I'll try to keep this much shorter than what I usually tend to do.

It's all about preparation period.

It's less about the fight plan that you take into a fight than it is on how well prepared you are as a fighter. As long as you trust in your own abilities and in your training then you really don't have to worry about how good your opponent is or what ever else there is.

With a plan anything can go wrong, and many a fighter has failed because they depended on a preset fight plan that fell apart. I recall in the Marquez/Barrera fight where Barrera had a nice plan revolving on blocking and countering, when Marquez realized this he adapted and put an end to that. Barrera didn't have have anything else to fall back on and Marquez would go on to win the fight.

Now if you can gather some useful things from their fights go right ahead. See if they have anything that tips off their intentions, any flaws that leads to an opening, what are they trying to accomplish with their jab, how they defend, how they set up their punches, favorite parries/angles, etc... One can easily get carried away with making a big study out of it. Nothing is set in stone, an opponent can just as easily change, and fight a completely different kind of fight than was before.

You'll find all you need to know when you're actually fighting them and feeling them out. It comes down to your preparation. If you didn't have it before it's inconcievable that you'll have it during the fight.

Anyways good posts everone, I was just curious on what your thoughts were.