Summoning a Villain

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Koscheck stands as one of the 31-year-old’s toughest challenges to date. Pierce has been training with star wrestler Eric Jetton, along with Follis and strength-and-conditioning whiz Phil Claud, to prepare for the occasion. However, Pierce was the first to point out that Koscheck is not the first strong wrestler he has faced.

“Koscheck has really good wrestling, but the last guy I fought was a four-time All-American from [the University of] Iowa. Josh, of course, was a national champion once, and he has great wrestling, but Paul Bradley had great wrestling, so it’s not really anything new that I’m going to see regarding the wrestling end of things,” he says. “I’ve actually fought two national champions before; I fought multiple-time All-Americans. Wrestling for wrestling is one thing, but wrestling for MMA is a whole ’nother animal.

“This is going to be a fight. It’s not going to be a wrestling match; it’s going to be a frickin’ fistfight, so, that being said, I think my wrestling for MMA stacks up against Koscheck’s wrestling for MMA just fine,” Pierce adds. “I’m not worried about his takedowns. I’m sure he’s going to go for some; I know he knows I’m going to go for some, and I’m not really worried about it.”

Follis agrees with Pierce’s assessment.

“I think he’ll hang in there just fine. As a matter of fact, I think that’s a spot where Mike really shines that a lot of people ... a lot of people have a tendency to look at the paper side of the game and make judgments. They look and they say, ‘This guy wrestled that much longer, so it looks like he has the advantage there,’ but I don’t think that that’s necessarily true,” he says. “I know guys who never wrestled a day in their life that are phenomenal at wrestling for MMA and are very, very difficult to take down. It might be a bit of a different story if it was just pure wrestling, but when you put it into the MMA world, how good are they to pull it off in that? I think that Mike’s is as good as anybody, particularly the defensive side.”

Follis points to the former Sportfight titleholder’s outing against Hendricks, a two-time NCAA champion, at UFC 133 in August. Pierce lost a split decision but gave Hendricks fits.

“Hendricks, I think, has a better pedigree even than Koscheck, and many would consider him to be a better pure wrestler. We really had no issues in the Hendricks fight with being outdone,” Follis says. “Nobody’s really outscoring anybody on the wrestling, and if there is a takedown, it’s a scramble right back up. I think Mike’s wrestling at the 170-pound division is as good as anybody’s. I don’t think anybody’s going to outdo him, including Koscheck. I think Koscheck is capable of taking anybody down, and I think Mike is, too, but I have a hard time seeing this as being a lopsided wrestling affair.”

In fact, Follis believes the standup department will be a major factor in the fight.

“If you look back at the Hendricks fight, that’s what it really did come down to. That fight, I think, was settled standing and so was the Bradley fight, and I see this fight being really similar,” he says. “I see there being some attempts at takedowns; I see a lot of scrambles within that. Obviously, we’d love to get a takedown and stay on top, but I don’t think that’s going to be a huge piece of the fight without hurting somebody on the feet first.”

Follis believes the quick improvements in Pierce’s game will lead to a victory against Koscheck, who has won four of his last five fights, finishing three of them.

“I think Mike’s game is improving leaps and bounds right now; we’ve added some things to his game in the last five, six months that I think makes him a far more dangerous fighter,” he says. “Mike’s losses were extremely close, with very tough guys. I haven’t seen Koscheck’s game getting better and better, but I’ve seen Mike’s game getting better and better. He’s stepped up, he’s improving and I really think we have a phenomenal shot -- if we do the right things in this fight -- at pulling off a victory, although I don’t think it’s going to be easy.

“Koscheck is an extremely tough guy,” Follis adds. “He did not get a title shot by accident .We respect his fighting ability in a big way, but I think, if we do the right things, we win this fight, and that’s why we picked it. I’m excited for this fight, not because I think it’s an easy fight but because I think it’ll bring out the best in Mike. And I think that if Mike gets to show that on the main card, when we pull off that win and all of a sudden Mike’s on the map, we’ll be headed to the direction we want to, which is ultimately to get a title.”

Although defeating Koscheck would advance Pierce’s UFC career in a major way, Follis does not see this fight as any more difficult than some of his other opponents.

“I think Bradley is in that same league of tough,” Follis says. “He hits hard, he’s got good hands, he’s got some big wins, close fights, that same thing, and beating Bradley was awesome ... it didn’t build that same notoriety, but I think it was right in that same league of toughness.”

Pierce sounds like a man fully aware of the obstacle before him.

“Josh is pretty athletic and quick, which I’m gong to have to deal with, and, of course, he has that big overhand right that he likes to throw,” he says. “He’s got some things that got him some success and got him a long way in the UFC. He didn’t get a title shot by accident. It’s a big step up in competition but nothing that I don’t think I could deal with and nothing that I haven’t seen.”