UFC 135 Fight Card: What Josh Koscheck Must Do to Defeat Matt Hughes

UFC 135 is being hyped up mostly for its main event, a light heavyweight title bout between champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

However, the co-main event is equally important, as it may be the swan song for one of the all-time greats, Matt Hughes.

Hughes was originally set to face Diego Sanchez, but Sanchez was injured and Josh Koscheck stepped up to fight the Illinois native.

What does Koscheck have to do to defeat the former welterweight champion?

Truthfully, Koscheck is a terrible matchup for Hughes since he is better at everything Hughes is good at and also doesn't have the same holes in his game that Hughes has (namely striking).

Koscheck needs to simply relax and not try too hard. He has enough striking to lay Hughes out and enough wrestling to keep the fight standing, or even bring it to the mat if he so chooses.

If Koscheck tries too hard to finish Hughes he may well make mistakes that a veteran like Hughes will be able to capitalize on. Koscheck needs to stay calm and keep the fight a fight, rather than a brawl.

If Koscheck goes too fast too soon then he will likely tire himself out, since he's only had approximately 19 days to prepare for the fight.

Koscheck's victory depends on his ability to stop Hughes from taking him down and his ability to land his most powerful tool: his right hand. If he is able to do these things during the fight, which he almost definitely will, victory will be assured and he will return to the winning column.

Be sure to check out Bleacher Report for all things UFC 135. B/R is your home for MMA, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, and post-fight analysis...which you can check out at our event hub.