With a face that even some who’s illiterate could read, it’s not hard to tell that Erik Koch enjoys his job. What does he do you may ask? Well, in addition to watching the Food Channel non-stop, Tweeting about the Food Channel, and wanting to eat the food he sees while he’s watching the Food Channel, the guy is a UFC fighter. And a pretty damn good one to boot.

Currently Koch is a top contender in the featherweight division (145 lbs), and in between all the food watching, has compiled a solid 13-1 mark, including a KO of the Night in his UFC debut. I sat down with Erik recently to discuss training, his roots, the journey he’s on, and where he’s going.

Cole Miller's next fight may be decided already, but how will he do against Matt Wiman.

Outside of the main events of UFC Fight for the Troops 2, the most important match on the card is in the featherweight division.  Mark “The Machine” Hominick will battle George Roop and should Hominick prevail, he will get a title shot at UFC 129 against Jose Aldo.  

Chael Sonnen has led one of the most decorated careers in recent memory.  However, his career started with a list of fights against nobodies.  He started his career 6 – 0, with the only meaningful victory coming over Jason Miller.  This was even before you could call Miller “Mayhem.”  He would then lose to Trevor Prangley & Forrest Griffin in 2003.  Following a loss to Jeremy Horn in September, 2004, Sonnen rebounded and went 3 – 1 before getting the call to fight in the UFC.

Sonnen in the UFC: Part One

The year 2010 had some very impressive mixed martial arts competitions. Fans were blown away by exciting knockouts, submissions and come from behind victories. Still, out of all these fierce battles which stood out among the rest as the best of the year. Here are a few that will be talked about into 2011 and long after.

3. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117 – 8/7/10

Thursday’s WEC 53 brought a spectacular close to an organization that was known for action packed battles. While the fighters are being brought under the UFC banner, many new challenges and potential fights are available. While the obvious battles wait; such as that to unify the lightweight title, here are some others that would excite the fans and introduce stars of the WEC to the mainstream mixed martial arts fan.

Donald Cerrone versus Cole Miller
Donald Cerrone wasted very little time pointing out whom he would like to face in the UFC as he set his sights on lightweight fighter Cole Miller. Cerrone had just submitted Chris Horodecki with a triangle and was ready to move on. A Cerrone versus Miller matchup would sure to be an action packed battle as both fighters are well versed on both their feet and the mat. Another aspect is that both of these fighters have already begun taking shots at each other via their Twitter pages. Miller offered to “remove one of your arms” while Cerrone simply replied “bring that (stuff) on.” If these two fighters bring as much intensity to the fight as they will the pre-fight hype, fans will not be able to sit down.

As if the World Extreme Cagefighting organization had not provided fight fans with enough excitement during its tenure, WEC 53 was the perfect final act to close down the show. With two title fights, submissions and knockouts, this show was exactly what everyone could have asked for.

Anthony Pettis provided one of the types of sports moments that will hold a spot on highlight reels for years to come. He and Benson Henderson provided fans with an amazing main event for the WEC Lightweight Title. Both fighters went back and forth exchanging blows, takedowns and submissions attempts. Pettis was able to continue pushing the pace and secure more dominant positioning as the fight went one. What shocked fans and MMA experts alike was when Pettis sprang off the cage and landed a right kick squarely to Henderson’s chin. This move dropped the defending champion and allowed Pettis to continue punishing him until the final bell.

Write down the date of October 28, 2010 as the day the World Extreme Cagefighting organization was merged with its big brother, Ultimate Fighting Championship. In a conference call which was deemed a “major announcement” UFC President Dana White announced that the UFC would be expanding to include the bantamweight (135 pounds) and featherweight (145 pounds) weight classes. Along with that, the WEC’s lightweight class (155 pounds) will also be merged with the UFC’s lightweight class. As all announcements, the UFC-WEC merger is going to have its fans and opponents. Either way, this is an interesting direction that Zuffa is taking the combat sports game.

What this means for fans
Fans of the WEC may be worried that they will no longer see great fights for free on Versus. While this may not be 100 percent valid, it is a plausible concern. Expect that big name fighters such as Jose Aldo, Uriah Faber, Benson Henderson and others will no longer perform on free television. Instead, their fights will become part of Pay Per View events which the fans sell out their hard earned money to enjoy. Hopefully, more of these events will feature the high action fights that the WEC has displayed during the past few years. I would gladly enjoy watching a UFC event that could feature Jose Aldo, Georges St. Pierre and Cain Velasquez all on the same card. Also, those free events will be can be used as a new outlet for Zuffa to market new names that enter the UFC and help those fighters gain a strong following.