Just How Good Is Rick Story?
The welterweight division in the UFC is in desperate need for a legitimate title contender to give GSP a title fight that the fans as well as the champ himself deserve. The stalwart Canadian champ has annihilated all competition that has been thrust in front of him, en route to an impressive nine fight win streak. Perhaps even more impressive is the quality of the competition he has destroyed: the likes of Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, and Jake Shields. Quite frankly, it is time for a new challenger to step up to the plate.
Enter Rick “Horror” Story. The native of Tacoma, Washington has made a name for himself in the welterweight division since his 2009 UFC debut. Though he lost his debut fight by decision to John Hathaway, he has not lost a fight since that time. Right now, Story is red hot as he is riding a six fight win streak. The streak began with his first UFC victory over Brian Foster at UFC 103.
In that fight, Story appeared uncomfortable in the opening minutes trying to exchange strikes with Foster. The tempo of the match, however, shifted to his favor as he employed takedowns to ground Foster and proceeded to rain elbow strikes down on him. Story won the fight in extraordinary fashion with an arm triangle choke. The choke itself was not the extraordinary part. He was able to effectively choke out Foster while trapped in Foster’s guard! This not-so-common posture resulted in Story being awarded the Submission of the Night.
Story’s strong grappling skills were a testament to his collegiate wrestling stint at Southern Oregon University. There, he was ranked at number 2 in the nation in his weight class. It is no secret that many fighters with an amateur wrestling background have been successful in MMA. Case in point: Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velazquez, and the list continues. However, Story must strengthen his striking skills in order to oppose GSP. A fighter’s worst enemy can be how predictable he allows himself to be.
Fast forward to UFC 130, which took place on Memorial weekend 2011. The “Horror” was set to face former number one contender Thiago Alves. The two fighters appeared to be evenly matched, based on the tale of the tape. Surprisingly, Story was able to go head to head with Alves in a strikefest. In fact, Alves never had Story in a compromising position throughout the entire fight. Once again, Story utilized his wrestling skills, pinning Alves against the cage for much of the fight, while continually trying to secure a takedown. Story would win the fight by unanimous decision.
The victory over an established striker like Thiago Alves helped solidify Story as a legitimate threat for the welterweight championship. He obviously has been fine tuning his striking since his fight with Brian Foster. Just as with any fighter with a wrestling background, Story relies heavily on takedown attempts to take control of his fights. This one dimensional approach could be detrimental to him in facing the well rounded GSP. Story must be careful to not let this “predictability factor” ruin his chances of realizing his dream of making it to the top of the mountain.
> Look to Pro Fighting Fans for great coverage of Mixed Martial Arts as well as MMA shirts & merchandise online!
Perhaps the “Horror” is not quite ready for a title shot just yet. With a 13-3 MMA record, more than half of his wins have come by way of decision. On the other side of the coin, he has yet to be knocked out or forced to submit. What he has going for him is the fact that he is strong, aggressive, and he is young (26). He wants to get to the top. He may have to face a few more opponents before getting his shot at the title. GSP has been confirmed to face Nick Diaz at UFC 137.
Perhaps with a few more wins under his belt, Rick Story can eliminate all doubts from the minds of the critics that don’t see him as a worthy title contender. He must not ignore the pesky “predictability factor” that has been detrimental to the careers of many mixed martial artists. His six fight win streak shows that he is in a position to realize his dream. If he intends on being the welterweight champion, the “Horror” must continue to perfect his fight game.
It would be horrible if he doesn’t.
By John DeAvila Jr.
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer