Koch’s Smorgasbord

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The relationship between Roufus and Koch resulted in immediate benefits.

“I wanted him to manage me; he wanted to manage me,” says Koch. “So it was like bada-bing, bada-boom. I had to cancel [the Mickle fight], because the next day I had a five-fight contract with the WEC.”

Eager to test himself, Koch quickly agreed to a tough bout with highly regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu whiz Wagnney Fabiano. In what Koch calls a purely hectic time in his life, the Fabiano fight fell through, and he was instead given Mackens Semerzier and then 27-fight veteran Jameel Massouh as a debut opponent. When he finally made it into the cage on Dec. 19, 2009, Koch took a unanimous decision over Massouh in the curtain-jerker of WEC 45.

Although he was defeated for the first time in his next bout against unbeaten wrestler Chad Mendes, Koch finished his WEC career with back-to-back wins, including a “Knockout of the Night” performance against Francisco Rivera in his final fight for the promotion. The thumping of Rivera was featured on the televised main card of WEC 52, yet Koch remains a little-known commodity to all but the most devoted fans of the sport. Nonetheless, Roufus strongly believes his fighter is more than prepared to contend for a title.

“If they need a guy to fight Jose Aldo anytime soon, give us a call. Erik’s the man for the job,” Roufus says. “Erik is kind of where Anthony was at just before he beat Shane Roller last year -- kind of a sleeper. All he needs is one or two of those performances and everyone’s gonna know how to say his name right.”

Dark horse status is not the only thing Koch shares with title-holding campmate Pettis. The pair, who met just before Pettis’ June 2009 WEC debut, have become fast friends and recently moved into what Roufus describes as “a compound that Anthony bought ... basically a college wrestling fraternity. The house is just set up for being fighters.”

That the living space also serves as a crash pad for numerous training partners and out-of-towners speaks to the youthful Roufusport contingent’s reputation as a close-knit and amiable crew. The gym frequently welcomes visitors from around the country for training; its fighters talk of one another not like sparring partners, but as blood relations.

“I know some coaches who coach guys and some fighters who train together, but these guys actually love each other. I love the guys. There’s a lot of good stuff going on here,” says Roufus.

Though they share similar fighting characteristics and were both reared on tae kwon do, Koch describes a fierce desire for competition and constant improvement as the common trait between Pettis and himself.

“You got people like me and Anthony, and the reason we progress is ’cause we’re in the gym,” Koch says. “After we win a big fight, we’re in the gym the next week. I think that’s definitely where we stand out. We’re young, and we’re willing to put in the work to try new things.

“I think one mistake fighters always make is that they take too much time off after fights,” asserts Koch. “People kind of hit that peak and they taper off training after a fight. They go celebrate all the time, and then they come back when they hear they got a fight. That’s why people don’t progress.”

Asked where Koch has progressed most since joining Roufusport, both fighter and coach cite inward change over any specific in-cage tactics.

“It’s a maturity thing. It’s just him living the life. Pat was a catalyst for the whole team,” says Roufus, referring to Barry’s October 2009 brawl with Antoni Hardonk, for which the heavyweight netted both “Knockout of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses. “Money is the motivator. When someone sees Pat, all of us kinda knew his whole story, how he was broke, desolate. Then, the guy brings home a check for $134,000; it kinda lights a fire under the asses of the rest of the guys.

“Life’s been good to the fighters here, and it’s contagious,” he adds. “Not in a way that it’s only about the money, but the glory, the success -- the things that motivate you as an athlete. Luckily, dollars and cents are the byproducts of success in these sports.”

While the paychecks on the big stage are promising -- $134,000 goes a long way at McDonald’s -- Koch hardly needs any additional motivation for his upcoming fight. Setting foot inside the Octagon at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., will be the fulfillment of a childhood dream, one which Koch never even thought possible before the UFC absorbed the WEC featherweight division in late 2010.

“It was crazy when I was on UFC.com the other day and I looked up my profile, and I’m on there,” says Koch. “Man, I remember two years ago, I’d get so excited for a UFC event and I’d go through their fight card. They got the website up with the guys shadowboxing. They got the UFC gloves on. When I saw my picture with the UFC gloves on, I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’ This is what I’ve been working at for all these years, since I was a little kid. I’m gonna be fighting on a UFC card.”