Heavyweights Stefan Struve (21-4, 5-2 UFC) and Travis Browne (10-0-1, 1-0-1 UFC) meet on the UFC 130 PPV card this Saturday, May 28 in Las Vegas. The 6'11" Struve and the 6'7" Browne are two of the tallest men in the UFC.
UFC 130 Fight Card Breakdown: Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne
Struve is coming off two straight KO/TKO wins since losing to Roy Nelson in March 2010. His victims, Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft are very comparable to Travis Browne. Struve so far has made a UFC career off of beating the guys he's supposed to beat.
But a closer look at Browne’s skill set shows that he present a more serious threat to Struve than either McCorkle or Morecraft.
Travis Browne falls into that category. A BJJ purple belt with a boxing background, Browne built up an undefeated record before making his UFC debut. Since joining the promotion he's beaten the undersized and underwhelming James McSweeney and gotten a gift tie against Cheick Kongo due to excessive fouls by the notorious Kongo.
Despite that less than stellar record, Browne’s punching power makes him a huge threat to Struve. Despite his ridiculously long arms, Struve doesn’t seem to know what a jab is and has shown repeatedly that he’s more than willing to throw down and brawl. That won’t work against Browne.
Note that I’ve weighted some of the categories more heavily in this installment. That’s because I don’t expect this fight to spend much time on the ground.
| Aspect | Struve | Points | Browne | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Fighting | ||||
| Boxing | Has Some Gaps | 2 | Good | Browne |
| Kickboxing | Strong | 1 | Sloppy | Struve |
| Wrestling | Not So Much | 1 | Lacking | Tie |
| Clinch Fighting | ||||
| Dirty Boxing | Kid's Got Heart | 2 | Dangerous | Browne |
| Thai Clinch | Killer Stork | 1 | Nothing Special | Struve |
| Throws/Trips | Ok | 1 | Not Great | Struve |
| Ground Fighting | ||||
| Positional Control | Good | 1 | Good | Tie |
| Top Game | Dangerous | 2 | Brutal | Browne |
| Bottom Game | Ok | 1 | Eh | Struve |
| Submissions | Very Good | 1 | Ok | Struve |
| Intangibles | UFC Proven | 1 | Hungry | Struve |
| Overall | Flawed Prospect | 6/6 | Hard Hitter | Browne |
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