FanPost

AXS TV Fights: RFA 12: Ortega vs. Koch Co-Main and Main Event Preview

Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

AXS TV has another event this Friday involving the "unofficial" regional feeder to the UFC: the Resurrection Fighting Alliance. There are currently 10 fights scheduled for the card along with 2 RFA title fights in main and co-main events.

When and Where:
See it on TV: AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET following Inside MMA.
See it in Person: Shrine Auditorium (665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007)
Event Starts at 5 p.m. local time, 8 p.m. ET for the preliminary bouts

To see a breakdown of the rest of the main card and the under card click HERE.

Co-Main and Main Event breakdowns and predictions.

Co-Main Event:

Co-Main Event: RFA Bantamweight Championship Bout
Pedro Munhoz V Billy Daniels
WIN RATE HEIGHT 5'6" ODDS
WIN RATE HEIGHT 5'9" ODDS
100% REACH 65" N/A
100% REACH N/A N/A
FINISH RATE AGE 27 RH
FINISH RATE AGE 21 RH
67% WIN LOSS DRAW
57% WIN LOSS DRAW
RECORD 9 0 0
RECORD 7 0 0
LAST FIVE 5 0 0
LAST FIVE 5 0 0
(T)KO'S 1 0 /
(T)KO'S 0 0 /
SUBS 5 0 /
SUBS 5 0 /
DECISION 3 0 0
DECISION 2 0 0
OTHER 0 0 0
OTHER 0 0 0
GYM Black House/Kings MMA
GYM Iron Clad Gym

Wolfman's Take:

Two undefeated fighters with 16 pro bouts between them. When you're this young in your career it's easy to get muddled by this or that. Both fighters have 5 submissions, Munhoz has a single TKO finish while Daniels has none.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Munhoz is looking ahead to a career in the UFC and he might get the call if he gets the win here. His last three bouts have been in the RFA and he won the RFA title in his last outing against recent retiree Jeff Curran in "Big Frog's" final bout. His final three opponents have had a combined record of 63-21-1 for a 74% win rate with Curran having the most losses at 15. HERE is a link to his RFA debut in December 2012.

Meanwhile this is Billy Daniels RFA debut after fighting for the Rocky Mountain Fighting Championship five times, including winning and defending their featherweight title. Unfortunately his level of competition hasn't been as strong as Munhoz, with a record of just 20-27 for all seven of his opponents for a 57% win rate. To be fair his last two opponents were 3-0 and 5-0 respectively going into those bouts. HERE is a very interesting interview Daniels did a few days ago. According to the interview Daniels nearly made it onto TUF 18 but was turned away when they found out he was only 20 at the time. Finding footage on him is a little difficult however.

The winner of this bout could get the call to the UFC, especially if it's exciting.

Munhoz is a bit more proven and Daniels is very young. I think it'll be competitive, but Daniels needs more seasoning. Munhoz by submission, round 3.

Main Event:

Main Event: RFA Featherweight Championship Bout
Brian Ortega V Keoni Koch
WIN RATE HEIGHT 5'9" ODDS
WIN RATE HEIGHT 5'8" ODDS
100% REACH 75" N/A
100% REACH N/A N/A
FINISH RATE AGE 22 RH
FINISH RATE AGE 33 RH
57% WIN LOSS DRAW
80% WIN LOSS DRAW
RECORD 7 0 0
RECORD 5 0 0
LAST FIVE 5 0 0
LAST FIVE 5 0 0
(T)KO'S 0 0 /
(T)KO'S 0 0 /
SUBS 4 0 /
SUBS 4 0 /
DECISION 3 0 0
DECISION 1 0 0
OTHER 0 0 0
OTHER 0 0 0
GYM Black House
GYM Hard Drive MMA

Wolfman's Take:

The main event looks interesting on paper with two more undefeated prospects fighting for the vacant RFA featherweight title, however they only have 12 fights between them. The good news is that they have both fought similar levels of competition... hovering about 50% win rate for their opponents.

That being said, Ortega has been far more active than Koch as he fought three times in 2010, two times in 2011, took 2012 off and fought twice in 2013. Whereas Koch debuted in 2007 and fought three times but then took 3 years off, not fighting again until 2010, and then returned to action in April this year. According to THIS INTERVIEW the reason Koch hasn't fought very often is because he was busy coaching. Koch also says that he is ready to take the UFC by storm and join his brother. And at 33 he's running out of time. It was difficult to find video on him but HERE is a highlight from Iowa Challenge 83, where he last fought in April.

Ortega is a BJJ black belt and has finished 4 of his wins by submission, 3 by triangle choke, hence his nickname, "T-City". You can check out his bout (white shorts) from last May in Respect in the Cage promotion where he fought 4 times.

I think the old man gets the upset here. From what striking I've been able to find between them Koch looks better. Koch is a good grappler in his own right but will look to avoid the submissions of the younger fighter. Koch by decision.

Here's a Preview Video for the Event:

AXS TV Fights: RFA 12 (via AXS TV Fights)

FanPosts are user-generated content that do not reflect the editorial opinions of MMAmania.com nor its staff.

In This FanPost

Fighters