UFC 107 Preview: The Main Card
Buentello vs. Struve
Dec 11, 2009
The end-of-the-year mixed martial arts binge continues with
UFC 107 “Penn vs. Sanchez,” which airs live on pay-per-view
this Saturday from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., and gives the
natives a much-needed respite from the putrid NBA franchise that
calls The Bluff City home.
The main card features Diego Sanchez and his super mean game face challenging reigning lightweight champion B.J. Penn, who has somehow won more fans by jumping out of a pool than by beating people up inside the cage. Go figure.
There are more reasons to plunk down the dough for the PPV,
however, as the main card also showcases MMA’s Samson, a guy who
utilizes Guerilla jiu-jitsu and, of course, various other angry
dudes hitting one another hard. Settle in for some grown man-worthy
fight talk, and make sure to keep the hate mail coming.
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Stefan
Struve
The Breakdown: The old
striker-versus-grappler archetype gets dusted off for this
heavyweight dustup, as Buentello looks to make a worthwhile return
to the UFC against Holland’s jiu-jitsu Gumby. Make no mistake --
this fight revolves around whether or not Struve, a replacement for
Todd
Duffee, can drag Buentello to the mat before he gets removed
from consciousness.
The task will not be as difficult as Buentello would like, since he does not use his jab particularly well and has never shown proper takedown defense; not a good combination when one’s paycheck depends on staying upright. While Struve may be no Karl Gotch, he has proven more than happy to pull guard or simply latch on and start going for his submissions, regardless of whether or not his opponent wants to go down.
The X-Factor: Struve’s chin hardly seems ideal in a division where 265-pound super mutants are quickly becoming the norm. Buentello still has lots of snap in his punches and only needs Struve to oblige him ever so slightly to turn his brains into a zombie milkshake.
* * *
The Bottom Line: Hope Struve wins via submission. Who can bear the awkwardness of watching Buentello try and get the crowd to echo his catchphrase during the post-fight interview again? Let us all hope we are fortunate enough to be spared the embarrassment.
The main card features Diego Sanchez and his super mean game face challenging reigning lightweight champion B.J. Penn, who has somehow won more fans by jumping out of a pool than by beating people up inside the cage. Go figure.
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Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Photo by Sherdog.com
The task will not be as difficult as Buentello would like, since he does not use his jab particularly well and has never shown proper takedown defense; not a good combination when one’s paycheck depends on staying upright. While Struve may be no Karl Gotch, he has proven more than happy to pull guard or simply latch on and start going for his submissions, regardless of whether or not his opponent wants to go down.
The X-Factor: Struve’s chin hardly seems ideal in a division where 265-pound super mutants are quickly becoming the norm. Buentello still has lots of snap in his punches and only needs Struve to oblige him ever so slightly to turn his brains into a zombie milkshake.
The Bottom Line: Hope Struve wins via submission. Who can bear the awkwardness of watching Buentello try and get the crowd to echo his catchphrase during the post-fight interview again? Let us all hope we are fortunate enough to be spared the embarrassment.
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