Beating Brandon Rios

[:::PSL:::]

He's a come-forward pure slugger. A good counter punch, the one that he could not see would sting him.

[J_Undisputed]

Rios is an easy puzzle to solve for the right fighter. Rios is one dimesional, single gear (forward) fighter. Someone like Lucas Matthyse could beat Rios. All those who said JMM are right and he would have even an easier time beating Rios. Most guys either try to outbrawl Rios or outbox him off the back foot. A versatile fighter that can change gears will confuse Rios. Matthyse isn't the epitomy of a defensive specialist, but he does seem to realize its not always best to stand there and take the first shot for the sake of throwing one. If he upped his work rate, he could do it.
So for someone like JMM, it's as easy as not just counter punching, but using your feints and and angles to set Rios up. Jab, slip, counter, feint, Defend counter and step... Reset. Its how a guy like JMM puts together such nasty combinations and gets away with it. Rios can't adapt to a fighter that's constantly changing gears. If you brawl it means he doesn't have to chase you. If you run it means he can walk you down and fight at his convenience, engaging when he's ready. Change it up and he's lost, he'll get more aggressive and careless.