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3 fights in 13 months on Fuel for Struve...

Hmm...might be in the cards for me to actually make it to this one. Hopefully there's a decent main event.

He wins this, he's got to be talked about as a top contender.

So funny, because after Browne, Nelson, and JDS KO'd him, I was not only thinking he'd never be in the top 10,
I was concerned he might garner pugilist dementia by age 30.

Good for him. He's a tough guy, and worked through some dark spots in his fight career.

Struve's not as good as his recent run. His well-roundedness is keeping him alive against some fairly one-dimensional guys (Miocic might be the exception, but we saw in earlier fights that he gasses hard and he's green). He still doesn't know how to jab (though CBR says his working of angles is much improved, I don't box/MT so I'll take his word for it) and lets guys get in on him. His striking D looks improved and he has excellent recovery, but I have a hard time favouring him because he's prone to the knockout as soon as someone gets in on him (and he doesn't fight at range, at least IMO). He doesn't beat any of those three guys who KO'd him and they'd all probably KO him again in the same fashion. Nelson folding him up like a chair is one of my fave knockouts ever.

Hunt's another one-dimensional guy... can't put Struve in the contender sphere yet with a victory. This is a solid fight, one I've been waiting for. It's either going to be a savage KO for Hunt or Struve will drag him down for the sub. I see no other possible ending.

I think Struve dragging Hunt down and subbing him is the far more likely scenario, but you can't discount the puncher's chance at HW, especially when you're talking about Struve being on the receiving end.

As for where he would stand with a win, well, he's arguably top 10 as it is (which speaks more to the pile of **** that HW is rather than Struve's quality), so he would probably be looking at a title eliminator type fight with a win. It's never going to be that hard to promote a 6'11 guy if he gets a win streak together.

Another note on Struve and the HW division. FightMatrix now puts the fighter's age in parentheses beside their name (at least it's the first time I've noticed it). Struve (24) is one of two guys in the top 15 under the age of 30. The other is JDS. He's the only one under 25, and you have to go down to #23 before finding another. Conversely, there are 6 guys in the top 15 over 35 years old. If he can do a better job avoiding damage, he really could be at or near the top of the division when the current group starts falling off.

this event just got whole a lot more interesting.

wanderlei silva vs brian stann at 205
struve vs mark hunt
diego sanchez vs gomi (not really excited about this one)

siyar bahadurzada vs dong hyun kim
marcelo guimaraes vs h.g. lim (the korean dude with 79 reach. failed weight cut last time)
leeroy caceres vs k.h. kang (road fc champ)

and i read that korean zombie wants in if he is recovered by then. i dont know who he would fight since the ufc just announced cub swanson vs dennis siver for february fuel card.

KZ can fight Koch or Mendes, if there's enough time for a turnaround.

Why are Wandy and Stann fighting at 205? Both have been at MW.

And hell, why is Wandy fighting Stann at all?

What a waste of Stann's time and Wanderlei's mid-life cognition.

cowboyronnie wrote:What a waste of Stann's time and Wanderlei's mid-life cognition.

Stann asked for Wandy, said he's his hero and whatnot, and Wandy obliged.

Shades of Leben/Wandy, I think. This fight will be nastier, but with the same result.

Or even shades of Leben/Stann... Stann is a powerful puncher who throws straight up the pipe.

And Wandy only moves forward... Yikes.

SDM wrote:KZ can fight Koch or Mendes, if there's enough time for a turnaround.

i would love to see mendes vs kz. if that were to happen, mendes better take out that unknown newb quickly tomorrow night.
however, i think the ufc is trying to throw kz to the winner of aldo/edgar.
cub swanson's been asking for kz (a lot of people were excited) but the ufc gives him siver.

regarding stann vs wand,
stann wanted 185 but wand did not want to cut weight, so 205 it is.
this may be wand's retirement fight.
still rooting for stann.

cowboyronnie wrote:What a waste of Stann's time and Wanderlei's mid-life cognition.

lol thats fantastically said

Hoping the Gomi is really good.

holy crap, this card is stacked.
no superstars but it's full of very solid names and prospects with much hype.

* Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann
* Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve
* Hector Lombard vs. Yushin Okami
* Takanori Gomi vs. Diego Sanchez
* Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Dong Hyun Kim
* Mizuto Hirota vs. Rani Yahya
* Riki Fukuda vs. Brad Tavares
* Bryan Caraway vs. Takeya Mizugaki
* Cristiano Marcello vs. Kazuki Tokudome
* Alex Caceres vs. Kyung Ho Kang
* Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Hyun Gyu Lim

WHHHHY CHRISTIANO MARCELLO WHYYYYYY

tjumper78 wrote:holy crap, this card is stacked.
no superstars but it's full of very solid names and prospects with much hype.

* Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann
* Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve
* Hector Lombard vs. Yushin Okami
* Takanori Gomi vs. Diego Sanchez
* Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Dong Hyun Kim
* Mizuto Hirota vs. Rani Yahya
* Riki Fukuda vs. Brad Tavares
* Bryan Caraway vs. Takeya Mizugaki
* Cristiano Marcello vs. Kazuki Tokudome
* Alex Caceres vs. Kyung Ho Kang
* Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Hyun Gyu Lim

For a free show this is amazing.. but as with all ufc events, let wait to see who actually makes it to the card.