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Stefan Struve Reflects on Fighting Heavyweights at 17
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Stefan Struve, on “The Savage Dog Show,” discussing how starting MMA when he was young helped him:
“I think it’s a big advantage because I was already fighting in the heavyweight division when I was 17 years old and I was barely a light heavyweight. I was a big middleweight, but there was no competition for me. No one wanted to face me at light heavyweight or middleweight, so I just learned how to deal with those big heavyweights when I was that age. When you’re fighting those big guys when you’re that young, things don’t really get scary anymore.”
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Podcast: Shields, Struve, Boetsch
By: TJ De Santis
Live radio returned to The Sherdog Radio Network Monday with new episodes of "Beatdown" and "The Savage Dog Show"
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Jack Encarnacao and Jon Luther returned to The Sherdog Radio Network Monday for another edition "Beatdown." Joining them was UFC welterweight Jake Shields.
The former Strikeforce and EliteXC champion joined Jack and Jon to talk about his upcoming match at UFC 144 agaisnt Yoshihiro Akiyama. The Shooto veteran talked about coming off of a pair of losses and what he feels he needs to do to defeat "Sexyama." The Cesar Gracie product also touched on his last loss to Jake Ellenberger and if he felt he should have taken the fight so close to the death of his father Jack.
Jeff Sherwood and I returned to The Sherdog Radio Network Monday for another edition of "The Savage Dog Show." Joining them were UFC fighters Stefan Struve and Tim Boetsch,
Stefan Struve will find himself in the co-main event Wednesday night in Omaha on the UFC's UFC on Fuel “Ellenberger vs. Sanchez” card. The Dutchman faces Dave Herman in a heavyweight tilt. Struve talks about the fight at hand and where he wants to go in the UFC's heavyweight division.
Tim Boetsch will cross the Pacific for his bout with Yushin Okami on February 25th for the UFC's UFC 144 card. Boetsch talks about his third fight at the middleweight division, where he feels his strengths lie against Okami, and what it will be like to fight in "The Land of the Rising Sun."
Check out the show and our archives by clicking here. -
The Turning Point: Struve vs. McCorkle
By: Chris Nelson
Stefan Struve file photo | Jim Page : Sherdog.com
Stefan Struve was forced to endure a near-constant stream of smack talk and one-liners from Sean McCorkle in the build-up to their bout at UFC 124, but the towering Dutchman made sure to get the last laugh on Saturday night.
It was Struve who struck first in the heavyweight affair, using every inch of his lanky right arm to bounce an overhand shot off McCorkle’s temple. The self-appointed “Big Sexy” responded by dumping Struve to the canvas with a high double-leg takedown. While he landed in side control, McCorkle soon found himself stuffed back to his 6-foot-11 opponent’s half-guard, his head loosely snared underneath Struve’s left arm.
McCorkle pressed his forearm onto Struve’s throat and, in doing so, was able to simultaneously extract his own head and pin down the limb which had trapped it. Almost instantly, McCorkle began framing up a kimura, twisting Struve’s left arm behind his own back. The submission-savvy 22-year-old recognized the hold immediately and began scooting backward, pressing his back into the cage and denying McCorkle the angle necessary to fully wrench the submission. Read more -
UFC 124 Postmortem: ‘Rush’ Hour
By: Jake Rossen
Georges St. Pierre | Dave Mandel: Sherdog.com
Even after making Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and Thiago Alves look like they don’t belong in MMA, there’s still the idea that Georges St. Pierre isn’t the best fighter working: he hasn't been finishing, is unable or unwilling to put himself at enough risk to get that hostile, and therefore takes a back seat to fireball-throwing Anderson Silva. (Or, if you’re feeling really numb in the head, Jose Aldo.)
Never mind that all three of those opponents are barely ever put away; never mind that Silva had his own run of distance fights with Thales Leites and Demian Maia, or that Silva’s celebrated “move” to 205 included James Irvin. St. Pierre, whether he’s finishing or not, has displayed the most complete understanding of MMA to date: he can wrestle at a level that embarrasses NCAA champions and can strike with enough efficiency to harm others without coming to harm himself. There’s not much more you can ask of an MMA fighter.
I like definitive endings as much as anyone. It provides closure and it’s exciting and it looks terrific on a hype reel, but there comes a point when both fighters and fans realize that value can’t be completely wrapped up in violent finishes: walking into Koscheck’s right hand and losing status that’s taken years to build is not an even trade. (Ali winning as many fights by decision as he did by stoppage in the 1970s didn’t seem to bother anyone.) St. Pierre is exceptional not only for the skills he brings, but for what he risks -- a profile as an all-time great. Read more -
UFC 117 Prelims: Struve Stops Morecraft
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Stefan Struve (20-4) bounced back from his crushing defeat at the hands of Roy Nelson to stop Christian Morecraft (6-1) with a second-round technical knockout at UFC 117.
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Morecraft started strong in his UFC debut by taking the first round with some slick ground work, but the second frame was all Struve. The lanky Dutch striker put the Massachusetts native down with a one-two and followed up with punches for good measure until referee Herb Dean pulled him off just 22 seconds into round two. -
Awards: UFC 107
By: Jake Rossen
D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
The Literal Hole in the Head Award: Clay Guida, for getting a sink installed in his skull by Kenny Florian’s elbow. (If Kenny were a real bastard, he’d get that thing shaved down to a point and start directing his own horror movies in there.)
The Communal Corner Award: The Memphis crowd, for catching on quickly that Diego Sanchez shooting a single on B.J. Penn was the very definition of insanity: doing the same thing, and expecting a different result.
The Zen Master Award: Frank Mir, for talking all kinds of philosophical smack prior to the Cheick Kongo fight -- and backing every up every antagonizing word.
The Sports Dentists’ Fund Award: Stefan Struve, for calmly allowing the referee to pluck a tooth chip from his mouthguard before continuing. Read more -
Fitch, Struve on Wins at UFC 107
Video courtesy of UFC.com. Read more -
UFC 107 Primer
By: Jake Rossen
D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
As an event orchestrated almost exclusively around a coming-home gimmick for Memphis native Quinton Jackson, Saturday’s “UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez” fails rather miserably. (Jackson is too busy becoming the next Brian Bosworth.) As a card bolstered by two homicidal 155 lb. fighters, it should be judged for what it is, not what it could’ve been.
With Georges St. Pierre having beaten 170 lb. aspirations out of him, B.J. Penn appears to be the most mentally and physically functional fighter of his entire nine-year career. He’s hell to take down, more or less immune to submissions, and shows off cleaner hands every time he engages. Gone is the fighter who bounced from class to class, ballooning up to take on Lyoto Machida in Japan like an MMA De Niro.
To know a great athlete is diluting his own mark by toiling in weird, random bids is frustrating. He’s found his fit. It’s a pleasure to watch. Keep him away from the white flour. Read more
