Dustin Poirier vs Erik Koch at UFC 164

Now THIS is a fight to get excited about.  I legitimately don't know who to pick but I'm leaning more towards Poirier.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dustin-poirier-vs-erik-koch-001055338--mma.html

This should be an awesome fight.

I'm hoping Poirier wins by second round submission with a D'arc choke.

* Edited at 05.23.2013, 8:34 PM ET *

Lets go Diamond!

WAR POIRIER!

Poirier is a ******* beast, I expect him to rebound against Koch.

Can't wait for this fight. I think Koch will outclass him on the feet for the first round or so until Dustin drags him into a war, breaks him and then taps him. Poirier has insane heart as a platform to build his skills on which a lot of fighters don't have. He's going to be a monster when his skills click and he puts it all together.

Weren't these guys supposed to fight like a year ago?

Think Koch will get underestimated because he hasn't been very active lately, but i'll probably pick Poirier here.

Yeah I think Koch got injured originally

I was gonna say its been a while since Poirier fought too but is fight against Cub Swanson was only 3 months ago.  I don't know why but I keep thinking it was an eternity ago.

Definitely want Poirier here.  Koch better be drilling his TDD and submission defense or he's gonna get finished. 

As much as I want to see this fight I really don't want it to happen...yet. They are both very young and I hoped they would gain some notoriety before facing off. I have a feeling they are both the future of the division and this may just be the first chapter in what could be an epic feud. so I'm not too heart broken.

As far as a prediction goes I will pick the Koch head by decision.

I'm not excited for this, for the sole reason i won't be able to tell who is who.

@Rockafella- Agree 100%.

Was hoping for Poirier vs. Elkins and Koch vs. Cole Miller.

While I don't know everything that there is to know about both these fighters, I have seen all of their fights in the UFC, so most of this is based on what I've seen from both fighters since coming to the UFC. So if this breakdown isn't all that great or you don't agree with it, please be gentle. It's very rare that I get to do these on the first page of a bout page. I usually get to these the week of the fight, or somewhere way down the road after it's announced. This is a very tough fight to pick because I'm big fan of both fighters, I think that both fighters are the future of this division, and bring both bring a ton of skill with a great arsenal to the match.

1. Mental Edge/Confidence/Gameplan - Both fighters are coming into this fight coming off of losses, and both fighters have nothing to be ashamed about those losses, both fighters have fought the best competition in both the WEC and UFC, both fighters have had some great wins fighting for ZUFFA against some very tough competition, and both fighters are looking to bounce back from their recent defeats with a good win. A victory for either fighter puts the winner right back into title contention. Due to the fact that both fighters are coming off of losses, I'm pretty sure that both fighters have had to go back to the drawing board, figure out where they went wrong, and have made a serious effort to tighten up the holes in their overall fight game. Dustin Poirier fought with a great deal of heart and determination in his last fight against Cub Swanson. Koch's last fight against Ricardo Lamas, it seemed to me that he was a little demoralized after that first round with Lamas. If Poirier takes the center of the octagon and goes for the same effect, then it could be another long night for Koch. At one point in his career, Koch was the number contender for the UFC FW Championship, but unfortunately Lamas had other intentions for Koch's destiny. This brings a few questions to mind. Has such a demoralizing loss to Lamas plagued Koch with questions about himself, and his own ability, or was it just plain and simply a bad night for the former #1 FW contender? For Poirier, is he ready for a fighter of Koch's caliber, or will he just end up being another tough sacrificial lamb for a future title contender? Is there any kind of fear from either fighter about the opponent that they are about to face, or are they both fully prepared to leave it all in the cage? There's more questions in mind, but I will ask those as this breakdown moves further along. When it comes to gameplan, it seems to me that Poirier is just a touch better at putting together a gameplan on who he is about to fight. Koch seems more like the kind of fighter to see how the stand-up goes, and make whatever adjustments he needs to make as the fight goes on. With all this in mind, I give the advantage to Poirier. Though Poirier was outmatched in his last fight, he seems to have a stronger mental edge no matter if he's winning or losing, and he wasn't finished in his last fight. Koch =7/10, Poirier = 8/10

2. Experience/Level Of Opposition - Koch has 15 fights on his resume (7 for ZUFFA promotions) vs. Poirier's 16 (9 for ZUFFA promotions). Koch has faced such well known names as TUF Winner Jonathan Brookins, Rafael Assuncao, and top contenders Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas. Dustin Poirier has some good names to his resume as well such as Pablo Garza, Danny Castillo, Josh Grispi, Max Holloway, Chan Sung Jung, Cub Swanson, and Jonathan Brookins as well. It's almost so damn close that I want to call it even, but I'm actually leaning very slightly towards Poirier here. The numbers just play in Poirier's favor IMO. Koch = 8/10, Poirier = 9/10

3. Heart/Determination To Win - If you just go by their last fights, you'd have to give the clear advantage to Poirier. Poirier fought a courageous fight where he never stopped trying to win the fight, but was just slightly outclassed by heavily improved and always dangerous Cub Swanson. Meanwhile, Koch didn't have the first round against Lamas go his way, and he seemed to kind of lose desire in the second. So the big question here is, what if Poirier starts getting the upper-hand on Koch? Will Koch fight through it, or will he gradually lose the desire to win the fight, or be content just to survive? I'm not saying that Koch fights like that all the time, but the age old saying goes, "you're only as strong as your last performance." For now I'm giving a clear advantage to Poirier. Koch = 8/10, Poirier = 10/10

4. Stamina/Cardio - Both fighters have gone the distance, but it seems to me that Poirier gets stronger the longer the fight goes, and Koch has a tendency to fade a bit. I don't believe I've seen Koch gas, but he definitely fades a bit. Again, I'm giving Poirier the advantage here. Koch = 8/10, Poirier = 9/10

5. Endurance/Toughness - Both fighters have only been finished once in their careers, but Koch was finished by KO at the hands of Ricardo Lamas. Also Koch has had a couple of injuries that have caused him to pull out of fights. In fact these two were supposed to meet at UFC 143, but Koch pulled out due to injury. I'm not saying that Koch is plagued by injury, but he is prone to injury. Sometimes that can be fighter's undoing. Though Poirier was submitted by The Korean Zombie, it was in the 4th round of a 5 round fight, and it was a fight that many thought that Poirier was winning. His loss to Swanson, showed just how tough Poirier really is. He took some big shots from Swanson, and still kept fighting. Some might argue with me on this, but the Cub Swanson fight proved to me that Dustin Poirier is one tough ***********er that is hard to finish. Koch = 8/10, Poirier = 10/10

6. Overall Striking - This is where I think that Koch has the tools to win the fight. Poirier has some really good technical boxing skills, and some great lateral movement, but Koch is a dangerous striker with his hands and feet. He's been studying Tae Kwon Do since he was 4 years old. Both fighters have done really well adapting their striking game for MMA, but I'm leaning towards Koch as the more dangerous guy on the feet. Koch = 9/10, Poirier = 8/10

7. Overall Grappling - Poirier may not be a decorated high school, amateur, or Olympic caliber wrestler, but he outgrappled Jonathan Brookins, and held his own very well in a fight of the night effort against KZ. Koch is not a decorated wrestler either, but he's shown to have a very good takedown defense in the majority of his fights. Personally I think that Poirier has the advantage here, but it's not going to be easy for him to get Koch to the ground, where I think Poirier would like the fight to take place. Koch = 8/10, Poirier = 9/10

8. Overall Submissions - Surprisingly Eric Koch has 7 submissions in his career and Poirier has 6, but Poirier's submissions have come against far better opposition. Koch has never been finished by submission, and though Poirier has, I still believe that Poirier is more likely to win this fight by submission. Koch = 8/10, Poirier = 9/10

9. Size/Strength - Eric Koch is 5'10" with a 70" reach and Dustin Poirier is 5'9" with a 73" reach. Poirier has the reach, but one thing that is never factored is the length of a fighter's legs. Koch is very good at keeping the distance with his kicks. Neither fighter is really massive or cuts an ungodly amount of weight to make 145, but from what I've seen of both fighters, I think that Koch has a little bit thicker of build than Poirier. In the question of strength, I'm really not 100% sure on that, but something is telling me that Koch is just a touch stronger than Poirier, but you never know, I could be completely wrong here. With that said, for now, I'm giving the advantage to Koch. Koch = 9/10, Poirier = 8/10

10. Speed/Athleticism - Both fighters have great movement, but again, from what I've seen of both fighters I honestly think that Koch is the quicker of the two fighters, but as the fight wears on that could change into a speed advantage for Poirier. Koch = 9/10, Poirier = 8/10

Overall Score - Eric "The New Breed" Koch = 82/100, Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier = 88/100

82 to 88, you seriously think its that lopsided????????????

@ Brazilian Jitz - Honestly, I don't think that it's that lopsided. This is actually one of the times that my breakdown did nothing to help my pick. LOL. That's just how the numbers worked out.

great fight im gonna say Poirier is gonna make a statement and rebound big time.

Looking at my breakdown, the numbers say Poirier, but Koch is dangerous in the stand-up all fight long. It's a very tough fight for me to pick. If Poirier is going to win this, he has to apply pressure right away, and not let Koch breathe or allow Koch to create any distance. Dishearten Koch as quickly as possible, because once Koch feels beaten, I think he'll break, but if there's any chance that Koch has to win the fight, and Koch sees it, he'll wait for his moment and explode with a dangerous kick or pull something out of nowhere. Take it into deep waters. Do whatever it takes to wear Koch down. The longer the fight goes, the more in Poirier's favor the fight will play.

For Koch to win the fight, don't let Poirier set or get anywhere close to get in the clinch or get a takedown. Koch did a really good job against Brookins in creating distance and avoiding the takedowns and getting tied up. He needs to do the same thing against Poirier. Leg kicks, leg kicks, leg kicks, then without warning mid and high kicks. Lots of feints with strikes, and utilize that movement. Poirier is tough to finish, but if Koch can hurt him right away it will keep Poirier at bay and force him to constantly reset and access. If Koch can catch Poirier thinking and reeling, then the fight will play right into Koch's hands. That's how Cub Swanson did it. Take a page from Cub Swanson. If Koch ends up in the clinch, knees, knees, knees, and lots of elbows. Avoid takedowns.............basically in close quarters..........sprawl and brawl.

i think Koch is the favorite here, his loss to Lamas was ugly. But Lamas is a beast lately.
Poirier doesn't have the striking defense to hang too long, so he needs the take down.
and im not high on his wrestling right now.

i think you can't dislike Poirier, but looking at it from a reason perspective, Koch beats him in a close fight.

* Edited at 05.24.2013, 7:47 AM ET *

Very interesting that before they fight, the only 2 fighters who've finished them will face off at UFC 162. Would any outcome of that fight sway anyone's opinion on this one? 

Poirier has the bigger advantage on the ground, For some reason I'm feeling him for this match up

Koch does have a pretty good striking advantage.  But, the way I see it, Poirier is a tough son of a ***** and it takes A LOT to put him away.  Koch does have good TDD but he can only avoid the grind for so long so for me, the first guy who settles in their groove and starts to pressure will most likely win.  Can Koch do enough damage quick enough to put him away?  Even then, Poirier has a better chance to come from behind because he doesn't go away or stop pressuring and looking for the finish even when he's losing.

I see Dustin Poirier winning a fairly dominant decision.  Hopefully he'll submit him, but realistically I see a UD.