The Past and Future 06.02.09: Chris Tuchscherer
Posted by Robert Steele on 06.02.2009
This week a profile of Brock Lesnar’s training partner, a man who will soon to make his UFC debut, Chris Tuchscherer. We look at his past fights, and analyze his possible upcoming UFC 102 fight against Gabriel Gonzaga.
He is a big, blonde former wrestler from the Northern Midwest. From the description it may sound like Brock Lesnar. It's not, but both Chris Tuchscherer and Brock Lesnar know each other very well. They knew each other from wrestling, and have been training together regularly since Lesnar's contract with UFC.
The 17-1 heavyweight is tentatively scheduled to fight Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 102.
The Past:
Chris Tuchscherer, from Fargo, North Dakota, is a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler from North Dakota State and Minnesota State University. He always enjoyed MMA, and the transition from wrestling seemed a natural fit.
In 2004, Tuchscherer made his debut in MMA against -- currently on a run UFC fighter -- Krzysztof Soszynski. At the time Soszynski was 5-0. Tuchscherer was able to get a decision victory to start off his career.
Tuchscherer would go on to win a string of fights from 2004 to 2006, make a small name for himself at heavyweight. Most of these fights were by first round stoppage. Along the way he picked up the Dakota Fighting Championship Heavweight title and the Extreme Challenge Heavyweight title.
In 2007 he fought Matt Eckerle and displayed absolute dominance. Tuchscherer countered for the takedown early. He then dominated on the ground from side control. Eckerle eventually gave up his back and Tuchscherer continued his assault until stoppage.
He would go on to win another before fighting Travis Fulton at Max Fights 2, in a gruelling contest. In the first round, Tuchscherer pinned Fulton to the cage to wear him down. Fulton stopped a takedown and attempted a guilotine. Tuchscherer managed to escape and still get a takedown, then dominate from within Fulton's guard. Early in the second round Tuchscherer scored another takedown. He worked within Fulton's guard with some more striking. The final round was much of the same, working within Fulton's guard to earn a decisive victory.
Following his win he went on to compete in a heavyweight tournament for YAMMA Pit Fighting. His opening fight was against Tony Sylvester. Tuscher got stuffed for his first takedown attempt, but then eventually secured it. Sylvester got back to his feet. Tuchscherer landed another knee then got another takedown and worked ground and pound, doing enough to advance to the next round.
His semi-final fight was against Alexey Oleinik. Tuscherer pulled down Oleinik into his guard after a takedown attempt, but eventually he managed to find top position, get in some scoring strikes and win via the judges and advance to the finals.
The final round of the tournament pitted Tuchscherer against an experienced Travis Wiuff. In the opening round Wiuff tossed Tuchscherer from the clinch onto to the ground and worked from side control. Near the end of the round both fighters were stood back up, Wiuff toppled Tuchscherer to the ground and came at him with some punches. In the second round there was plenty of lay and pray by Wiuff until they were stood back up again. Tuchscherer did not give up. In the final round he came out swinging, but Wiuff countered, managing to get it to the ground and control with some more lay and pray, doing enough to win the fight over Tuchscherer via the judge's cards.
In his most recent fight to date, last April, Tuchscherer fought Jamie Klair. Brock Lesnar was in his corner as Tuchscherer drove Klair to the ground and finished the fight with some ground and pound at 2:19 into the first round.
The Future:
Tuchscherer planned on running through the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, but most likely due to his already impressive 17-1 record, there would really not be much point. And with Lesnar as his training partner, he already has enough material that can be used to promote him as a fighter.
After Lesnar signed with the UFC, he called on Tuchscherer to train with him full-time. Tuchscherer quit his job and began full-time with MMA, training with Lesnar on a regular basis.
The similarities in styles is apparent. While both have the strong wrestling background to take a fight to the ground when needed, they are not content to act defensive from on top in order to earn a decision. Both are active fighters from the top position, using plenty of striking to wear down any opponent.
There are few heavyweights that match Lesnar's combination of size and athleticism. While Tuchscherer may not have quite as athletic of a look as Lesnar, he moves quick and seems comfortable going later into fights.
Gonzaga -- who is coming off his loss to Shane Carwin -- is quite a test for Tuchscherer in his debut. Before running into Carwin's fist, Gonzaga did show brief signs that he can handle a wrestler with some control on the ground. This, however, was brief and is by no means an accurate guage for how he will do against Tuchscherer on the ground. Tuchscherer will likely look to avoid anything connecting during stand-up and take the fight to the ground quickly, scoring strikes while avoiding being caught by a submission.
