Back at UFC 74, St. Pierre (20-2) won a unanimous decision over Koscheck following his upset loss to Matt Serra. St. Pierre used a steady diet of takedowns and ground and pound to win every round. That win catapaulted St. Pierre to his current seven fight win streak. That streak has featured wins against Dan Hardy, Jon Fitch, BJ Penn and Thiago Alves.
(St. Pierre punching Matt Hughes)
Josh Koscheck (15-4) burst onto the MMA scene through the TUF 1 reality series, where he again played the villian, eventually losing to Diego Sanchez. The NCAA wrestling champion is currently riding a three fight win streak, with wins over Paul Daley, Anthony Johnson and Frank Trigg.
(Josh Koscheck pictured)
I expect St. Pierre to stand and trade with Koscheck before looking for the takedown. From the first match-up, Koscheck is definitely aware of St. Pierre's wrestling prowess and no doubt has been concentrating on his takedowns and takedown defense. I wouldn't be surprised to see this fight boil down to a kickboxing match.
In the co-main event, two massive fighters will look to take a step closer to relevence in the heavyweight division. The 6'11" Stefan Struve (20-4) will look to build on his 2nd round comeback KO over Christian Morecraft at UFC 117. The tall Dutch fighter has a decent stand-up game, and long limbs that have helped him secure 14 submission wins.
(Struve's UFC Topps Card)
Sean McCorkle (10-0) has used his internet persona to start a trash talking campaign against Struve. This hype largely has parlayed him into his current fight. The 6'7" fighter has fought mainly in the midwest, sometimes against 300+ pounders in the super heavyweight division. His only UFC appearance resulted in a straight armbar submission of Pride vet Mark Hunt.
MAIN CARD
Georges St-Pierre v Josh Koscheck
Sean McCorkle v Stefan Struve
Jim Miller v Charles Oliveira
Mac Danzig v Joe Stevenson
Thiago Alves v John Howard
PRELIM CARD
Mark Bocek v Dustin Hazelett
Jesse Bongfeldt v Rafael Natal
Sean Pierson v Matthew Riddle
Joe Doerksen v Dan Miller
Ricardo Almeida v T.J. Grant
Pat Audinwood v John Makdessi
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