Josh Kosheck is the second best wrestler at 170, behind GSP. I think the reason he couldn’t take GSP down is because he was so overconfident that he trained zero wrestling. Which was stupid because that is where Koscheck would have had the advantage. Not only that, but he is probably the second best pure athlete in the division as well. He is very good, but his fighting strategies have been very poor.

Bottom line, which I think this article nails is that Koscheck is great athlete and a wrestler who has the potential to become a great fighter, but his strategies with his training and his fights have been poor. Its sad to see someone as talented as him lose fights just because of bad strategy and him trying to shut up the critics. He needs to stop listening to the people telling him he’s boring and start using what he’s best at… and thats his wrestling. If he can do that, everything else will come.

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I’m sure these words have been posted here many times, but they serve the point: Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Yeah, by that definition, perhaps Thiago’s fight ending uppercut/hook combination was a “lucky” shot. Sounds like some folks may have had preconceived notions about the abilities of these fighters, and may have been disappointed when the reality diverged from those preconceptions. signed, clueless

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Some think that Kos leaves himself very open when throwing the looping right hand which he does rather predictably.

I’m sure Thiago’s coaches broke down film prior to the fight and at least planned for Kos’ game plan.

Would i take Thiago in a rematch, h*ll no, but that doesn’t mean it was “lucky” or a fluke or anything else, it was a solid upper cut, followed by a devastating left hook.

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-worst comment of the week on any mma related “news” site. his original style was lay n’ pray blanket-style. he got caught by a punch, got barely outpointed in a match with diego that was horrendous on both sides, and lost to GSP. it’s not a skid, it’s a tough sport with a ton of variables. he’s become a far more dominating & dangerous fighter than his TUF days as a result of his dedication to becoming more well-rounded.

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Sure he knows how to throw a punch and have exchanges through many long hours in the gym. But in no means does that make him a devastating striker. Kos probably did not have much tape on him (highly doubt he would have watched anyways) and knew Thiago’s pedigree was BJJ. It was not an accident, nor did I say it was. It was well placed and Kos’ overconfidence became his downfall. But you cannot say that coming into the fight that the stand up would be even.
I have watched plenty of MMA and know first hand about this sport. So do not spout off when you clearly have no clue.

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I do agree that he needs to ease up a bit on the fights. He is going to wear his body down but that is his decision and if he feels good I am not the one to tell him otherwise.

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My perspective is that a strong wrestler often poses a technical problem for less well rounded fighters who have no solution for the wrestler’s tactics. Heath Herring against Jake O’Brien comes to mind, where Herring, a true badass and experienced MMA fighter, complained vociferously after the loss that O’Brien wouldn’t stand and trade with him, wouldn’t give the fans what they wanted. Thing is, O’Brien dominated the fight, controlled the action, dictated the pace, place and mode of the fight, and by every definition, that’s a win. Herring had no answer for O’Brien’s wrestling, and all he could do was whine about it afterward.
it would have been more effective for Herring to go back to the drawing board, come up with some tactics to deal with a dominant wrestler, and learn from the loss.
Many current fighters have done what Koscheck has tried to do, which is focus on stand up striking, as the fans react most strongly to toe to toe stand up, and getting tagged as a “boring” fighter is death in this business. Look at all the grief that Lyoto Machida took previous to his overwhelming knockout of Thiago Silva. Many fans, to my mind fans who are not as well versed themselves in the intricacies of the grappling/Gn’P/BJJ game, are not as enamored of the chess match that takes place on the ground. They’d rather see non-stop stand up action followed by a quick knockout, which I understand, but this is mixed martial arts, and the sport encompasses all of these combat aspects. Fights like Evans/Liddell and Rampage/Silva were great, but I also love to watch fights like Uriah Faber/Jens Pulver, or GSP/Fitch, where all aspects of the game come into play.

I’d be happier if more fans were appreciative of the ground game, and if less pressure was put on some fighters, like Josh Koscheck, to be “more exciting” and to abandon what Snowden appropriately acknowledges as his greatest strength. Styles make fights, and when a wrestler faces an all around master with superior skills, like Sean Sherk against BJ Penn, then everyone is happy. I just wish some of the strong wrestlers could apply their best techniques and not have to worry about how they win, just that they do win.

Finally, anyone who thinks Thiago scored a “lucky punch” should watch more matches and learn more about this sport. Thiago trained for years to land that punch, and you think it was an accident?

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