFC on Spike telecast from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Brookins (12-3, 1-0 UFC) has not fought since winning Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter” with a unanimous decision win over Michael Johnson last December. Brookins was scheduled to return against Jeremy Stephens in June, but had to pull out of the fight with an injury.

Koch (12-1, 1-0) has won three straight, all in the first round. His last two fights have been Knockout of the Night winners – one with a head kick in his final WEC fight against Francisco Rivera last November and one against Rafael Assuncao in his UFC debut in March.

The live blog is below.

Round 1: Cautious start for both fighters, and after 30 seconds Brookins moves in looking for a single-leg and has Koch against the fence. They spend a full minute there, with not much activity. They’re trading knees here and there, though. Brookins really wants this takedown. He appears strong enough to keep Koch on the fence, but not strong enough to get it down. The crowd grows slightly restless halfway through the round. Then Koch finally gets out and hits a nice left. Then a left outside leg kick. Brookins misses and uppercut. Koch dodges out of a couple jabs, almost Anderson Silva-sytle, then lands another left. Brookins again wants the takedown, but Koch defends along the cage. Koch reverses, then Brookins reverse. Brookins lands a big throw takedown, but it’s after the horn. Not a lot of action, but Koch seemed to get the better of things and we’ll give him a 10-9 first round.

Round 2: Snapping outside left leg kick from Koch. Then he goes back to it. Brookins shoots for a single, Koch defends again and lands a right as they scurry to the fence. Decent elbow from Brookins just before the break, but back in the middle Koch lands a nice right kick to the head that gets Brookins’ attention. Brookins continues to work to get the fight to the ground, and Koch continues to defend it mostly well. A little scramble sees the fight go to the ground briefly, but it’s right back up and into teh clinch along the cage. After a minute, they break and go back to the middle. Another nice leg kick from Koch. Then he tags Brookins with a short combo before Brookins again works for a takedown. This time, he finally makes it work and Koch works out of guard. As he pops up, Brookins lands a nice right. But Koch still gets back to his feet. It’s a round very similar to the first – not a ton happening, but enough from Koch that we’ll give it to him 10-9 again.

Round 3: Koch peppers Brookins with jabs to open the round. He eats a knee, but gets back to the middle and looks to stay standing. Brookins shoots for another single, but Koch avoids it. Good head movement from Koch in his standup game. Brookins again shoots for a single, but it’s not there and it’s more clinch work on the fence. After the separate around the 2 minute mark, Koch lands a nice kick, then continues to work his jab. A Superman punch from Brookins doesn’t find a home. But they clinch up and Brookins lands his best takedown of the fight. They pop up immediately, though, then clinch again. A nice exchange at the 30-second mark gives the fans some hope, but there’s not much to it. Little tougher to score this round, but we’ll give it to Koch 10-9 and the fight to him 30-27.

Result: Erik Koch def. Jonathan Brookins, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

 

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NEW ORLEANS – This is the UFC Fight Night 25 live blog for Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch, a featherweight bout on tonight’s UFC on Spike telecast from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Brookins (12-3, 1-0 UFC) has not fought since winning Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter” with a unanimous decision win over Michael Johnson last December. Brookins was scheduled to return against Jeremy Stephens in June, but had to pull out of the fight with an injury.

Koch (12-1, 1-0) has won three straight, all in the first round. His last two fights have been Knockout of the Night winners – one with a head kick in his final WEC fight against Francisco Rivera last November and one against Rafael Assuncao in his UFC debut in March.

The live blog is below.

Round 1: Cautious start for both fighters, and after 30 seconds Brookins moves in looking for a single-leg and has Koch against the fence. They spend a full minute there, with not much activity. They’re trading knees here and there, though. Brookins really wants this takedown. He appears strong enough to keep Koch on the fence, but not strong enough to get it down. The crowd grows slightly restless halfway through the round. Then Koch finally gets out and hits a nice left. Then a left outside leg kick. Brookins misses and uppercut. Koch dodges out of a couple jabs, almost Anderson Silva-sytle, then lands another left. Brookins again wants the takedown, but Koch defends along the cage. Koch reverses, then Brookins reverse. Brookins lands a big throw takedown, but it’s after the horn. Not a lot of action, but Koch seemed to get the better of things and we’ll give him a 10-9 first round.

Round 2: Snapping outside left leg kick from Koch. Then he goes back to it. Brookins shoots for a single, Koch defends again and lands a right as they scurry to the fence. Decent elbow from Brookins just before the break, but back in the middle Koch lands a nice right kick to the head that gets Brookins’ attention. Brookins continues to work to get the fight to the ground, and Koch continues to defend it mostly well. A little scramble sees the fight go to the ground briefly, but it’s right back up and into teh clinch along the cage. After a minute, they break and go back to the middle. Another nice leg kick from Koch. Then he tags Brookins with a short combo before Brookins again works for a takedown. This time, he finally makes it work and Koch works out of guard. As he pops up, Brookins lands a nice right. But Koch still gets back to his feet. It’s a round very similar to the first – not a ton happening, but enough from Koch that we’ll give it to him 10-9 again.

Round 3: Koch peppers Brookins with jabs to open the round. He eats a knee, but gets back to the middle and looks to stay standing. Brookins shoots for another single, but Koch avoids it. Good head movement from Koch in his standup game. Brookins again shoots for a single, but it’s not there and it’s more clinch work on the fence. After the separate around the 2 minute mark, Koch lands a nice kick, then continues to work his jab. A Superman punch from Brookins doesn’t find a home. But they clinch up and Brookins lands his best takedown of the fight. They pop up immediately, though, then clinch again. A nice exchange at the 30-second mark gives the fans some hope, but there’s not much to it. Little tougher to score this round, but we’ll give it to Koch 10-9 and the fight to him 30-27.

Result: Erik Koch def. Jonathan Brookins, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

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Erik Koch Believes Another Quick Win Should Earn Him a UFC Title Shot

Filed under: UFC, NewsNEW ORLEANS – “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”

That quote is from Aristotle, not Erik Koch. But even if the 22-year-old featherweight has never heard it before, he seems to be putting that advice to good us…

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NEW ORLEANS – “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”

That quote is from Aristotle, not Erik Koch. But even if the 22-year-old featherweight has never heard it before, he seems to be putting that advice to good use.

Koch has made a good habit of first-round wins – three straight – and Knockout of the Night bonuses – two in a row – and he’s of the belief that one more of each on Saturday will make all the difference that could get him a title shot.

Koch, one of the rising stars from Duke Roufus’ Roufusport gym in Milwaukee, fights season 12 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Jonathan Brookins on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans. And teeming with confidence, Koch said he’s ready to have his name officially on the map.

“I think if I can do what I want and get another Knockout of the Night or (win) fast in the first round, I think I deserve (a title shot) right away,” Koch said Thursday after a workout at the New Orleans Athletic Club.

Koch (12-1, 1-0 UFC) last lost in March 2010, a unanimous decision to current featherweight contender Chad Mendes. Since then, he’s been on a tear, closing out his WEC career with a pair of wins before making a big statement with a first-round knockout of Rafael Assuncao in his UFC debut at UFC 128 in March.

Featherweight champ Jose Aldo has, of course, been on the division’s biggest streak. He defends his belt next month against Kenny Florian, who will fight for just the second time in the weight class. But aside from Mendes, who is unbeaten at 11-0, Koch doesn’t see why his name isn’t right there at the top of the list.

“That would be four in a row in the first round – it’s a hell of a streak,” Koch said. “I don’t know anyone else at 145 with a (winning) streak like that other than Chad, and I know he definitely deserves it.”

The beauty of all of this, as Koch sees it, lies in the ambition with which he’s attacking his goal of becoming a UFC champion. At only 22, one would think he has more than his fair share of time ahead of him in the sport. But that has made Koch all the hungrier.

“I definitely want a Top 3 spot (if I win) – Aldo for a title, or Florian, or the loser of that, or Mendes,” Koch said. “I want one of those top fights – I want my title. And I want to do it while I’m still young. I want it by the end of 2012.”

It’s a lofty goal, but one that seems to suit Koch’s personality.

“My confidence level has always been really high,” he said, before also explaining that he sure is having fun with it. “It’s hard work, and it’s my job, but I’m fortunate that I love my job. It’s a roller coaster ride, but I’m enjoying it.”

Koch and Brookins fight on the main card of UFC Fight Night 25 at the Ernest R. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Saturday. The main card airs live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. Eastern.

 

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Five Reasons to Watch ‘UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger’

UFC Fight Night 25 battle on the bayou jake ellenberger jake shields
(McGee vs. Yang, the middleweight showdown that UFC fans have been…wait a minute, remind me again who Yang is?)

Unless you’re one of those Bud Light ‘Battle on the Bayou’ contest winners, you’re probably not overly excited about Saturday’s “Shields vs. Ellenberger” UFC event on Spike. Boxing already has Saturday night locked up, with Floyd Mayweather‘s ring-return against 24-year-old WBC Welterweight champ Victor Ortiz, and it feels like UFC Fight Night 25 will be an overlooked prelude to next week’s Jones vs. Rampage card.

But let’s not admit defeat so soon. We’ll be liveblogging the Shields vs. Ellenberger main card on CagePotato.com starting at 9 p.m. ET, and it would be nice if a few of you showed up to keep us company. Could it be one of those “crap on paper, bonkers in reality” events? Who knows, but consider the following…

All Eyes on Jake: So far, Jake Shields‘s UFC career has consisted of an underwhelming (and razor-thin) split-decision victory over Martin Kampmann, and a rout at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. His dominant stretch of eight-straight stoppage victories in 2006-2009 are a distant memory in the minds of MMA fans, and he needs a dramatic win here, badly. Shields’s dance partner, Jake Ellenberger, has been spent years fighting for recognition, and with four straight Octagon wins over serious competition, he’s starting to get it. Stylistically, the fight might not be a barn-burner, but it could have career-altering implications for the headliners.

UFC Fight Night 25 battle on the bayou jake ellenberger jake shields
(McGee vs. Yang, the middleweight showdown that UFC fans have been…wait a minute, remind me again who Yang is?)

Unless you’re one of those Bud Light ‘Battle on the Bayou’ contest winners, you’re probably not overly excited about Saturday’s “Shields vs. Ellenberger” UFC event on Spike. Boxing already has Saturday night locked up, with Floyd Mayweather‘s ring-return against 24-year-old WBC Welterweight champ Victor Ortiz, and it feels like UFC Fight Night 25 will be an overlooked prelude to next week’s Jones vs. Rampage card.

But let’s not admit defeat so soon. We’ll be liveblogging the Shields vs. Ellenberger main card on CagePotato.com starting at 9 p.m. ET, and it would be nice if a few of you showed up to keep us company. Could it be one of those “crap on paper, bonkers in reality” events? Who knows, but consider the following…

All Eyes on Jake: So far, Jake Shields‘s UFC career has consisted of an underwhelming (and razor-thin) split-decision victory over Martin Kampmann, and a rout at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. His dominant stretch of eight-straight stoppage victories in 2006-2009 are a distant memory in the minds of MMA fans, and he needs a dramatic win here, badly. Shields’s dance partner, Jake Ellenberger, has been spent years fighting for recognition, and with four straight Octagon wins over serious competition, he’s starting to get it. Stylistically, the fight might not be a barn-burner, but it could have career-altering implications for the headliners.

TUF Winners Return: Due to poorly-timed injuries, Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins — the winners of TUF 11 and TUF 12, respectively — haven’t competed since last year. Nevertheless, McGee is still a solid favorite over Dongi Yang, the South Korean fight-finisher who has split a pair of Octagon appearances, most recently TKO’ing Rob Kimmons in March. I’m much more concerned for Brookins, whose first post-TUF bout will be against Erik Koch, the Roufusport-trained killer who has won Knockout of the Night bonuses in his last two fights. My money’s on Koch here, especially considering the way Brookins was gobbling punches against Michael Johnson — and I’d also call this bout an early front-runner for Fight of the Night.

The Crowd-Pleaser: The UFC knew what they were doing in booking middleweights Alan Belcher and Jason MacDonald to kick off the main card. Both guys go for broke in every fight, and have eight combined performance bonuses to show for it. With back-to-back stoppage wins over Wilson Gouveia and Patrick Cote in his pocket, Belcher returns to the cage after the eye-ailment that nearly ended his career. And speaking of miraculous comebacks, MacDonald is coming off his first-round submission win against Ryan Jensen, which followed his gnarly leg-snap against John Salter.

Do or Die for Dunham: Once an undefeated blue-chip prospect in the lightweight division, Evan Dunham now has his back against the wall following two straight losses — one a bullshit decision against Sean Sherk, the other an ugly TKO against Melvin Guillard. His next opponent, Strikeforce/TUF 13 veteran Shamar Bailey, is a hefty underdog, but he’s got the wrestling skills and power to make it a contest. Can Dunham get his head back in the game and take care of business? Because if he doesn’t, he’ll very likely be out of a job.

Don’t Sleep On the Prelims: The entire “Shields vs. Ellenberger” preliminary card will be streamed on Facebook.com/UFC, and Dunham vs. Bailey isn’t the only match to keep an eye on. Following his Fight of the Night-worthy loss to Yves Edwards in January, Cody McKenzie — and his dreaded “McKenzietine” choke — will return against Vagner Rocha. Plus, Saturday night will kick off with the debut of Jorge Lopez, a 22-year-old welterweight who took a break from high-school at the age of 14 to train with Wanderlei Silva — which sounds a hell of a lot cooler than what I was doing at 14.

(BG)

UFC Fight Night 25 Predictions

Filed under: UFCWill Jake Shields bounce back from his loss to Georges St Pierre in style, or will Jake Ellenberger win his fifth fight in a row? Can former Ultimate Fighter winners Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins continue their winning ways? Will Al…

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Will Jake Shields bounce back from his loss to Georges St Pierre in style, or will Jake Ellenberger win his fifth fight in a row? Can former Ultimate Fighter winners Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins continue their winning ways? Will Alan Belcher be ready to go in his first fight in more than a year? We’ll attempt to answer those questions as we predict the winners for Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night card.

What: UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger

Where: New Orleans Convention Center

When: Saturday, the Facebook prelims start at 5:30 p.m. ET and the Spike TV card starts at 9.

Predictions on the four televised fights below.

Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger
 Shields is a trooper for going through with this fight just three weeks after his father and manager, Jack Shields, died. One of the big questions heading into this fight is whether his father’s death has disrupted Shields’ preparation, and that’s a question we really have no way of answering. That makes this fight tough to predict.

Based purely on what we’ve seen from these two in the cage, Shields would have to be considered a solid favorite: Although he lost a unanimous decision to Georges St. Pierre, Shields has handily beaten everyone else he’s faced over the last few years. But Ellenberger is no slouch: He’s on a four-fight winning streak, and he’s 9-1 in his last 10, with the only loss coming by split decision to Carlos Condit.

Ellenberger is a better striker than Shields, and an upset wouldn’t shock me. But I expect Shields to use his superior grappling to grind out a decision and maintain his status as a Top 3 welterweight.
Pick: Shields
Court McGee vs. Dongi Yang
 McGee won Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter and picked up a victory in his first fight after that, submitting Ryan Jensen in October. After that McGee suffered a knee injury, and he’s now been inactive for 11 months, but if he can shake off the ring rust he should match up well with Yang. I like McGee to submit Yang late in the fight.
Pick: McGee
Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch
 Brookins won Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter and is now fighting for the first time since then, moving down to his more natural weight class of featherweight. Brookins is a talented young fighter, but I think he’s facing an even more talented (and younger) fighter in the 22-year-old Koch. Koch has a great instinct for finishing fights, and I think he’ll finish Brookins in what should be an exciting fight.
Pick: Koch
Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald
 It’s great to see that Belcher is finally back, more than a year after an eye injury threatened his MMA career. Belcher was just starting to make his mark in the UFC, with two impressive wins in a row, when the eye injury sidelined him. Now he’s back, and the UFC is easing him back into things with a very winnable fight against the 36-year-old MacDonald. Belcher should beat MacDonald up and win by TKO.
Pick: Belcher

 

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MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Kenny Florian Moves In

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, FeatherweightsKenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?

If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the la…

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Kenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?

If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the ladder and become the No. 2 fighter in your weight class, then the answer is no. Florian has fought just once at 145 pounds — his unanimous decision victory over Diego Nunes at UFC 131 — and that’s not enough to get him in the No. 2 spot ahead of Chad Mendes, who’s been fighting at featherweight his entire career and built up a 10-0 record.

But the real way a fighter earns a title shot is to become the guy the fans want to see fighting for a title: The UFC is in the business of selling pay-per-views, and Florian vs. Aldo would sell far more pay-per-views than Mendes vs. Aldo. Mendes has fought in the Octagon once and isn’t all that well known, while Florian has fought in Octagon 16 times and is a fan favorite. That’s why he’ll get the next crack at Aldo.

However, that’s not to say Florian isn’t also among the elite featherweights in MMA. Find out where I have him ranked below.

(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)

1. Jose Aldo (1): So far, in the UFC and WEC there hasn’t been a featherweight who has what it takes to challenge Aldo: He’s 9-0 fighting under the Zuffa banner and hasn’t been in any real trouble. We’ll see if Florian can be the man to test Aldo, but I have my doubts.

2. Chad Mendes (2): Mendes thought he had earned the next shot at Aldo, but instead he’ll take on Rani Yahya in August, and hope that a good showing there earns him a title fight after that. Mendes is only 10 fights into his MMA career and still a little green, so having to wait a little longer may be good for him.

3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Here’s hoping Hioki is able to sign with the UFC soon. The best featherweights in the world are waiting for Hioki, who has been great in Japan and whose long limbs and well-rounded striking and grappling style could make him a threat to most of the top competition in the UFC.

4. Kenny Florian (NR): Is one win at 145 pounds enough to make Florian worthy of a Top 5 ranking? I think it is, considering that the one win was a very impressive one against a good opponent, and considering that Florian was generally recognized as a Top 5 fighter in a more talented weight class when he was fighting at 155.

5. Manny Gamburyan (4): Gamburyan is trying to bounce back from his loss to Aldo in September, and he’s got a very interesting fight coming up against Tyson Griffin, who like Gamburyan and Florian is a former lightweight hoping for more success in the shallower waters of the featherweight division.

6. Marlon Sandro (6): Bellator’s featherweight division has picked up some top-notch talent, and in my opinion the best of the bunch is Sandro, who will take on fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva in the first round of Bellator’s summer featherweight tournament.

7. Mark Hominick (7): His gutsy performance in defeat against Jose Aldo endeared Hominick to MMA fans. There’s talk that Hominick could face Chan Sung Jung next, in a fight that couldn’t possibly be anything less than thrilling.

8. Erik Koch (8): Koch is 12-1 in his career, with the only loss coming against Mendes. He’s been matched up with Season 12 Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins in September.

9. Dustin Poirier (10): Poirier has looked like a much better fighter since moving down to featherweight, dominating both Josh Grispi and Jason Young at 145 pounds. Poirier is only 22 years old and is a likely future title contender.

10. Diego Nunes (9): Although he came up short against Florian, Nunes is only 28 years old and not done improving. He has a lot of big featherweight fights ahead of him.

 

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TUF 12 Winner Jonathan Brookins Meets Erik Koch on UFC’s New Orleans Card

Filed under: NewsThe UFC will return to New Orleans on Sept. 17 for the first time since 2000, and Season 12 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Jonathan Brookins will return to the cage for the first time since winning his title.

The UFC announced Satur…

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The UFC will return to New Orleans on Sept. 17 for the first time since 2000, and Season 12 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Jonathan Brookins will return to the cage for the first time since winning his title.

The UFC announced Saturday that verbal agreements are in place for TUF 12 champ Brookins, who won the show at lightweight, to drop down to featherweight to face Erik Koch at UFC Fight Night 25.

The “Battle on the Bayou” show now has three confirmed bouts with Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald and Dongi Yang vs. Court McGee getting announced for the card last month.

Brookins (12-3, 1-0 UFC) has not fought since his unanimous decision victory over Michael Johnson at the TUF 12 Finale in December. The WEC and Bellator veteran was scheduled to face John Makdessi at UFC 129 in April, but had to pull out with an injury. Re-booked for the TUF 13 Finale last Saturday against Jeremy Stephens, he was again forced off the card. Brookins’ last loss came at WEC 36 in November 2008 to Jose Aldo a year before Aldo won the featherweight title.

Koch (12-1, 1-0 UFC), who went 3-1 in the WEC prior to its merger with the UFC, has won three straight by first-round stoppage – including consecutive Knockout of the Night bonuses. In March, he knocked out Raphael Assuncao in the first round at UFC 128. His only loss was a unanimous decision setback to Chad Mendes, one of the featherweight division’s top contenders for Aldo’s title, at WEC 47 in March 2010.

The main card of UFC Fight Night 25, an event heavily promoted by UFC sponsor Bud Light, airs on Spike TV. As MMAjunkie.com recently reported, the event is expected to take place at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

UFC Fight Night 25 is expected to take place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The main card will air on Spike TV and is the promotion’s first of a series of planned annual special events with major sponsor Bud Light.

The UFC has not hosted an event in Louisiana since UFC 37 in May 2002, which was in Bossier City, a suburb of Shreveport. The last UFC event in New Orleans was UFC 27 in September 2000, prior to the Zuffa era.

 

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