Ok, there’s little doubt that most MMA fans are still bummed out about the fact that we won’t get to see Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin throw down at UFC 106 this weekend. (As we posted earlier- we hope Brock can get back to lifting, hunting and bashing real soon) But UFC matchmaker Joe Silva did do a damn nice job inking the welterweight tilt between Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson to help make up for it.
Koscheck has evolved nicely from a ‘lay and pray’ fighter into a ‘punch and pray he’s okay’ competitor, who can beat you with his wrestling and his strikes. With Johnson, “Rumble” should consider changing his nickname to ‘Highlight Reel,’ as all five of his UFC wins have been stoppages, several of which have been of the ‘dude, that guy’s f—ked up’ variety.
Speaking to Fanhouse, Johnson had this to say, when asked if Saturday’s tilt boils down to “Rumble’s” striking game versus Koscheck’s renowned wrestling.
“No, I don’t think so, I know he’s a good striker. He’s a solid striker. He throws an overhand right, and he has a nice left jab. Koscheck really knows how to mix it up. And at the same time, a lot of people haven’t seen my wrestling, but if I need to use my wrestling people are going to be surprised how well I can match up with him. It’s going to be a really good fight.”
Another interesting note regarding Johnson, who was unable to make weight in October against Yoshiyuki Yoshida due to a knee injury; apparently he got up to 220 at one point! That’s some crazy sh-t. As of this interview, he was 187. That’s a big welterweight… To bet on the fight head here.
