Erik Koch Continues To Fight Despite String Of Bad Luck

Source: ESPN

Erik Koch was supposed to already have faced UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. The two were set to meet earlier this year, but Aldo pulled out with a minor injury.

The UFC rescheduled the contest for this October, but Koch has since gone down with an injury and will not be able to make it. Instead, Frankie Edgar will face Aldo for the title at UFC 153: Aldo vs. Edgar in Brazil.

For Koch, it is just a string of continued missed opportunities that have hit him hard. He suffered a partially torn MCL, a similar injury to the one that took Dan Henderson out of a meeting with Jon Jones.

"It's frustrating because I'd done so much PR for this guy, I trained my butt off for this guy, and to get right there and then to have it all change that fast; it's a lot to deal with," said Koch, in a recent interview with ESPN. "But I'm just trying to keep my head up; I'm happy I don't need surgery. I know my body and I knew that whatever (the injury) was, it wasn't good."

Koch (13-1) is on a four-fight win streak, but hasn't competed since last September. Still, he's determined to compete for the title as soon as he is able to.

"I want the (Aldo-Edgar) winner," Koch said. "That's up to the UFC. The biggest thing is I just want to fight."

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