After getting slaughtered in his UFC debut against now top 5 heavyweight Junior dos Santos, Stefan Struve went on to defeat his next three UFC opponents, en route to a matchup with TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson. Struve would again fall short with another quick knockout loss, and has since then rebounded with two stoppage wins, most recently finishing trash talker Sean McCorkle in the co main event at UFC 124 last December. With a relatively thin heavyweight division overall, a win here, and expect Struve to get put into a big contender eliminator.
Stefan Struve Vs Travis Browne Odds;
Stefan Struve – (+130) @ Bodog.Com
Travis Browne – (-160) @ BookMaker.Com
Travis Browne didn’t enter the UFC with a ton of hype, but easily dismantled TUF 10 cast member James McSweeney in his UFC debut, battering the English fighter with ground and pound. In his second UFC outing and most recent fight, Browne took the role as underdog against heavyweight gatekeeper Cheick Kongo, and Browne surprised many by fearlessly striking with his opponent. Due to Kongo’s low blows, Browne managed to keep his undefeated record intact with a draw, and like Struve is looking to advance deeper into the UFC heavyweight division.
From a skills perspective, the general perception is that Struve probably holds a jiujitsu advantage, and Browne holds an advantage in the striking realm, and this can be seen from just glancing at their records, although it has been evident in their fights as well. Struve has won the majority of his fights by submission, and Browne has won the majority of his fights by knockout. The question is whether this is more likely to look like a jiujitsu match or a kickboxing match.
At 6’11, one might wonder whether this would be a helper or a hindrance to Struve’s ability to take the fight to the ground. To me, it’s irrelevant. The reality is that Struve has yet to display any technical ability that suggests to me that he has any hope of taking this fight to the ground on his terms, and I have to believe this fight takes place on the feet.
Fighting on the feet probably won’t be a problem with Struve, as he’s shown in all of his fights a willingness to stand and trade with his opponents. The problem is he barely scraped by against Buentello, arguably got lucky against Morecraft, and got his lights shut off against Nelson and dos Santos. While I’m far from sold yet that Browne is some kind of elite level striker, I am still quite confident that if this fight stays standing, which I believe it will, Struve is getting his third knockout loss.
I have to be upfront here: I really don’t like Stefan Struve. He is in my opinion one of the most overrated fighters in the world, and has gotten very lucky to amass the record he has in the UFC. The prediction is that one of three things happens: Struve gets knocked out standing, Struve gets stopped with ground and pound, or Struve pulls off another one of his crazy come from behind victories. A Struve comeback is not something I’d bank on, especially since Browne is a lot better than everyone else Struve has beaten. At odds of -140, I like a moderate to large bet on Travis Browne.
Conclusion: The prediction is that Travis Browne knocks Stefan Struve out cold and at the current odds a moderate to large bet is recommended.
Stefan Struve Vs Travis Browne Odds;
Stefan Struve – (+130) @ Bodog.Com
Travis Browne – (-160) @ BookMaker.Com
