Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
The main event of the evening is another compelling matchup, this time between long-time UFC veteran and Ultimate Fighter alum Josh Koscheck and recent Japanese import Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida. Yoshida, in only his second fight in the UFC, will be looking to work his way up toward a future title shot, while Josh Koscheck will be looking to rebound from the savage beating he took from Thiago Alves in their recent fight.
Koscheck is a long time UFC staple, one of the many current UFC stars who got their big break on The Ultimate Fighter’s historic first season. His growth as a fighter since that time, when he was given the ignoble nickname “The Blanket” for his lay and pray style, has been exponential. No one, at this stage, could call Koscheck boring or one-dimensional without looking like a fool.
While his wrestling is still world-class and probably his best weapon, Koscheck’s training at AKA has added a dangerous muay thai striking game to his arsenal that makes him a tough fighter to figure out for any opponent.
His opponent, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, is an extremely talented Japanese import who earned his spot in UFC by winning Cage Force’s Welterweight title tournament, knocking out both former Pancrase champion Katsuya Inoue and former SHOOTO champion Akira Kikuchi on his way to the tournament victory. A slick but extremely powerful striker, Yoshida also has a dangerous submission attack, which he proved in his UFC debut by submitting Jon Koppenhaver with a rarely-seen Anaconda choke in the very first minute of the fight.
The crux of this fight will be how effective Koscheck is at getting it to the ground. While Yoshida is more than competent on the ground, the likelihood of anyone securing a submission with a wrestler of Koscheck’s caliber in top position is extremely low. In his last fight, though, Koscheck’s takedown attempts were repeatedly denied, and he was brutally punished on his feet as a result.
Even though Koscheck’s kickboxing has come a long way, he is still very much overmatched by Yoshida on the feet. In the end, I see Yoshida’s unorthodox striking and elusive fighting stance paying dividends, as he should be able to pepper Koscheck with shots and avoid takedowns with his slippery style.
Yoshida by TKO in the third round.
