Josh Holmberg-USA TODAY Sports
Featherweights are on the main card? Get ready for a war. In what could be the UFC’s most exciting division, Erik Koch and Dustin Poirier are set to fight, this Saturday, at UFC 164. Both of these fighters are coming off of tough loses which is what makes this fight all the more interesting. Koch and Poirier are both top-ten Featherweights, but since both of them want to get back in the title mix with a win, get ready to see either a very boring fight or a “Fight of the Night”. Considering both of these guys’ styles, I’ll go with the latter.
Koch is a stand-up specialist that trains out of Roufusport, which means that his stand-up is gorgeous and deadly; not to mention very fast and accurate. Expect for him to really try and keep this fight on the feet where, in my opinion, he holds a significant advantage over Poirier. Poirier, on the other hand, has a very impressive Jiu-Jitsu game and is probably the better wrestler. Poirier will most likely look to mix this fight up as much as possible and not let Koch get too comfortable on the feet. If Poirier is able to mix in takedowns with get-in get-out combinations, he could easily take this fight. The only variable in this is if Poirier gets sucked into a brawl; which, let’s be honest, could very well happen. Poirier should look to fight this fight smart and not sloppy.
If Koch is able to keep this fight standing, it could be a quick night for Poirier. I don’t think that will happen as Poirier is the more complete fighter. Either way this fight turns out, I doubt it is going to be a boring fight, which means that it is a win for the fans. See what happens this Saturday at UFC 164.
