RFA 13's Dakota Cochrane thinks fast start should stifle Efrain Escudero

When Dakota Cochrane watched a 2012 Resurrection Fighting Alliance headliner between Tyson Griffin and Efrain Escudero, he did so thinking he would be fighting Griffin at a later date.

“So I was really watching Tyson,” Cochrane told MMAjunkie Radio.

The bout didn’t materialize, however, and now he’s booked for his second main-event in the promotion opposite Escudero (21-7) in a bout that could revitalize his career.

Cochrane (15-5) is 1-2 in his past three outings on the regional circuit after wins over UFC vets Joe Stevenson and Jamie Varner. He returns to the RFA cage to turn things around at RFA 13, which takes place Friday at Pershing Center in Lincoln, Neb., and airs live on AXS TV.

While Escudero has won his past three bouts, he has done the opposite of Cochrane in his later career, falling short to top-tier names while beating lesser competition.

“I think if you get someone who has a little more power, it can slow [Escudero] down to where he doesn’t pull the trigger, because you get someone a little more dangerous,” Cochrane said.

Cochrane, though, didn’t downplay Escudero’s skills and said he’s in for a tough fight.

“He’s going to be very tough,” Cochrane said. “I respect him a lot. He’s going to be very technical; I saw him fight Tyson Griffin, so I watched that fight very closely. He’s going to not make any mistakes. So that’s what I’m preparing for.”

Cochrane admitted his problem in the cage is that he makes mistakes early, when he’s not fully settled into a gameplan. But he said he’s not unique in that aspect of the game.

“Everyone’s fresh, you’re not the most comfortable, and after the second and third round, you can loosen up and relax and let your gameplan flow,” he said. “But in that first round, there’s a lot of adrenaline going, and people can make mistakes.”

When asked whether Escudero might have trouble pulling the trigger against opponents of higher stature, Cochrane cited his own amateur career and the change he felt when he started fighting for money.

“I think your head gets in it,” he said. “You wonder what they can do or what they’re able to do, and that makes you a little more hesitant. I think about that with my amateur career; I really just didn’t care what the other person was doing. I went in there and started and had really good success.

“But when I went pro, I thought these guys have a lot more experience, and you become a little more cautious, because you’re aware of what can happen. That can be a good thing, but it can also be bad.”

When the punches start flying this weekend, Cochrane said the guy that can get out of his head and act first in exchanges will find success.

“I think that’s big on any fight, because you want to force your gameplan and not let the other person get their gameplan going,” he said. “If you can enforce your gameplan, you’re most likely going to win.”

For the latest on RFA 13, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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