Erik Koch
Introduction '''Erik Jon Koch''' (born October 4, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he formerly competed for the WEC.
Background Koch was enrolled in Tae Kwon Do classes at the age of four, and reached his black belt by the age of ten, piquing his interest in MMA. With help from his older brother, Keoni, who helps run an MMA gym in Iowa with Dave Sherzer (Hard Drive MMA), Erik started MMA-style striking and grappling before the age of 14.Koch would later drop out of Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) to pursue a professional career in mixed martial arts.
Mixed martial arts career ===Early career===After compiling a 2–0 amateur record, Koch made his professional MMA debut in 2007.Fighting primarily in Iowa, he amassed an undefeated streak of 8–0 before being signed to World Extreme Cagefighting.===World Extreme Cagefighting===Koch was scheduled to fight Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 43 on September 2, 2009, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury while training. Koch was replaced by WEC newcomer Mackens Semerzier. Now Koch made his WEC debut against Jameel Massouh on December 19 for WEC 45.Koch defeated Massouh via unanimous decision.Koch was defeated by WEC newcomer Chad Mendes via unanimous decision on March 6, 2010, at WEC 47.Koch rebounded from his first professional loss as he faced Bendy Casimir on June 20, 2010, at WEC 49.Koch won via first-round triangle choke submission.Koch was expected to face Josh Grispi on November 11, 2010, at WEC 52.However, due to the UFC/WEC merger, the fight was scratched as Grispi was awarded a title fight with current WEC Featherweight Champion José Aldo to determine the inaugural UFC Featherweight Champion. Koch defeated promotional newcomer Francisco Rivera via first-round TKO, earning ''Knockout of the Night'' honors.===Ultimate Fighting Championship=======2011====On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.Koch was expected to face Cub Swanson on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. However Swanson was forced out of the bout with an injury.Koch faced Raphael Assunção at UFC 128, replacing the injured Manvel Gamburyan. He won the fight via first round knockout, earning ''Knockout of the Night'' honors.Koch was expected to face Cub Swanson on July 2, 2011, at UFC 132.However, Swanson was forced out of the bout with another injury.Koch faced The Ultimate Fighter 12 winner Jonathan Brookins on September 17, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 25.He won the fight via unanimous decision.====2012====Koch was expected to face Dustin Poirier on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143.However, Koch pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Ricardo Lamas, who was then replaced by Max Holloway due to injury as well.Koch was expected to face José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship on July 21, 2012, at UFC 149.However, Aldo was forced out of the bout citing an injury and the bout was postponed.Koch was expected to face José Aldo on October 13, 2012, at UFC 153 for the UFC Featherweight Championship. However, Koch was forced out of the bout with another injury and replaced by Frankie Edgar.====2013====Koch faced Ricardo Lamas on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox 6.He lost via TKO in the second round.Koch faced Dustin Poirier on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164.He lost the fight via unanimous decision.====2014====After two consecutive losses, Koch returned to lightweight and faced Rafaello Oliveira on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170.He won the fight by TKO in the first round.Koch faced Daron Cruickshank on May 10, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 40.He lost the fight via TKO due to a head kick and punches in the first round.====2015====Koch was expected to face Ramsey Nijem on July 25, 2015, at UFC on Fox 16.However, Koch was forced from the bout with injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Andrew Holbrook.====2016====Koch was expected to face Drew Dober on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195.However, Koch pulled out of the bout in early December citing another injury and was replaced by Scott Holtzman.Koch was expected to face Joe Proctor on May 29, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 88.However, Proctor pulled out of the fight on April 21 citing injury and was replaced by Shane Campbell. Koch won the fight via submission in the second round.A rescheduled bout with Drew Dober was expected to take place on September 10, 2016, at UFC 203.However on August 11, Koch pulled out again due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jason Gonzalez.====2017====Koch was expected to face Tony Martin on January 15, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 103.However, Koch pulled out of the fight on December 12 with yet another injury and was replaced by Alex White.Koch faced Clay Guida on June 25, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 112.He lost the fight by unanimous decision.====2018====Koch faced Bobby Green on January 27, 2018, at UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2.He lost the fight via unanimous decision.Koch was scheduled to face promotional newcomer Dwight Grant in a welterweight bout on December 15, 2018, at UFC on Fox 31.However, Koch was removed from the card on November 28 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Zak Ottow.====2019====Koch faced Kyle Stewart on July 27, 2019, at UFC 240 in a welterweight bout. He won the fight via unanimous decision.====2020====On December 23, 2020, it was reported that Koch was released by the UFC.Koch was suspended by USADA for 18 months for testing positive for 3'-hydroxy-stanozolol, a metabolite of stanozolol, as the result of a urine sample collected on October 3, 2020.He became eligible to return on April 3, 2022.
Championships and accomplishments *'''World Extreme Cagefighting'''**Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Francisco Rivera *'''Ultimate Fighting Championship'''**Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Raphael Assunção *'''Mainstream MMA'''**Mainstream MMA Lightweight Championship (2008)*'''Midwest Cage Championship'''**MCC 20 Featherweight Tournament Winner (2009)
Mixed martial arts record Win16–6Kyle StewartDecision (unanimous)UFC 240 35:00Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaLoss15–6Bobby GreenDecision (unanimous)UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 35:00Charlotte, North Carolina, United StatesLoss15–5Clay GuidaDecision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee35:00Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United StatesWin15–4Shane CampbellSubmission (rear-naked choke)UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt23:02Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss 14–4Daron Cruickshank TKO (head kick and punches) UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva  1 3:21 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States  Win14–3 Rafaello Oliveira TKO (punches) UFC 170  1 1:24Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss 13–3 Dustin Poirier Decision (unanimous) UFC 164  3 5:00Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Loss 13–2 Ricardo Lamas TKO (elbows) UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson  2 2:32Chicago, Illinois, United States Win 13–1 Jonathan Brookins Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger  3 5:00New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Win 12–1 Raphael Assunção KO (punch) UFC 128  1 2:32Newark, New Jersey, United States  Win 11–1 Francisco Rivera TKO (head kick and punches) WEC 52  1 1:36Las Vegas, Nevada, United States  Win 10–1 Bendy Casimir Submission (triangle choke) WEC 49  1 3:01Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  Loss 9–1 Chad Mendes Decision (unanimous) WEC 47  3 5:00Columbus, Ohio, United States  Win 9–0 Jameel Massouh Decision (unanimous) WEC 45  3 5:00Las Vegas, Nevada, United States  Win 8–0 Tom Ahrens Submission (rear-naked choke) Midwest Cage Championships 20  2 3:13West Des Moines, Iowa, United States Win 7–0 Will Shutt Submission (rear-naked choke) Midwest Cage Championships 20  2 3:33West Des Moines, Iowa, United States Win 6–0 Joe Pearson Submission (triangle choke) Mainstream MMA 9: New Era  1 3:00Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States Win 5–0 Eric Wisely Decision (unanimous) Mainstream MMA 7: Vengeance  3 5:00Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States  Win 4–0 TJ O'Brien Submission (armbar) Mainstream MMA 6: Evolution  1 0:42Dubuque, Iowa, United States  Win 3–0 Tyler Combs TKO (punches) Xtreme Fighting Organization 17  1 2:37Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States  Win 2–0 Micah Washington Submission (armbar) Mainstream MMA 5: Heavy Duty  1 N/ACedar Rapids, Iowa, United States  Win 1–0 Prentiss Wolf Submission (rear-naked choke) Mainstream MMA 4: Epic  1 2:30Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
See also * List of male mixed martial artists
References
External links * Official UFC Profile*