The Skyscraper

I had the pleasure of seeing Stefan Struve in action live at UFC 104. He pulled out the victory at 104 against a very game competitor, and with a very short turn around here he was again fighting a game competitor and serious veteran in Paul Buentello.

As his skills continue to improve and as he grows into his body we better all be on the lookout for this guy. He's already shown a serious ground game, and against Paul Buentello he took heavy shots and dished quite a few of his own.

I'm wondering what you all think of Stefan Struve. He came in highly touted, slipped up a bit against JDS, but has really turned himself around in his last two. So, what do you think? Are we looking at a potential future contender?

Buentello fought a great fight i belive struve won 1 and 3/4 round maybe 1 3/5 but a great fight. that kids gonna be great buentello needs to fight roy nelson thats where its at and Zuffa needs to take that Pride stock and make a league for these guys like buentello coleman chuck Wanderlei and others who may not be able to hang with the younger guys.

I'm looking forward to watching this kid. He poses a HUGE threat to the HW division. Fighting a 6'11" kickboxer with good sub offense is like fighting a pitbull that can jump 20 feet in the air and spit venom.

yes i do think struve is pretty good an has some serious potential.but right now im not really sold.

his standup needs some work.paul hit him with some big shots that his reach if correctly used would have nulled.

bottom line.i wanna see how he fairs with another top HW

Plus you guys have got to love the way he reacted to those heavy shots from Paul. Smiling and wading right back in for some more. I was seriously impressed by his chin

Good young talent, has a better chin then he gets credit for IMO and has youth on his side, and very aggressive on the ground, he usually working wrist control, sweeps, sub attempts.

However, he desperately needs to work on his striking offense/defense fundamentals. Having your hands on the ground while throwing a leg kick (especially if they are telegraphed) is an invitation to eat a nasty counter shot. I like his offensive jiu jitsu aggression, but he leaves little in the way of defense especially to ground and pound (Stojnic fight for one). Lastly, he needs to be able to use his 83 inch reach if you can just duck your head down and throw wild bombs and catch Struve with consistency it should be a tip for him to work on his defense/footwork/etc.

Having said all that, he is an exciting prospect and I am always ready to watch a Struve fight.

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Posted by DosBox

Good young talent, has a better chin then he gets credit for IMO and has youth on his side, and very aggressive on the ground, he usually working wrist control, sweeps, sub attempts.

However, he desperately needs to work on his striking offense/defense fundamentals. Having your hands on the ground while throwing a leg kick (especially if they are telegraphed) is an invitation to eat a nasty counter shot. I like his offensive jiu jitsu aggression, but he leaves little in the way of defense especially to ground and pound (Stojnic fight for one). Lastly, he needs to be able to use his 83 inch reach if you can just duck your head down and throw wild bombs and catch Struve with consistency it should be a tip for him to work on his defense/footwork/etc.

Having said all that, he is an exciting prospect and I am always ready to watch a Struve fight.

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Totally agree with those statements. Kind of strange considering where he comes from that he doesn't have solid kickboxing fundamentals. He should hook up with Semmy Schilt for pointers on how to fight as a 7' tall kickboxer.

Yeah, his chin is not bad at all. JDS was just right on him the whole time before the ref stopped the fight. I think he will be a threat but never hold a title. I'd actually like to see him fight Kongo. I think the above average strikers with good sub defense will give him fits.

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Posted by Jackelope

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Posted by DosBox

Good young talent, has a better chin then he gets credit for IMO and has youth on his side, and very aggressive on the ground, he usually working wrist control, sweeps, sub attempts.

However, he desperately needs to work on his striking offense/defense fundamentals. Having your hands on the ground while throwing a leg kick (especially if they are telegraphed) is an invitation to eat a nasty counter shot. I like his offensive jiu jitsu aggression, but he leaves little in the way of defense especially to ground and pound (Stojnic fight for one). Lastly, he needs to be able to use his 83 inch reach if you can just duck your head down and throw wild bombs and catch Struve with consistency it should be a tip for him to work on his defense/footwork/etc.

Having said all that, he is an exciting prospect and I am always ready to watch a Struve fight.

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Totally agree with those statements. Kind of strange considering where he comes from that he doesn't have solid kickboxing fundamentals. He should hook up with Semmy Schilt for pointers on how to fight as a 7' tall kickboxer.

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I have to agree that hooking up with Schilt would be a wonderful idea, his stand up needs a lot of work. I am surprised that against a guy like Buentello he did not use the teep more, Buentello will not try to take you down, leg kicks were good but he needs to chop down more on the leg. He also needs to use his knees more man its so easy to knee guys in the face when your are 6'11.

I believe that he also needs to put some muscle mass on, i know he is only 21 but he should cut weight to make 265 at that height.

His chin is very good plus we all saw in his second last fight that he can take a beating, stay composed and come back to win.

One thing is for sure if he learns to use his height when he strikes, continu working on his take down defense and adds some muscle mass he his going to be hard to deal with. Like Rogan and Goldie were saying you cannot teach 6'11.

I think due to his age and the lack of fighters (purely numbers here) in the HW Div he is going to have a rough time. I don't see him beating to many other fighters in the UFC. Not only due to the holes in his striking that you all mentioned but also due to his build, he needs to keep gaining real weight. Can you imagine what he'd be like weighing 265 and improved kickboxing!!

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Posted by jae_1833

I think due to his age and the lack of fighters (purely numbers here) in the HW Div he is going to have a rough time. I don't see him beating to many other fighters in the UFC. Not only due to the holes in his striking that you all mentioned but also due to his build, he needs to keep gaining real weight. Can you imagine what he'd be like weighing 265 and improved kickboxing!!

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I agree with this and think it's likely that he will get cut, before coming back in 3/4 years and being a legitimate threat.

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Posted by MMAcca

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Posted by jae_1833

I think due to his age and the lack of fighters (purely numbers here) in the HW Div he is going to have a rough time. I don't see him beating to many other fighters in the UFC. Not only due to the holes in his striking that you all mentioned but also due to his build, he needs to keep gaining real weight. Can you imagine what he'd be like weighing 265 and improved kickboxing!!

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I agree with this and think it's likely that he will get cut, before coming back in 3/4 years and being a legitimate threat.

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Quite possibly. However, I do think there are enough mediocre heavyweights floating around the UFC to give this kid the time he needs to develop without having to cut him.

I'd let him feed on Matt Mitrione, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Tim Hague, Mike Russow, Gilbert Yvel, you know, guys like that. There's plenty of middling talent to help him develop. If he starts f*cking those guys up with any regularity than give him a step up in competition see if he can hang.

Personally, I think he's going to be a force once he packs on muscle and starts using the muay thai clinch to his advantage. Sprinkle in a little boxing to start working that jab and you just might have a top ten heavyweight on your hands.

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Posted by IriShame

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Posted by MMAcca

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Posted by jae_1833

I think due to his age and the lack of fighters (purely numbers here) in the HW Div he is going to have a rough time. I don't see him beating to many other fighters in the UFC. Not only due to the holes in his striking that you all mentioned but also due to his build, he needs to keep gaining real weight. Can you imagine what he'd be like weighing 265 and improved kickboxing!!

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I agree with this and think it's likely that he will get cut, before coming back in 3/4 years and being a legitimate threat.

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Quite possibly. However, I do think there are enough mediocre heavyweights floating around the UFC to give this kid the time he needs to develop without having to cut him.

I'd let him feed on Matt Mitrione, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Tim Hague, Mike Russow, Gilbert Yvel, you know, guys like that. There's plenty of middling talent to help him develop. If he starts f*cking those guys up with any regularity than give him a step up in competition see if he can hang.

Personally, I think he's going to be a force once he packs on muscle and starts using the muay thai clinch to his advantage. Sprinkle in a little boxing to start working that jab and you just might have a top ten heavyweight on your hands.

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I would like to see him face Mitrione, that would be an entertaining fight in my opinion

I've been big on this kid since seeing his fight against Mario Neto. Any guy who can pull off an arm triangle from the back is a fighter I want to watch. I've see his striking improve from fight to fight, and his submission offense isn't to be reckoned with. I'd love to see him fully grow into that frame and see how much he improves.

I'd like to see him fight Mitrione as well, I think that would be an entertaining fight, though I feel he's on a completely different level.

Stefan has a bright future in the UFC, but he obviously has a lot things to work on.
But he can complete his submissions then he will be a deadly force.